★★★★ ‘Masterfully directed’ The Guardian

★★★★ ‘Entertaining.’ The Stage

★★★★ ‘Kim’s Convenience is a store of wisdom’ Financial Times

Next week, everyone’s favourite convenience store will open its doors at Leeds Playhouse ahead of a UK Tour. Kim’s Convenience is a hilarious and heartwarming family drama about a Korean store, with James Yi, star of the CBC and Netflix adaptation, taking charge as Appa, the head of the family. The production will play Leeds Playhouse’s Courtyard theatre from 12 – 15 March.

As well as being known for Kim’s Convenience on Netflix, Yi has also been seen in The Interview and Gabby Duran & The Unsittables and has played Appa in previous productions.

James Yi comments: “Kim’s Convenience has literally changed my life. This play continues to open new doors for me, like getting to go all the way to the UK to tour the show with an amazing cast and production team! I feel like I’m in a dream that I never want to wake up from.”

Yi will be joined once again by Caroline Donica as his on-stage daughter Janet. Marking their UK debut, the pair’s return as the leading father and daughter duo brings an authentic chemistry to this much-loved story of family, tradition, and generational change.

Caroline Donica comments: “I am beyond excited to join this incredible team for my UK theatrical debut performance in Kim’s Convenience. I can’t wait to bring Janet Kim to life alongside such a talented group of artists in a story with universal themes of family, growth, and cultural identity. This is going to be an unforgettable experience!”

Presented by Adam Blanshay Productions and Park Theatre, this family drama will tour with this special reunion at its heart and give wider audiences the chance to catch the evolving, comedic, and often tense relationship between Appa and Janet. Yi and Donica’s on-stage dynamic, honed from their previous run of the production across the pond at Georgia’s Aurora Theatre in 2023, captures the push and pull between first-generation immigrant values and the ambitions of the next generation, a theme prominent within Ins Choi’s award-winning play.

Yi and Donica will be joined by Candace Leung (Spent, BBC; Criminal Minds, CBS) as Umma, Daniel Phung (Blade Runner 2099, Amazon; Rain Dogs, HBO/BBC; My Neighbour Totoro, RSC) as Jung, and Andrew Gichigi (Kim’s Convenience, Riverside Studios; Anansi Boys, Amazon) as Alex. Uplifting and poignant, Kim’s Convenience’s intricate Canadian-Korean family relationships offers a universal perspective on generational divides, identity, and belonging. While rooted in the immigrant experience, the play’s themes resonate far beyond any one culture, capturing the tensions and tenderness between parents and children as they navigate the balance between tradition, modernity, and personal ambition. Through humour and heart, Kim’s Convenience sheds light on the shared human experience of family, making it a story that speaks to audiences from all backgrounds.

Winner of The Stage’s 2025 inaugural Campaign of the Year award and originally debuting at the Toronto Fringe Festival in 2011 – where it won Best New Play and the Patron’s Pick – the play continues to champion East and Southeast Asian representation on stage and on screen. Inspiring the globally loved CBC and Netflix series of the same name, which ran for 5 seasons and featured James Yi, the story’s captivating themes of identity, family, and intergenerational conflict has resonated with audiences across cultures and adaptations. This UK tour offers audiences nationwide the chance to experience the warmth, wit, and emotional power of Kim’s Convenience.