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Vera Chok
Vera Chok
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Vera Chok is a Malaysian actress and writer based in the United Kingdom, who has featured in various stage, screen and radio roles. From 2021 to 2023, she[a] played Honour Chen-Williams in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks.

Key Information

Early and personal life

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Chok was born in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, of Chinese ancestry. After attending Assunta Primary and Secondary schools in Malaysia and Abbots Bromley School in Staffordshire, she graduated from The Queen's College, Oxford, before training as an actor at the Poor School[1] in London and with Philippe Gaulier in Paris. Chok is queer[2] and uses she/her and they/them pronouns.[3]

Career

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Chok's main theatre roles have included parts in the award-winning Lucy Kirkwood play Chimerica (2013), as part of the original cast at the Almeida and Harold Pinter Theatres[4] and in The World of Extreme Happiness (The Shed at the National Theatre, 2013), in which she co-starred with Katie Leung. Chok played the part of Ming Ming, a female migrant worker, in a production about the world of migrant workers in rapidly emerging modern China.[5] Vera Chok also appeared in the TV miniseries version of Chimerica on Channel 4 in 2019, alongside Katie Leung.

In 2015, Chok appeared in Nicholas Hytner's final production as artistic director for the National Theatre, Tom Stoppard's The Hard Problem.[6] The play was Stoppard's first for the theatre since 2006 and a special screening was broadcast live to cinemas. She subsequently had roles in the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company production of The Winter's Tale at the Garrick Theatre in late 2015 [7][8] and an associated work, Terence Rattigan's Harlequinade, also at the Garrick, which humorously depicts a postwar CEMA-sponsored theatrical troop at a provincial theatre in Brackley making a hash of Romeo and Juliet and "the intrigues and dalliances of the company members".[9]

Chok was nominated in the 2015 BBC Audio Drama Awards (Best Debut Performance In An Audio Drama)[10] for her performance in the BBC Radio 3 production of British Chinese novelist Xiaolu Guo's first play, Dostoevsky And The Chickens (2014), in which she co-starred.[11] In Liao Yimei's comedy drama Rhinoceros in Love, also for Radio 3, she plays the beautiful Mingming, the object of a zookeeper's longing, in a performance described by the Sunday Times as 'bewitching'.[12]

She appeared in Jingo (2008, Finborough Theatre, London) and played the lead role of Lila in the stage adaptation of Philip Pullman's The Firework-Maker's Daughter (2011, Theatre by the Lake) - described by The Stage as a 'poignant performance'.[13]

Whatsonstage.com named her one of "15 theatre faces to look out for in 2015".[14] Asked by the magazine to give her advice on International Women's Day, Chok said "Play the long game: stay open, generous, and keep developing your craft."[15]

In 2016, she contributed a chapter to the anthology of the personal accounts of members of immigrant and ethnic minorities in the UK, 'The Good Immigrant'.[16] Writing about her experiences as a Malaysian immigrant in Britain in the Guardian during Black History Month, Chok commented on the invisibility of 'East Asian' groups in Britain: "In the UK media, we don’t see south Asians portrayed in a way that reflects their position as the largest racial minority group in the UK (3 million to 1.9 million black British). East Asians, the third-largest and fastest-growing racial group at 1.2 million, people bear the damning “model minority” label which isolates them from other people of colour, and condemns them to an invisibility where violence against them is ignored."[17] Writing in British Chinese journal Neehao in 2017, she urged British Chinese and East Asian actors not to take on parts that reinforce anti-China sentiment at a time when " ...Asians in America, in LIBERAL states, are being beaten up because of anti-China rhetoric from [Donald Trump]."[18]

She wrote a play for online, Rice!, broadcast on Zoom in 2021, a co-production between Omnibus Theatre and Malaysian company Wayang Kitchen, which featured a distributed Malaysian meal to cook at home with tutorial help, plus a play broadcast from Kuala Lumpur and Wiltshire, according to The Stage "an elegant proposition: playing to audiences in both the UK and Malaysia, this story about migration and belonging unfolds while we cook congee with meal kits provided by the company".[19]

In December 2021, Chok began playing Honour Chen-Williams, a prison psychiatrist, in the British TV soap Hollyoaks. Her character was one of parents of the newly introduced Chen-Williams family, alongside her delivery driver husband Dave, played by Dominic Power. Chok told media that “Dave and Honour have a very large brood, so it's a really solid relationship. They've been together for a long while and brought up this really adorable blended family".[20] Her final appearance in the soap aired in April 2023.[21]

She played the lead role in the 2022 Forest Fringe film Dream Agency, directed and written by Deborah Pearson and Andy Field, which won the Best Micro-Budget film award in 2023 from the London Independent Film Festival.[22]

Chok played Lauren in the second UK touring production of 2:22 A Ghost Story, from 2023-24, alongside Jay McGuiness as Ben, George Rainsford as Sam and Fiona Wade as Jenny.[23]

Poetry

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Chok published a collection of poetry, Angry Yellow Woman, in 2024.

  • Angry Yellow Woman. Burning Eye. 2024. ISBN 978-1-913958-47-3.[24]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2007 Heartless Lily London Film School, Sasha Collington
2007 The Games Athlete Audience Award, East End Film Festival (2008), Optimistic Productions, Hilary Powell
2008 Son Dancer Sister Films, Daniel Mulloy
2010 The Heights Mrs Watson BBC/Shorthouse, Sue Dunderdale
2011 Random 11 Candace VertigoHeights, TS Ukpo
2012 Alice 3 Alice VertigoHeights, TS Ukpo
2012 After the World Ended Anna VertigoHeights, TS Ukpo
2012 Panic Ling White Night Films, Sean Spencer
2013 The Riot Club (released September 2014) Banker Blueprint, Lone Scherfig
2014 Alice in the City (working title) Alice TS Ukpo
2014 Lucky 13 Mallory TS Ukpo
2015 Miss You Already Chang Zhe Tzung New Sparta/S Films, Catherine Hardwicke
2016 Simana VertigoHeights, TS Ukpo
2017 The Mummy Prodigium Tech Universal Pictures, Alex Kurtzman
2018 Christopher Robin Margaret King (Train Passenger 1) Walt Disney Pictures, Marc Forster
2018 London Unplugged Laura
2022 Dream Agency Janet (lead role) Forest Fringe, Arthouse Jersey, Deborah Pearson

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1990 Selamat Pagi Malaysia (Good Morning Malaysia) Presenter
2009 Future Perfect (pilot) Sarah Vertigo Heights, TS Ukpo
2010 Hacket Hill (pilot) Spittlelick Drowning Bee Productions, Dominic St Clair
2012 Coronation Street Moira Bayley ITV Granada, David Kester. Episode 8029.
2017 Chewing Gum Penelope E4, Michaela Coel. Series 2, Episode 3: 'I Just Need Some Company'.[citation needed]
2018 Collateral Jill Leong BBC2 / Netflix, George S. J. Faber and The Forge. Episode 3.
2018 Fortitude Shen Sky Atlantic / Amazon, Tiger Aspect Productions / Fifty Fathoms. Season 3.
2019 Chimerica Shen Channel 4, Playground Entertainment, written by Lucy Kirkwood, produced by Colin Callender, Sophie Gardiner, Adrian Sturges.
2020 Cobra Air traffic controller (episodes 1.1 and 1.6) Sky One, written by Ben Richards, directed by Hans Herbots.
2021–2023 Hollyoaks Honour Chen-Williams Channel 4 / E4 (Lime Pictures), produced by Lucy Allan.[20]

Radio

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Year Title Role Notes
2014 Dostoevsky and the Chickens Nieu BBC Radio 3, Emma Harding
2014 Brief Lives Anh BBC Radio 4, Tom Fry / Sharon Kelly
2014 Rhinoceros in Love Mingming BBC Radio 3, Emma Harding
2017 Inspector Chen [25] Detective Hong BBC Radio 4, Joy Wilkinson

Theatre

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Year Title Role Notes
2000 The Winter's Tale (by William Shakespeare) Time Toured Japan with OUDS
2007 When the Lights Went Out Samina Tara Arts UK Tour, Vik Sivalingam
2008 Jingo by Charles Wood Shirley Finborough Theatre, Primavera Productions
2009 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, adapted from the translation by Simon Armitage Guinevere / The Green Lady New Perspectives (UK tour), Daniel Buckroyd
2010 Mansfield Park and Ride Fanny Fitztightly/Lucy Bonnet Eastern Angles, Ivan Cutting
2010 Uncle Vanya (by Anton Chekhov) Yelena Sturdy Beggars, Vik Sivalingam
2010 The Death of Tintagel Ygraine saltpeter, Vik Sivalingam
2011 Talking in Bed Nadia Theatre503, Cecily Boys
2011 The Fever Brighton Fringe, saltpeter, Gary Merry
2011 The Firework-Maker's Daughter (theatre adaptation) Lila Theatre by the Lake, Stefan Escreet
2012 Upstairs (rehearsed reading) Noi Finborough Theatre, Steve Keyworth
2013 Chimerica (by Lucy Kirkwood) Mary Chang/Michelle Almeida Theatre, Harold Pinter Theatre, Sonia Friedman Productions, Lyndsey Turner
2013 The World of Extreme Happiness Xiao Li / Ming - Ming / Qing Shu Min National Theatre, Michael Longhurst
2014 Twelfth Night (by William Shakespeare) Maria Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park, Max Webster
2015 The Hard Problem (by Tom Stoppard) Bo National Theatre, Nicholas Hytner
2015 The Winter's Tale (by William Shakespeare) Dorcas Garrick Theatre, Kenneth Branagh
2015 Harlequinade (by Terence Rattigan) Miss Fishlock Garrick Theatre, Kenneth Branagh
2018 The Outsider (L’Étranger) (adapted by Ben Okri) Marie Print Room at the Coronet, Abbey Wright
2019 The Paper Man, Improbable (artistic director Lee Simpson), directed by Tanuja Amarasuriya. Co-creator and actor Soho Theatre
2020 Alice - A virtual theme park, directed by Zoe Seaton. The Red Queen Creation Theatre Company
2021 Rice!, directed by Hester Welch and Razif Hashim. Writer Omnibus Theatre, Clapham, London (online), Felicity Paterson
2023–2024 2:22 A Ghost Story, directed by Matthew Dunster. Lauren UK Tour, Runaway Entertainment

References

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Notes

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Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia
from Grokipedia
Vera Chok is a Malaysian-born actress, writer, performer, and comedian of Chinese descent based in the . Born in , , Chok holds master's degrees in and from the and in from the . Chok has performed major roles in theatre at venues including the National Theatre, , the , and the West End, collaborating with actors such as and . On television, Chok portrayed Honour Chen-Williams, the head of the first East and Southeast Asian family featured in a British soap opera, in Hollyoaks from December 2021 to April 2023. In film, Chok starred in the independent feature Dream Agency, which won best film awards at the London Independent Film Festival, Aarhus International Film Festival, and Jakarta International Film Festival. As a writer, Chok has contributed to anthologies such as The Good Immigrant and created works including the toured performance The Paper Man, the British Council-funded Rice!, and the poetry collection Angry Yellow Woman. Chok is also an award-winning voice actor for dramas and has received nominations such as Best Debut Performance in an Audio Drama.

Early life

Upbringing in

Vera Chok was born in , , to parents of Chinese descent. She spent the first seventeen years of her life in the country, immersed in its multicultural society as a . During her upbringing, Chok attended Assunta Primary and Secondary School, a missionary institution in known for its Catholic education. This period exposed her to Malaysia's ethnic dynamics, including tensions between Malay, Chinese, and Indian communities, which she later reflected on in writing about racial hierarchies and identity in a multiracial ex-colony. culture, emphasizing family obligations and communal ties, influenced her early worldview, though she has described a sense of dislocation tied to minority status. Chok's childhood occurred amid Malaysia's post-independence development, with emerging as a planned suburb near , blending urban growth and traditional values. Folk beliefs in spirits and ancestors, prevalent in households, shaped her cultural lens, as noted in discussions of supernatural elements from her heritage. By age 17, these experiences informed her transition abroad, marking the end of her Malaysian formative years.

Immigration and early years in the UK

Chok immigrated to the from , , in 1994 at the age of 17. As a first-generation Malaysian-Chinese immigrant, she sought to escape what she described as intense stemming from a large and Malaysia's nationalist emphasis on productivity, along with fears of state control over personal freedoms. Upon arrival, she completed her at the independent boarding school in , . In her initial years as an immigrant from a former British colony, Chok reported feeling profoundly alien and disconnected from biological kin, often exoticized as an "East Asian" woman despite her Malaysian background, which contributed to a sense of voicelessness in British society. Following , Chok took on various low-skilled jobs in while training as an , reflecting the economic challenges faced by young immigrants adapting to the job market. She later prioritized non-biological bonds, forming a chosen "family" through close friendships that provided support absent from traditional ties, amid ongoing cravings for Malaysian cultural elements despite relinquishing her . These experiences underscored her navigation of identity as a visible minority in an environment where East Asian immigrants from were often rendered invisible compared to other groups.

Education and training

Academic background

Vera Chok attended Asaunta school in , , during her early education prior to immigrating to the . She enrolled at The Queen's College, , studying and from 1996 to 2000, ultimately earning a in the field. Chok later completed a Master of Arts in Creative Writing with Distinction at the University of East London School of Arts and Digital Industries.

Performing arts training

Vera Chok undertook acting training at The Poor School in London after her undergraduate studies, initially enrolling in a summer course adjacent to her then-location in King's Cross, which marked her first significant encouragement in performance. She progressed to the institution's full-time program, a practical ensemble-based curriculum emphasizing theatre skills for emerging performers. The Poor School operated a two-year training model focused on stage, film, and comedy preparation until its closure. Chok furthered her physical and improvisational techniques at École in , completing the Le Jeu course renowned for its emphasis on playfulness, clowning, and mask work in theatre. This training, pursued in her late 20s, complemented her self-directed creative pursuits by prioritizing instinctual response over scripted naturalism. These programs, outside the subsidized conservatoires like RADA or LAMDA, provided accessible, intensive immersion that aligned with Chok's transition from academic to professional performance, fostering resilience and versatility in ensemble and solo contexts.

Professional career

Early acting roles

Chok's entry into professional followed her training at in London and with in Paris. Her earliest notable role was in the ensemble cast of Lucy Kirkwood's (2013), which premiered at the before transferring to the in London's West End. The production, centered on a journalist's search for the "" from the 1989 protests, earned the Award for Best New Play in 2014. In 2014, Chok appeared as Maria in a reimagined production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, directed by Max Webster for audiences aged six and over, at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre. This adaptation emphasized accessibility and humor, marking one of her initial Shakespearean credits. That same year, she secured a screen role in the film The Riot Club, a satirical drama depicting the excesses of an elite Oxford University dining society, adapted from Laura Wade's play Posh. These early engagements, primarily in theatre with a minor film appearance, established Chok's versatility in ensemble and supporting parts amid prestigious institutions like the and . Her work during this period aligned with her training in physical theatre and , contributing to critically regarded productions that highlighted social and political themes.

Theatre work

Chok's theatre career encompasses roles in major institutions, including the National Theatre, , and . Her early professional stage work featured in Lucy Kirkwood's (2013), where she performed multiple cameo roles as part of the original cast at the , followed by a transfer to the West End's . That same year, she appeared in Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig's The World of Extreme Happiness at the National Theatre, portraying characters including Xiao Li, Ming, and Qing Shu Min. In 2015, Chok joined the Theatre Company for double-bill productions at the , playing Dorcas in Shakespeare's —alongside as and Branagh as Leontes—and Miss Fishlock in Terence Rattigan's . She also performed as Bo in Tom Stoppard's The Hard Problem at the National Theatre that year. Subsequent credits include at and L'Étranger (adapted by ) at the Coronet Theatre, where she played Marie. Chok has originated roles in new works and toured internationally, such as in The Paper Man on a European tour. In 2021, she participated in a digital multi-platform production of with Creation Theatre and Palace Theatre. Her more recent stage appearances include Burnt at the Stake at in 2023 and the role of Lauren in the UK touring production of ' 2:22 A Ghost Story from 2023 to 2024. These performances highlight her versatility across classical, contemporary, and , often in ensemble capacities at prestigious venues.

Television and film appearances

Chok portrayed the recurring character in the soap opera from December 2021 to April 2023. She guest-starred as Panelist #1 in the 2022 Showtime series The Man Who Fell to Earth. Additional television credits include a role as Make Up Artist in the 2022 Apple TV+ series , a in COBRA (2020), and parts in (2019), Fortitude (2015), The Complex (2020), , and . In film, Chok appeared in supporting capacities in Hollywood productions including The Mummy (2017), Christopher Robin (2018), and The Riot Club (2014). She also featured in Sulphur and White (2019) and the short film London Unplugged (2018). Chok led the cast as Janet in the independent feature Dream Agency (2022), produced by Forest Fringe and premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.

Radio and voice acting

Chok has appeared in multiple BBC radio dramas, showcasing her versatility in audio performance. In 2013, she portrayed Nieu in the radio play Dostoevsky and the Chickens on BBC Radio 4. That same year, she played Siti in The New World. In 2014, Chok took on the role of Anh in Brief Lives, a BBC Radio 4 production directed by Gary Brown. Her radio credits further include Mingming in the 2014 Drama on 3 production Rhinoceros in Love on , a dark romance adapted from a Chinese play, for which she received a for Best Debut Performance in an Audio Drama. In 2017, she voiced Detective Hong (also referred to as Inspector Hong) in Red Mandarin Dress, an Inspector Chen mystery on 4. Beyond radio, Chok has worked as a voice actor in video games, providing voices for all Chinese characters in Hitman III (2021) and contributing to Total War: (2019). She is represented as a artist with credits emphasizing dramatic audio work across networks.

Writing and creative output

Poetry and literary contributions

Chok's draws from personal experiences of immigration, racial identity, and relational dynamics, often blending verse with performative elements. Her work has been published in outlets including Rising, The Brautigan Free Press, and Ether Press, where pieces emphasize experimental forms not strictly confined to traditional . In 2017, three poems—"One," "Maps," and "Nothing is Really Difficult, or Princess"—appeared in Transect Magazine, exploring fragmentation and displacement. Literary contributions extend to prose essays, notably a 2016 piece in Nikesh Shukla's anthology The Good Immigrant, which recounts challenges faced by East Asian immigrants in the UK, including and cultural alienation. This essay, alongside Guardian contributions, reflects Chok's engagement with through narrative nonfiction. In April 2024, Chok released her debut collection, Angry Yellow Woman, published by Burning Eye Books as a 104-page volume. The book features playful, provocative verses tracing an "immigrant-hobo journey" across landscapes, intimate encounters, and bodily experiences, interrogating categories of , yellowness, and fury.

Producing and performance making

In 2010, Vera Chok founded saltpeter, an independent company focused on collaborative and experimental productions. As producer and co-producer, Chok oversaw several shows, including Tonseisha - The Man Who Abandoned the World, an opera presented at the Tête à Tête festival, and The Death of , a production in association with Saltpeter Productions featuring Chok in the role of Ygraine. Saltpeter also initiated The Brautigan Book Club, a creative society inspired by Richard Brautigan's works, which produced events like Please Plant These Songs and facilitated long-term artistic investigations. Chok has produced cabaret-style events, including lo-fi evenings in 2014 co-presented with Charles Adrian, featuring stories, short films, , and "Weirdo " to mark Anti-Valentine month. These productions emphasized interdisciplinary formats blending , , and interaction, aligning with saltpeter's of practicable, ongoing creative processes. As a performance maker, Chok creates devised works exploring themes of identity, belonging, and failure, often collaboratively across media. Notable pieces include The Happy Artist (2013), a series of one-on-one improvised encounters reliant on artist-audience dynamics, and Angry Yellow Woman (2024), a work-in-progress addressing immigrant experiences of race and life through clowning and . Chok's approach integrates , , and experimental elements, as seen in projects like The Paper Man (European tour) and Rice! (UK-Malaysia collaboration funded by the ).

Comedy and solo works

Vera Chok performs , including a showcase at the Museum of Comedy on November 1. Chok reached the semi-finals of the Theatre New Comedian of the Year Awards in 2024. Chok's solo works include the autobiographical show Angry Yellow Woman, a work-in-progress production first presented at Omnibus Theatre on October 26, 2024, as part of a double bill with Jennifer Jordan's 3 Minutes Inside My . The performance examines Chok's experiences as a first-generation Malaysian-Chinese immigrant navigating identity, , and marginalization in the UK, incorporating elements of clowning to confront and personal s. Described as questioning whether Chok, positioned as a 42-year-old woman of colour and ally to marginalized groups, embodies or challenges those assumptions, the show blends humor with on and societal attachments. Chok has also developed other solo comedy specials in work-in-progress formats at venues like Omnibus in .

Personal identity and public commentary

Pronouns and personal identity

Vera Chok, a Malaysian-Chinese actor and writer, publicly identifies with they/them pronouns, as indicated on their personal website and profile. Professional listings, including those from and Soho Voices, describe Chok as using she/they pronouns interchangeably. This usage aligns with a non-binary gender presentation, though Chok was born female and has not publicly detailed any medical or surgical interventions related to . In a tied to LGBTQ+ History Month, Chok discussed the concept of "passing" in relation to their , stating, "I've probably had the privilege of passing, because if I don't tell anybody…" This remark was made in the context of their role in the soap opera , highlighting experiences of navigating visibility and disclosure. Chok also self-identifies as , a term encompassing sexual and gender orientation, as noted in their bio alongside descriptors like "Malaysian" and "." Chok's expressions of intersect with their immigrant background and artistic work, where themes of belonging and self-perception recur, but explicit discussions of pronoun evolution or remain limited in public sources. No verified accounts indicate shifts in biological sex markers or formal legal changes to designation.

Views on race and identity politics

Vera Chok has critiqued the concept of "political blackness" for oversimplifying racial experiences by framing them in a binary black-white , arguing that it "flattens out many different experiences" and reinforces counterproductive shadeism while reducing identities to victimhood narratives. In a Guardian contribution, she advocated for recognizing the plurality of identities, including the underrepresentation and stereotyping of South Asians (approximately 3 million in the UK) and East Asians (1.2 million), beyond simplistic "Other" categorizations in data or media . She emphasized , urging consideration of factors like , class, sexuality, and alongside race, rather than pitting privilege against a monolithic blackness. In her 2016 essay "Yellow" for the anthology The Good Immigrant, Chok explored the distinct experiences of being "yellow" or East Asian in the UK, rejecting labels like "East Asian" that obscure diverse Malaysian-Chinese roots and highlighting invisibility, such as skin deemed "too pale" for typical racial visibility or hypersexualization of East Asian women. She noted the absence of "yellow people" in initial diversity-focused collections, critiquing how media pursuits of soundbites simplify racial complexities while lumping genders, sexualities, ages, and races into broad "diversity" campaigns without addressing specifics like East Asian underrepresentation. Chok's performances further interrogate through personal lenses, as in her 2024 work-in-progress Angry Yellow Woman, a comedy-horror solo show addressing the overlooked against East and Southeast Asians, challenges for female-presenting bodies, and immigrant alienation in the UK, where she has lived since age 17. Drawing from her Malaysian birth in 1977 and Chinese heritage, she describes growing alienation—"Oddly the longer I lived here, the more alien I felt"—and the personal toll of constant identity awareness, stating, "It’s hard, constantly being aware of your own identity" and "I want people to know how much it costs to talk about your own marginalisation." Through such works, Chok confronts stereotypes and seeks universal themes of belonging, emphasizing nuance over homogenized narratives of marginalization.

References

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