With the UK premiere of Ride the Cyclone opening on Friday 14th November at Southwark Playhouse Elephant, Edward Wu will be starring as The Amazing Karnak alongside a cast including Damon Gould as Noel and Jack Maverick as Ricky, with the script by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell. Previously, Edward played Jung in Kim’s Convenience at Riverside Studios, working with the playwright Ins Choi, who was also in the cast as Jung’s father Mr Kim (Appa). As a screen actor, Edward has appeared in The Diplomat for Netflix, worked on commercials and will be seen later this year in the BBC’s The War Between the Land and the Sea. Having quit a corporate management job just before the COVID pandemic, Edward was able to pursue a career in music and acting, and he attended LAMDA and is the lead singer in the rock band SAGE alongside Richie, Bart and Luca, and they released their EP Midas Touch earlier this year. We chatted to Edward about originating the role of Karnak in the UK premiere of Ride the Cyclone, having the show open at Southwark Playhouse Elephant on Friday, his screen roles and being the lead singer of rock band SAGE.
From Friday 14th November, you will be starring in Ride the Cyclone at Southwark Playhouse Elephant, can you tell us about the musical and your character Karnak?
It’s a genre-defying show – it’s mysterious, it’s fun, and it’s packed full of relevancy. It follows six teenagers who find themselves in a surreal post-mortem talent show, and they’re all competing for a grand prize.
I play The Amazing Karnak. He’s an animatronic fortune-teller machine who guides these teenagers through this strange limbo.
The run in London marks the show’s UK premiere, how does it feel to be originating the role in the UK and bringing the story to British audiences for the first time?
The show has such a huge international following, and to be the one to introduce Karnak to UK audiences is a real honour. What I’m really looking forward to is bringing a different light to him for this UK premiere. I’m hoping to explore a version of Karnak that is perhaps more nuanced and less robotic than what audiences might be used to.
How was it reading Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell’s script and was there anything that drew you to the production?
What really drew me to the role was the central question of the character. When I first read it, I just thought, “How am I going to imbue excitement and humanity into this character, while also keeping audiences – many of whom are very aware of the storyline and the ending – on their toes every night?”. That’s what excites me. There’s something ominous about Karnak, a moral ambiguity that I find really compelling to explore as an actor.
What is Karnak like to play and how have you prepared for taking on the character?
Karnak is special to play because I essentially get a front-row seat to the entire play and witness the journey of these six other characters. It’s a narrator role, it’s a commentator role, but most importantly, it’s a role of guidance and wisdom. The question I pose to myself is, if Karnak is omniscient, how does he interact with these characters while also being a character that can still be surprised and react to what’s happening? At the end of the day, it would get very boring if your character knows everything. That would mean he has no ability to react, which takes away the most essential tenet of acting: to respond and interact with your fellow characters in a truthful and authentic way.
What are you looking forward to most for performing in Ride the Cyclone through to Saturday 10th January 2026, and have you seen any shows at the venue previously?
Honestly, I’m just looking forward to seeing if people pick up on the subtle humour that I’m imbuing into Karnak. The role is technically written quite dry, but lots of fun can be squeezed out of it.
Why would you recommend booking tickets to see Ride the Cyclone, and who do you think the musical will appeal to?
This story is about seven characters from radically different circumstances (or possibly even universes) that need to learn how to live with each other. Perhaps they didn’t necessarily learn how to do that in their previous life, but they are given another opportunity to reconcile their differences, ultimately love each other for who they are, and learn to accept that. I can’t think of a more poignant message to express today than this.
How was your time playing Jung in Kim’s Convenience and how was it joining the cast for the run at Riverside Studios in 2024?
Playing Jung in Kim’s Convenience was an emotional sprint every night. I come on at the beginning of the second half and close out the show. It’s two very heavy scenes: one with my mom (Namju Go) and one with my dad, played by Ins Choi – the creator of this worldwide phenomenon. The entire cast was brilliant and super supportive as they brought me on.
Also, I have to mention that Esther Jun, our director, was awesome to work with. She was truly a delight and made me feel more comfortable, as someone not of Korean descent, playing a Korean character. She helped make that transition authentic and truthful, from the Korean pronunciation to understanding the culture and the psychology of the Korean household, which in so many ways is similar to my own upbringing as a Chinese-American.
How familiar were you with the play (or the CBC/Netflix comedy series of the same name that was inspired by the play) before auditioning, and what was it like working alongside the playwright Ins Choi – who also starred as Mr Kim (Appa)?
I was very familiar with it! My sister Eliza actually got me into watching the Netflix show when it first aired. Working with Ins was an intense experience, to say the least. I mean, he not only wrote the play, but he was playing my father, and he originated the role of Jung himself 15 years ago. But what really drew me to the project was how Ins captured the immigrant experience. As a child of immigrants myself, it just hit close to home. It’s raw and no-holds-barred.
You have also worked on screen on projects such as The Diplomat for Netflix and commercials, can you tell us about some of them?
My screen work, like being on The Diplomat, has been a fantastic part of this new chapter in my career. It’s a very different medium from the stage, it uses a different creative muscle. My latest TV credit is in BBC’s The War Between the Land and the Sea, where I am playing a Chinese news anchor. News anchoring in East Asian countries like China, Japan, and Korea is very different from what we see in the West. They actually use a much more formalised language than their Western counterparts. It was a challenge because I don’t have training in Chinese broadcasting, but at the end of the day, I was able to use my fluent Mandarin to really bring that role to life. I’m excited to see it on screen later this year.
What encouraged you to apply for LAMDA and how was your experience training there?
It’s funny, acting wasn’t my path for the longest time. I was in the corporate world and had a whole plan to become a lawyer. But at a certain point, especially during the pandemic, I had one of those big existential moments. I just said, “I really want to give this performance art thing a proper go”. I sent out applications to drama schools, and when I got the offer for LAMDA, I took it as a sign. It was a massive change, but it’s what set me on this new path.
As a music artist, you are the lead singer of the rock band SAGE, what do you enjoy most about performing with SAGE and how did the band come about?
Music is my main outlet, my way of unwinding. I front SAGE with some incredibly talented musicians, and what I enjoy most is that all our compositions and lyrics are original. It’s a completely different creative process from acting. The band really grew out of that period when I quit my corporate job and finally had the space to explore music seriously.
The band is comprised of two Italians and two Western-born Chinese, and we all come from different backgrounds. Richie and Bart have classical music backgrounds, while Luca and I are very intuitive musicians who came into it through our own musicality. So it’s like multiple worlds and timelines colliding into a single point where we came together and said, “Wow, we actually sound good together”. Rehearsals are split between Shanghai and Torino, which is interesting because it allows us to capture the vibes of the particular city we’re in. We also bring a lot of different sounds into our music – including funk, disco, and jazz – but it’s all underpinned by a classical rock foundation.
We understand SAGE released an EP – Midas Touch – earlier this year, what was it like to work on?
This EP signals the beginning of our journey. We selected six songs that we created within our first three years and tied them together. It’s a little sample of what is to come.
I wouldn’t say it’s the end-all, be-all of our sound, as we’re still finding our identity, but I think whoever listens to it is going to be really intrigued and hopefully impressed by both our finesse and our creativity. Anybody reading this should definitely give our EP a listen. You can find it on any major streaming platform – just search for SAGE Midas Touch.
Where does your love of acting and singing come from and how did you get into both?
I’ve honestly performed in some shape or form since I was about six years old. I was always in choirs, school musicals, and plays, and I also loved speech and debate. The professional transition happened right before COVID. I quit a corporate management job, and that decision opened the door to finally exploring music and singing seriously, which in turn led me back to acting.
What are some of your favourite theatre shows to watch and music artists to listen to?
I have such eclectic taste. I love Tennessee Williams and Anton Chekhov, but clearly I have a soft spot for musicals, my favourite probably being Oklahoma!. Musically, I truly listen to almost everything – classical, soul, jazz, and pop. I just appreciate good artistry that breaks from commercial trends and gives something new to its audience.
How do you like to spend your free time?
I’ve always seen myself as a creative, so when I’m not performing or writing lyrics for my band, I try to draw inspiration from as many sources as possible. For me, that often means turning to nature – whether it’s a quiet hike through the woods or a demanding camping trip in the wild. I have a deep craving for the expansiveness of the natural world: its smells, sounds, and tactile sensations. I deliberately seek inspiration from things that feel distant from acting or television, as they offer a purer reflection of the world we live in. Standing in the mountains, gazing into the vast emptiness of a desert, or swimming through crystal-clear waters – all of it fills me with a kinetic energy that I channel into my performances. Ultimately, nature is where I reconnect, recharge, and find the creative force that fuels my work.
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