“Kiss the Fish,” the latest production from New Zealand’s Indian Ink Theatre Company, tells the tale of a young monkey named Sidu who dreams of escaping his home on a small South Asian island to become the next Freddie Mercury.

His plans are thwarted when outsiders arrive to build a new eco-resort, leaving the fate of his island and its traditions in Sidu’s hands. Or paws.

It’s an outlandish concept, but one everyone — even we landlocked Kansans — can relate to, says Indian Ink co-founder Jacob Rajan.

“At its core, it’s a generational story,” he says of the play, which also carries an environmental message. “We can all relate to the story of the family, and the legacy we leave our children is very prevalent in the world today.”

Next week, on Tuesday and Wednesday, Rajan and his troupe will perform “Kiss the Fish” at the Lied Center, the group’s second stop at the Lawrence venue in as many years.

The whimsical comedy recently took home a slew of trophies at the Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards (the Kiwi equivalent of a Tony), including the Outstanding New Zealand Play of the Year Award.

Cast member Julia Croft won best supporting actress, while David Ward won the Composer of the Year Award for his South Asian-flavored score.

The production’s “showstopper” is a cover of Queen and David Bowie’s “Under Pressure,” which Ward plays on a traditional Chinese instrument that resembles a banjo.

A scene from Indian Theatre Company's Kiss

Rajan, along with co-writer and fellow Indian Ink co-founder Justin Lewis, spent two years developing the play, which unfolds on the fictitious island of Karukum.

The location may be fake — Karukum means “blue monkey” in Malayalam, a language spoken in India — but its inspiration, Rajan says, is a very real island off the coast of Malaysia.

“Justin was holidaying there in very modest accommodations on the beach, but up on the hill was a newly constructed five-star resort,” Rajan recalls over the phone from Auckland, New Zealand. “It had beds, it had the works, but it was entirely occupied by monkeys.”

After asking around, Lewis learned that developers had built the place without securing water rights from the local village.

“Eventually they had to move, and the resort got taken over by the jungle,” Rajan says.

As with other Indian Ink productions, “Kiss the Fish” incorporates plenty of masks — these ones Rajan commissioned to a Balinese master carver.

The play’s influences may “come from far and wide,” Rajan says, but he thinks American audiences will respond to Sidu’s story.

After all, the idea to incorporate Freddie Mercury into “Kiss the Fish” originated here in Lawrence.

Back in 2013, one of Rajan’s cousins traveled from Cleveland to Lawrence to see him perform in Indian Ink’s “Guru of Chai” at the Lied Center. The pair was hanging out at a bar after the show when Rajan’s cousin began sharing stories of his boyhood in India.

Turns out, he and Freddie Mercury had attended boarding school together in Mumbai.

“That’s the lovely thing about writing a play,” says Rajan, who plans to visit The Burger Stand and Free State Brewery while in town. “You can’t help but reach into your own life.”