Overview
Storyteller, photographer and Sydney arts scene mainstay William Yang remembers that, at the age of six, he was made to feel that "being Chinese was a terrible curse". Many times over he's turned these painful memories — as well as joyful and often tantalisingly debauched ones — into "warm, humorous and very honest" performances. Now he directs a group of six Asian Australians to tell their own stories, which they have developed together with writer and media personality Annette Shun Wah and composer Nicholas Ng.
Using words and images from personal collections, Stories Then and Now drifts from a fishing boat journey to a decadent cruise and from labour farm to Shanghai burlesque club. The past and present overlap in the intoxicating stories, woven on stage by Ien Ang, Jenevieve Chang, Michael CS Park, Sheila Pham, Paul van Reyk and Willa Zheng.
How does an individual reconcile a traumatic past to inhabit the present? How do we, as a nation, come to terms with the collective memory of our history of institutionalised racism? What is life really like for immigrants and refugees attempting to establish themselves in Australian society? It all starts to come out as these individuals navigate memories of heartbreak, cultural displacement and the destruction of war.
Stories Then and Now plays from May 22-25 under the umbrella of the Sydney Writers' Festival. Thanks to Carriageworks, we have two double passes to give away. To be in the running, subscribe to Concrete Playground (if you haven't already) then email us with your name and postal address at hello@concreteplayground.com.au.