Yang-May Ooi, writer/ performer of Bound Feet Blues, talks about what LGBTQ stories – and esp lesbian stories – can teach the wold about the universal human experiences of love, courage and heroism.
Bound Feet Blues is about more than bound feet. The brutal practice of footbinding in ancient China is a metaphor in the show for the cultural norms that bind us – as women and also in terms of our individual sexuality. An integral part of Continue reading
Eldarin Yeong produced the showcase of Bound Feet Blues in Oct last year and is now working on the full production of the show for its 3 week run in Nov/ Dec this year. She brings her calm, efficient energy to the administrative, logistical and business side of the production, pulling it all together to make sure everything goes smoothly.
Eldarin is a theatre producer and director, and the columnist on Theatre and Arts for UK Chinese Times newspaper. Her producing credits include: The Rites of Spring/ Romeo and Juliet (Concert Theatre National Tour), Normal Love (Lilian Bailey, Sadler’s Wells), Thor of the Common Man The Cockpit London), Aquatic The Cockpit London), film Atalantas (British Film Institute),The Monster in the Hall National Theatre of Scotland & Shanghai Grand Theatre) and Continue reading
Yang-May Ooi will be taking part in an evening of East Asian story-exchanges with other established and upcoming East Asian artists at the Bush Theatre on 20 Oct 2015. The event is hosted by Papergang Theatre, a platform for British East Asian artist.
Here is what Papergang has to say about the evening:
Listen as our guests divulge personal anecdotes born from the different cultures that have shaped them – fantastical tales, personal truths, memories of far-flung shores or incidents that happened right here in our city.”
The event is already sold out!
Yang-May will be performing an extract from Bound Feet Blues. She says: “I’m also looking forward to seeing Continue reading
The male gaze has controlled how women look and behave for centuries. In ancient China, that view of women as decorative objects led to the brutal practice of footbinding that crippled Chinese women for a thousand years. Today, women in the West are still expected to be pleasing to men in how we dress and act. In celebration of National Coming Out Day, writer/ performer Yang-May Ooi looks at how coming out as lesbian can be a defiance against that objectifying gaze that is as much about personal empowerment as it is about sexual orientation….
Read the full article on Zusterchap by clicking on the image below:
Zusterschap is a blog for women who want to challenge social norms:
“Every woman’s voice is a victory and our goal is to highlight the power of women coming together. No topic is off limits and at Zusterschap we are dedicated to creating a safe space for women.
Our goal is to create a supportive community that anybody can support. We want to encourage people into thinking it’s okay to be different and that it’s okay to want to challenge what society tells us. You don’t have to believe what is being sold to you because it’s all made up anyway.”
Zusterschap was founded March 24th, 2015 by Tara Costello and Katherine Hockley.
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You can buy tickets for Bound Feet Blues via bit.ly/bfbtickets
DETAILS
Tristan Bates Theatre
1A Tower St, Covent Garden WC2H 9NP
Tue 24 Nov – Sat 12 Dec, Tue – Sat at 7.30pm.
Tickets £16 / £12 concessions.
Q&As post-show, 27 Nov & 4 Dec.
To celebrate National Coming Out Day tomorrow, Sunday 11 Oct, writer/ performer Yang-May Ooi shares an extract from her memoir Bound Feet Blues – A Life Told in Shoes, the book that is inspired by her solo theatre piece of the same name. Bound Feet Blues is as much about Yang-May’s journey to discovering her sexual identity as it is the story of the women in her family.
Coming out is a rite of passage.
In the world of debutantes and high society, it is an ancient tradition going back generations. When a young woman comes of age, she is invited to a coming out ball to introduce her to society – and in the aristocratic classes in Britain, to present her to the monarch. It is her “debut” into the world as an adult – or, rather, as a fertile virgin of a marriagable age. This custom continues to this day among the elite not just in Britain but also, surprisingly, in the ideally classless societies of Australia and the United States.
The coming out ball is the moment when high society gathers to view the future of their dynasties. Debutantes customarily wear white ball gowns, sometimes with long white Cinderella gloves and sometimes with tiaras or both. If you Google images of “debutante ball coming out”, you will see that the styles of the ball dresses have changed little since Victorian times and often the young women are indistinguishable from each other in their demure, beautiful uniforms. The eligible young bachelors gather round them in white tie and tails and suddenly, we are back in the world of Jane Austen and Downton Abbey and fairy tale princesses.
For a young woman in that society, to come out is to emerge from Continue reading
To put one person on stage for a solo theatre show like Bound Feet Blues, you need a team of other talented professionals working behind the scenes to make sure a range of components are all in place – from the creative vision, to production and business matters, set and lighting design, costume and the running of the show every night. There is also of course the theatre space that is the foundation of the whole project.
Over the next few weeks, we will be introducing you to the creative team here on this blog. Today, we would like to introduce to you – and thank – our supporters and sponsors without whom this 3 week production of Bound Feet Blues would not be possible.
This production of Bound Feet Blues – as well as research and development for the showcase performance in Oct last year – is generously supported by funding from Arts Council, England. We are grateful for their support.
Arts Council England champions, develops and invests in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich people’s lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to digital art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. We believe that art and culture make life better, helps to build diverse communities and improves our quality of life. Great art and culture can inspire our education system, boost our economy and give our nation international standing. – See more at: http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/what-we-do/#sthash.VUv8wa3X.dpuf
We are indebted to The Housing Finance Corporation, which is match-funding this production of Bound Feet Blues.
Piers Williamson, Chief Executive, says: “THFC is proud to sponsor this intriguing piece of theatre. Bound Feet Blues is a show with an impassioned message about personal empowerment, acceptance of diversity and the relationship of an individual within her community. These themes are consistent with our corporate values as an independent mutually owned finance company and our core business of funding affordable housing in diverse communities. We hope that you will enjoy this innovative and thought-provoking theatre piece.”
THFC is an independent, specialist, not-for-profit organisation that makes loans to regulated Housing Associations, that Continue reading
Yang-May Ooi, writer/ performer of Bound Feet Blues – A Life Told in Shoes, talks about how shoes and bound feet in her extra-ordinary theatre piece are a metaphor for who we are – and who we long to be.
Bound Feet Blues – A Life Told in Shoes is a solo story performance written and performed by Yang-May Ooi and directed by Jessica Higgs. A memoir of the same name by Yang-May Ooi is also being published.
ABOUT THE SHOW
In an epic journey from China via East Asia and Australia to England, British-Malaysian writer-performer Yang-May Ooi explores female empowerment and desirability through the oral histories of three generations of her family and the shoes in her life. Yang-May uses the ancient Chinese tradition of footbinding experienced by Continue reading
Bound Feet Blues - A Life Told in Shoes 