Yang-May Ooi talks toes, feet – and bras! – with Jo Good on BBC London #BoundFeetBlues

December 4, 2015November 30, 2015 / Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

Writer/ performer Yang-May Ooi returned to the BBC London Studio again to talk with Jo Good, one year on from her previous appearance on Jo’s show. Their conversation takes in Yang-May’s versatile toes, bras and the psychology behind the brutal practice of footbinding as depicted in Bound Feet Blues.

** Bound Feet Blues is NOW ON at the Tristan Bates Theatre until Sat 12 December 2015. Don’t miss this “mesmerising” and “powerful” show – buy tickets below or via bit.ly/bfbtickets **

You can listen again by clicking on the image below:

OR via this link

Yang-May Ooi with Jo Good, BBC London 27 Nov 2015

BUY TICKETS

**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.

**BUY ONLINE via: bit.ly/bfbtickets **

Yang-May Ooi on Resonance FM’s Out in South London talking about Bound Feet Blues with Rosie Wilby

November 21, 2015November 21, 2015 / Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

Writer/ performer Yang-May Ooi dropped into the Out in South London studio at Resonance FM earlier this week to talk to Rosie Wilby about Bound Feet Blues, the show and the book. Bound Feet Blues may be about bound feet but it is also Yang-May’s coming out story – and Yang-May chats to Rosie about the metaphor of binding and restriction in the show and how it relates to her emerging lesbian identity. They also talk about friendship and falling in love… of course!

To listen to the conversation with Yang-May, click on the image below:

OR click here to launch the audio player

You can also listen to the whole show via the Out in South London Listen Again page for 17 November 2015.

Out in South London

Out In South London is a weekly LGBT radio show on Resonance 104.4FM that goes out live every Tuesday at 6.30pm. It is devised and presented by comedian Rosie Wilby and jointly produced by Rosie Wilby and Sabine Schereck.

Out in South London started as a monthly show on South City Radio in Peckham in December 2008. Rosie was inspired by shows like Out This Week on Radio 5 Live in the 1990s, where she once worked as a trainee reporter. The show transferred to Resonance 104.4FM in late 2009.

BUY TICKETS

**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.

**BUY ONLINE via: bit.ly/bfbtickets **

Yang-May Ooi on Radio 4 Midweek talking about Bound Feet Blues – audio

November 13, 2015November 12, 2015 / Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

Writer/ performer Yang-May Ooi was on Radio 4 Midweek earlier this week talking about Bound Feet Blues with Libby Purves and other guests Sally Bagnall, Diana Melly and Michael Portillo. Listen to the end to hear her asking Michael Portillo whether he would wear high heel shoes…!

Click on the image below to listen to the audio:

OR click here to listen

Comments from listeners:

” I loved your tea carrying story, your ‘would you wear high heels Michael?’ moment, and your use of the word ‘brutal’ to describe foot binding. It was brutal!”

“You were wonderful! particularly enjoyed your question to Portillo re- high heels.”

BUY TICKETS to Bound Feet Blues

**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.

**BUY ONLINE via: bit.ly/bfbtickets **

L-R: Polly Bagnall, Diana Melly, Yang-May Ooi, Michael Portillo Credit: BBC Midweek

Keep pushing your comfort zone creatively, Bound Feet Blues writer/ performer Yang-May Ooi advises storytellers [audio interview for The Story Party]

November 10, 2015November 7, 2015 / Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

In this audio interview with Beverley Glick for The Story Pary, writer/ performer Yang-May Ooi advises storytellers that the key to creative development is to keep pushing your comfort zone.

She talks about experimentation as the starting point for her remarkable theatre piece Bound Feet Blues, which is a mix of storytelling and performance. And she urges anyone who would like to have a go at storytelling to go for it and contact The Story Party, where she will be joining Beverley Glick next year to offer coaching to would-be storytellers.

You can read Beverley’s intro and listen to the audio interview by clicking on the image below:

You can listen to the full audio interview via the player below:

[audio http://www.thestoryparty.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Yang-May-interview-1.mp3]

The Story Party is a regular storytelling soiree in central London co-founded by Beverley Glick and Mary Ann Mhina. As speakers, writers and advocates of the power of story, we set up The Story Party to create a safe space in which to share personal stories that can deepen our connection to each other – stories that are personal but also universal; stories that speak volumes about what it means to be human. Go to http://www.thestoryparty.co.uk/ to find out more.

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.

Yang-May Ooi, writer and performer of Bound Feet Blues, talks about the power of storytelling and writing from personal experience [video]

November 4, 2015November 5, 2015 / Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

Yang-May Ooi, writer/ performer of Bound Feet Blues talks about the inspiration behind her extra-ordinary solo story performance and the memoir accompanying the theatre piece.

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.

In Memory of “Walter Plinge” – archive audio interview An Actor’s Life for the London Theatre Blog from 2006

October 17, 2015October 18, 2015 / Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

Yang-May Ooi writes:

My dear friend “Walter Plinge”, a retired actor, passed away a few weeks ago.

I interviewed him in 2006 on my Fusion View podcast for the London Theatre Blog and in his memory, I am publishing again the podcast in its entirety below. He talks about his life as a repertory actor in the 1950s. It is a fascinating journey into history and into the craft of acting for anyone who is interested in theatre – and a lovely way for me to remember “Walter”, especially his warm, resonant voice that has a touch of Anthony Hopkins to it.

Click on the image below for the pop up player to listen to the interview. (To return to this page from the player, click the Back button on your browser)

Do our shoes shape who we are? [video] – Yang-May Ooi, writer/ performer of Bound Feet Blues, thinks so

October 6, 2015October 7, 2015 / Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

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 →

Yang-May Ooi on BBC London Live

October 20, 2014October 20, 2014 / Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

I went in to the BBC London Live studios on 16 Oct to chat with the delightful Jo Good about my novels The Flame Tree and Mindgame and also Bound Feet Blues.