Introducing the landscape of Bound Feet Blues – The South Downs Way

December 2, 2015November 10, 2015 / Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

A climactic scene in Bound Feet Blues takes place on a 100 mile walk along the South Downs Way as writer/ performer Yang-May Ooi and her gang of hiking friends come across the majestic vista of the Seven Sisters. Here are some pictures taken from Pinterest to give you a glimpse of the beautiful and dramatic landscape featured in this solo show.

** 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 **

The South Downs Way, 100 miles from Winchester to Eastbourne – via Pinterest https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/174092341816790690/

2. Plumpton to Eastbourne "The direct train from London Victoria takes less than an hour to reach the East Sussex village of Plumpton," encourages Sarah Baxter. "From here, follow the rolling South Downs Way for around 25 miles to Eastbourne, via Saxon Lewes, the Cuckmere River and the Seven Sisters chalk cliffs, overnighting at Alfriston youth hostel en route." Where: nationaltrail.co.uk/southdowns:

The Seven Sisters – vvia Pinterest https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/148548487684014521/

The Seven Sisters | 13 Breathtaking Places To Visit In Sussex:

Seven hills rolling out over the white chalk cliffs – via Pinterest, https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/361132463843448476/

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 **

The longest journey begins with a single step

January 29, 2015January 29, 2015 / Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

“The longest journey begins with a single step ” – that is the inspiring quote I am using as the opening epigraph for my book of Bound Feet Blues.

It is apt for the topic of bound feet and in particular the pain of walking in bound feet – but also encompasses any endeavour we may try.

Step by step.

That is what got Cheryl Strayed through her thousand mile hike along the Pacific Crest Trail, as portrayed in her book and the movie of the same name, Wild. That is how my great-grandmother escaped an unhappy marriage in China, on her bound feet, to make a new Continue reading →

Walking Wild, Walking Free

January 20, 2015January 20, 2015 / Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

One of the themes of my show Bound Feet Blues is the power of being able to walk on your own two feet. This theme is a very personal one for me as I love being able to stride about. In my daily life, I value being able to choose where I go and taking in the busy urban landscape of London at a walking pace. I also love long walks in the countryside and in particular, walking on long distance trails.

With my partner and our friends, over the last three years, I have walked almost 300 miles along some of Britain’s most beautiful long distance paths.

So, as you can imagine, I am an avid fan of Cheryl Strayed‘s hiking memoir Wild – about her 1,000 mile transformational hike along the Pacific Crest Trail in America. And last weekend, we headed off to the movies to see the film version starring Reese Witherspoon. See the trailer below.

The movie is a terrific adaptation of the book, bringing out the internal journey as much as the external journey. The story is as much about a an intense mother-daughter relationship as it is about Cheryl’s discovery of who she is through the solo challenge of the long distance hike – in fact, the two themes are inextricably linked. This thread means a lot to me as Bound Feet Blues is also about intense mother-daughter relationships – and self-discovery is portrayed through two life transforming hikes!

Here’s what the New York Times Review said of Wild: Continue reading →

Imagine a grown woman with baby feet

August 20, 2014August 21, 2014 / Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

It’s difficult for us in the modern world to imagine how small bound feet were. Whenever I say to people that some of the smallest bound feet were only 3 inches long, they register that that is small but it’s only when they see exactly how small 3 inches is, that the horror of it hits them.

In order to illustrate how tiny bound feet were for “Breaking Tradition”, my award-winning talk inspired by the stories in Bound Feet Blues, I went online to order a pair of baby shoes. I searched and searched for baby shoes that were 3 inches long but the smallest size that I could find came to just over 4 inches.

The photo above shows me holding those 4+ inch baby shoes during Continue reading →

A Chinese woman walking with Bound Feet [video]

August 17, 2014August 18, 2014 / Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

As part of my inquiry what it would like to walk with bound feet for my performance of Bound Feet Blues, I found this video of an elderly Chinese woman with bound feet.

I have been watching it to get a sense of her movement so that it can help me portray the walk of a woman with bound feet in my show.

The main thing that I notice is that she does not Continue reading →

Why I love this pair of battered biker boots

July 20, 2014July 19, 2014 / Yang-May Ooi / 5 Comments

I’ve been blogging a lot about high heels recently and in particular, my efforts to recreate a swaying, high heeled walk for a scene in Bound Feet Blues.

To give you a contrast – and especially to show you who I am now, here is a photo of the kind of footwear that I stride around in these days.

This is the pair of biker boots that I wear most often in my daily life. They are now a bit beaten up and grungy looking. But I love them because they are the most comfortable pair of boots I have at the moment.

I love the way that they make me feel a bit tough, especially with the two strapped buckles on the side. If you know me, you know that I’m really a softy and not much of a hard-ass biker chick at all – but it gives me a kick (ha ha) to stomp around in these boots that make me feel as if I could win any bar brawl…

For me, the shoes or boots that I wear can really affect Continue reading →

My favourite pair of hiking boots [Bound Feet Blues]

April 23, 2014April 30, 2014 / Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

This pair of boots has taken me 200+ miles – along the South Downs Way and the Cotswold Way and more. It will soon clock 300 miles once we do St Cuthbert’s Way later this year…via Flickr http://flic.kr/p/niG6G5

How to avoid Easter Bank Holiday traffic [Bound Feet Blues]

April 22, 2014April 22, 2014 / Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

One of the things I love the most is going for walks in nature, roaming free under the power of my own two feet. We tried to drive out of London on the Easter Bank Holiday and got stuck in traffic not far from home – so we veered off to our local woods and had a leisurely walk. By not being attached to our destination, we could relax and discover a lovely afternoons walking wherever we found ourselves.

via Flickr http://flic.kr/p/ngZ4Hw