women

Meet Bound Feet Blues Q&A chair Beverley Glick (27 November 2015)

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There are 3 Q&A sessions taking place during the Bound Feet Blues three week run. The first one will take place after the show on Friday 27 November 2015. We are delighted to welcome back Beverley Glick to chair this first Q&A of the full production. Beverley was our Q&A host for the showcase in October last year and steered us through the evening with quiet warmth. This first Q&A is going to be engaging and discursive with her in the chair again. So please do come and join us on Friday 27 November to see the show and take part in the discussion afterwards with Beverley, writer/ performer Yang-May Ooi and director Jessica Higgs.

Beverley Glick

Beverley Glick has been a professional storyteller for 35 years – first as a music journalist and pop magazine editor and subsequently in a variety of roles on national newspapers. In recent years she trained as a presence-based coach and now help individuals and business owners dig for the personal stories that will change their lives and change the world. She is also a public speaking coach, co-host a live storytelling event (thestoryparty.co.uk) and the author of Dig for the Story in Your Soul – #StoryWisdom to help you author an authentic life (out now on Amazon).

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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

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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:

resonance screenshot

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.

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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 **

From storytelling to stage performance – Yang-May Ooi talks about her journey from writer to performer

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British-Malaysian writer/ performer Yang-May Ooi has been interviewed for Outstation.my, the online magazine for expat Malaysians, by writer/ journalist Ai-Leen Lim. In the interview, she talks about her journey from writer to performer in creating Bound Feet Blues, her solo stage show, opening in London’s West End on 24 November.

You can read the full article, – brilliantly titled “The Rebel Bearing Shoes”! – with background information about Yang-May by clicking on the image below…

outstation screenshot

Outstation.my is an online magazine for Malaysians living abroad. Ai-Leen Lim is a writer/ journalist from Malaysia, now living in London.

Continue reading →

Introducing the world of Bound Feet Blues: Going to a ball at Oxford

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Bound Feet Blues takes the audience on a journey across Europe, Asia and Australia to tell the stories in writer/ performer Yang-May Ooi’s family and in her own life. We will be giving you a snapshot of these landscapes here on this blog over the next few weeks.

Today, Oxford.

Bound Feet Blues opens with a beautiful young woman walking along Oxford’s High Street  to a summer ball in stiletto shoes…

Here are some photos of the beautiful university city of Oxford and its gorgeous summer balls…

 

from flickr.com, thanks to Jessica Keating Photography – https://www.flickr.com/photos/jessandinca/ (CCL)

 

from flickr.com thanks to Queens Ball 2010 – https://www.flickr.com/photos/queens2010/ (CCL)

Bound Feet Blues: “young men in black tie and us girls in our beautiful ball dresses” – writer/ performer Yang-May Ooi, aged 20, with “Josh” on the night of the ball

Continue reading →

The Legacy of Our Stories – read writer/ performer Yang-May Ooi’s article on the blog of the Life Enhancing Coach, Sue Plumtree

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As older women, we have a wealth of wisdom and experience. But are we sharing those riches with others or are we hiding them from the world? Writer/ performer Yang-May Ooi is taking to the West End stage for the first time, aged 52, to tell her personal story and she wants more women in mid-life to make a difference to others through sharing their stories. She shares her story on the blog of the Life Enhancing Coach, Sue Plumtree

You can read the full article on Sue’s blog by clicking on the image below:

sue-plumtree-screenshot

Sue Plumtree  is an established author. Her first book ‘Across a Crowded Room: how to find and keep the love of your life’ (Hodder Headline) was followed by ‘Dancing with the Mask: learning to love and be loved’ (find out more here).

She is regularly interviewed by the media, including BBC Radio 4’s ‘Woman’s Hour’, ‘late night with Graham Torrington’, ‘The Daily Mail’, ‘The Daily Telegraph’, ‘The Observer’ and Continue reading →

Meet Jessica Higgs, director of Bound Feet Blues

/ Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

Jessica Higgs was the first of the creative team to come on board the production after writer/ performer Yang-May Ooi, directing the showcase performance of Bound Feet Blues in Oct 2014. She is at the helm again taking the show to the next level for the 3 week run of the full production in a few weeks time, opening on 24 November.

JESSICA HIGGS – Director

Jessica Higgs was the founder and Artistic Director of In Tandem TC (2000-08) whose worked focused on difference and integration of difference in society, creating platforms for culturally diverse and unheard voices. For the company she directed an acclaimed Pinter double bill ofLandscape and Mountain Language, translated and performed entirely in British Sign Language by Deaf and hearing actors, and the British Premier of Canadian, Alex Blumer’s Smudge, both at Ovalhouse. Other directing work includes: Julie McNamara’sPigtales and Pig’s Sister (Jackson’s Lane, Ovalhouse, Theatre Workshop Edinburgh and internationally); Will Eno’s Lady Grey (Soho Theatre); Wesker’s Four Portraits – of Mothers(Bridewell Theatre). Jessica is also a voice coach working regularly at Central School of Speech & Drama, British-American Continue reading →

Introducing the landscape of Bound Feet Blues: The Inner Chamber of a Bound Foot Mother

/ Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

In Bound Feet Blues, writer/ performer Yang-May Ooi takes us to a a diverse range of settings and times – from Oxford in England to the Australian Outback, and also the landscape of ancient China. We are giving you a glimpse into these different places here on this blog over the next few weeks.

In a central scene in Bound Feet Blues, Yang-May demonstrates on stage the gruelling process of footbinding on a little girl.  So, today, we introduce you to the inner chamber of a mother with bound feet where such a process would have most likely taken place.

The home was a woman’s domain in ancient China. Within that was the inner chamber, a private space for the women of the household only. There the women would sew and read and tell stories. And  also probably carry out the ritual of footbinding on the daughters of the family.

Women at home – thanks http://depts.washington.edu/

Woman, Qing Dynasty – thanks to http://www.elegantstory.com/, via Pinterest

Women with bound feet via Pinterest

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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.

 

Meet Carol Alayne, costume designer for Bound Feet Blues

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Savile Row tailor Carol Alayne has designed a sleek tunic for writer/ performer Yang-May Ooi, picking up the Chinese theme of the show while creating a timeless feminine shape to sit on top a pair of rugged jeans. The simplicity of the design belies the powerful impact of the costume, in keeping with the minimalist principles underlying the creative vision for Bound Feet Blues.

CAROL ALAYNE, costume designer

Carol Alayne is master tailor, haute couture specialist and mentor with over 30 years professional experience in Savile Row and at a number of leading fashion houses. Her commissions include individually crafted garments for fashion collections, technical wear for top level sports competitors, business and formal attire for prominent executives, traditional safari and field sport outfits, and special items for international artists and musicians. www.tailoringforwomen.com

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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.

Yang-May Ooi, writer and performer of Bound Feet Blues, reveals her secret to Fearless Public Speaking

/ Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

How did an introverted writer who used to hate public speaking find the courage to take to the West End stage in her own solo theatre show? Yang-May Ooi, writer and performer of Bound Feet Blues – A Life Told in Shoes, reveals on the Ginger Public Speaking blog her fearlessness secret to supercharge your confidence as a public speaker.

Click on the image below to read the full article on the Ginger Public Speaking blog….

ginger screenshot

Ginger Public Speaking is a public speaking coaching company founded by Sarah Lloyd-Hughes, a popular speaker on confidence and inspiration and an award winning social entrepreneur, whom I am honoured to call a friend.

Featured in the TEDx series of public speeches, Sarah is an energetic, original and deeply authentic speaker who works with professionals and entrepreneurs to help them communicate with courage. She has successfully taught thousands of people across three continents. As a speaker on confidence, Sarah builds inspiration in her audiences, whatever their experience levels. She challenges and supports them on the journey to become passionate, authentic and inspiring communicators.

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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.

Meet Crin Claxton, production manager for Bound Feet Blues

/ Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

Crin Claxton will be running the show for each performance, taking care of all the technical and behind the scenes details as the production manager to make sure each night goes off without a hitch.

Crin Claxton, Production Manager

Crin Claxton is a highly experienced lighting, sound and AV technician, and lighting designer. She worked as venue technician (chief) and touring technician (LX, sound, stage) for multiple companies and has been production manager and Continue reading →