HOME OF WHITE_MESS/ALICE CANTON
WHITE_MESS is a creative, open structure that facilitates the production of highly diverse theatre projects and collaborations. The company was established by performer and theatre-artist Alice Canton, and is currently based in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland), New Zealand.
White Mess 是一个有创意、开放式的结构，有助于生产高度多样化的戏剧项目和合作。
该组织由表演者和剧院艺术家Alice Canton在奥克兰成立。
![OTHER {chinese]](https://whitemess.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/other-chinese-e1513510733658.jpg?w=644)
Following on from the success of her 2016 season of WHITE/OTHER, writer and director Alice Canton (ORANGUTAN, Dance Like Everybody’s Watching) delves even deeper into the uncomfortable and nuanced conversation about identity in OTHER [chinese].
This large-scale community engagement project invites interested participants from a variety of backgrounds to investigate the complexity of Chinese identity in contemporary New Zealand, examining the everyday lives, rituals, historical events, and memories of Chinese in Aotearoa. Volunteers participate in a series of weekly workshops, creating opportunities to connect with people from a range of ages, genders, political leanings, education and locations who are interested in what it is to be Chinese in their community, here and now.
Audiences experience the realisation of these stories and conversations in OTHER [chinese], where Canton invites up to 100 performers on stage for this live, documentary theatre show.
OTHER [chinese] opens up conversations in order to create meaningful change in the world, and challenges the many forms of cultural mis-representation, discrimination and invisibility that exists around Chinese identity.
“OTHER [chinese] is something that New Zealand needs. It’s a testament to Canton’s skill as a storyteller and facilitator that the show, and its accompanying workshops, convey a strong sense of empowerment through the affirmation of personal experiences. And this is something that we have been waiting a long time to see.“
– Amy Weng, The Pantograph Punch
TEAM
Director and Creator: Alice Canton
Producer: Julie Zhu
Lighting and Production Design: Brad Gledhill and Rachel Marlow
Dramaturg: Kate Prior
Stage Manager: Natasha Hoyland
Video Content: Kelly Chen
AV Design: Jessica McCall
Sound Design: Matt Eller
Community Liaison: Coco Cui
PERFORMANCE HISTORY
Q Theatre, Auckland New Zealand
6 – 16 September 2017
AWARDS
Best Show of 2017 – Metro Magazine
Excellence Award for Overall Production – Auckland Theatre Awards, 2017
Hackman Cup for Most Original Production – Auckland Theatre Awards, 2017
“OTHER [chinese] is educational, gentle and filled with off-the-cuff humour…increases cross-cultural understanding (elsewhere, sometimes a solemn goal) and does so in a fun and enjoyable way.”
– Janet McCallister, NZ Herald
WITH SUPPORT BY:
Radio New Zealand: No Longer the “Other”?
Hainamana: New Zealand Chinese Performing Arts: A Passing of the Torch
NZ Herald: PM Jacinda Ardern craves the day when arts valued by all
Vice: The Everyday Erasure of Being a Chinese New Zealander
NZ Herald: Q Theatre play delves into question of Chinese identity
NZ Herald: Twelve Questions with Julie Zhu
Radio New Zealand: “What is Being Chinese?”
The Speakeasy: Interview: Alice Canton
The Pantograph Punch: Loose Canons: Alice Canton
The Big Idea: Questioning Authenticity
Tearaway Magazine: Chats with Alice Canton: What is being Chinese?
Maori Television: Chinese identity in Aotearoa
Harbour News: Auckland show invites 100 Chinese people to share their stories
The Pantograph Punch Review: Rejecting Singularity: Review OTHER [chinese]
NZ Herald Review: OTHER [chinese] Review
Tearaway Review: In Review: OTHER [chinese]
Theatreview Review #1: Somewhat Agree
Theatreview Review #2: A Rich Array of Experiences and Ideas
Theatrescenes Review: Review: OTHER [chinese]
What’s Good Blog Review: Seen: OTHER [chinese]
