![OTHER {chinese]](https://whitemess.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/other-chinese-e1513510733658.jpg?w=740)
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:
