A walking theatre production, Beyond Chinatown: A British East and South East Asian Guide to Manchester’s Past, Present and Future will take place in Manchester this month.
The production is presented by Yellow Earth Theatre as part of Signal Fires, a series of events being presented nationwide this Autumn by the UK’s leading touring theatre companies.
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Audiences will meet at the restaurant Sweet Mandarin in the Northern Quarter to hear an excerpt from Yellow Earth’s 2018 play Mountains – The Dreams of Lily Kwok by In-Sook Chappell. This will be followed by a torch led audio walk, written by disabled artist Chris Shapiro and guided by performance artist, Megan Arnold; leading onto new short pieces by Jasmine Chong, Houmi Miura, Anna Nguyen, and Mei Yuk Wong. The production completes its journey with a performance by Yellow Earth Manchester Performers Academy 2020, ending at The Peterloo Massacre Memorial in front of The Central Convention Centre.
Beyond Chinatown is produced by Grace Ng-Ralph and Anna Nguyen with dramaturgy by Naomi Sumner and direction by Nickie Miles-Wildin and Kash Arshad and supported by The Lowry.
Speaking about the production, Kumiko Mendl, Artistic Director of Yellow Earth Theatre said, “Alongside our colleagues from touring theatre companies across the UK, we wanted to come together and highlight the precarious situation our industry currently finds itself in. Signal Fires is the result, acting not only as a warning, but also as a beacon of hope. Beyond Chinatown will give voice to the presence of British East and South East Asians in the city of Manchester past, present and future and serve as a reminder that to reimagine theatre means reimagining an inclusive one.”
The production is operating in line with current government guidelines and incorporating strict COVID-19 secure measures including hygiene protocols and social distancing.
When is Beyond Manchester performed in Manchester?
Beyond Manchester takes place at 11am, 2pm and 5pm on Saturday 31 October. A digital presentation will be made via Zoom on Sunday 1 November at 5pm. Tickets are available via Eventbrite.
