This July, Theatre Works present two separate works from two Singaporean artists about adapting to change and what it means to call Australia home.
Joe Lui’s Letters Home – an autobiographical play which explores his life in exile after refusing military service in Singapore, making him a criminal and unable to return home. Jamie Lewis presents Saltwater – a poignant work about being a new wife away from home.
Letters Home
Joe Lui moved to Australia with his family and worked as a child actor. In his teens he made a decision to pursue a career as an artist and in doing so avoided the compulsory military service required of all young Singaporean males. Now he’s become a criminal in the eyes of his parents and his home country, and he can never return home.
Lui presents a deeply personal and honest story about confronting his past to forge his future. Using Chinese myths and pop culture icons, he delves deep into the nature of his rebellious spirit that led him to decide not to return to Singapore to complete his obligatory two years of military service.
Part spoken-word, part reading and part live memoir, he recounts the unsent letters he wrote to his parents and incorporates live music and clips from his time as a child actor. This is Joe’s life laid bare; the good, the not so good and the downright perverse.
Writer, Director & Performer: Joe Lui Set & Costume Designer: Cherish Marrington Video Designer: Mia Holton Lighting Designer: Chris Donnelly
Saltwater
Jamie finds herself married and migrated. To make things work, she channels the women in her life to find the answers. Saltwater is a poignant account of home as she grapples with the gravity of being a wife 6060km away. This is a live art experience that invites 15 strangers to sit at her dinner table, participate in the preparation of a meal, and travel through memories of Singapore, as Jamie remembers her mother and the blueprint she left on her life.
In 2012, Lewis was a recipient of a Green Room Award for Outstanding Production - Creative Agency for Audiences along with co-creator Dan Koop & Co. for the live art experience The Stream / The Boat / The Shore / The Bridge. In this world premiere production, Saltwater is an evening of storytelling, conversations, and food.
Lead Artist: Jamie Lewis Design Collaborator: Kerensa Diball
Letters Home / Saltwater
Theatre Works, Acland Street, St. Kilda
Season: 2 – 12 July 2015
Bookings: (03) 9534 3388 or online at: www.theatreworks.org.au (tickets can be purchased individually or as a double-bill)
For more information, visit: www.theatreworks.org.au for details.
Image: Joe Lui and Jamie Lewis