Family Story Workshops
Bookings are now open for my live, online family story workshops
Please visit the shop
The Family Stories Project was founded in 2023 from a series of in-person workshops I created in collaboration with Contemporary Asian Australian Performance (caap.org.au). Then, we set off around the country to perform Lost in Shanghai (which is based on my family story) in ten theatres from Darwin to Hobart. I’ve redesigned these workshops so that I can work with individuals and groups and anywhere in Australia and beyond.
The workshop series is perfect for individuals who want to kick-start their family story telling and sharing.
Workshops can also be arranged with communities looking to tell their origin stories in a creative, eye-catching, collaborative project.
Please contact me to discuss.
Workshop testimonials, December 2023
February - March 2024
Lost in Shanghai On Tour 2024
During February – March 2024 I performed Lost in Shanghai (Season 3) in ten theatres around Australia during our February-March 2024 tour.
Lost in Shanghai is my family story. It began with my mum, Beatrice, born in Shanghai, in amixed-race (Eurasian) family. All through my life, pieces of her story; the fragments she didn’t share, have come looking for me.
After leaving journalism in 2019, I finally began to put her story together, pitching it to the creative team at Contemporary Asian Australia Performance (CAAP). I was warned it may take a while for the idea to receive funding so that it could be developed into a work for theatre. In the meantime, I kept researching Mum’s story. During COVID, public libraries opened their digital archives so we could access them from home. As well as finding many revelations during this time, a treasure-trove of historic family images came to light.
In mid 2021 I received news that Sydney Festival had commission this production for its 2022 season. The show was developed over Zoom with a talented group of creatives and our first in-person rehearsal took place shortly after distancing restrictions were lifted in Sydney.
It opened to a sell-out first season in January 2021.