Welcome to our latest series of interviews with artists bringing their shows to Vault – Vaulty Chattles!
As part of A Pinch of Vault, the mini-version of Vault Festival running from late-Feb, She and I is produced and directed by Belle Bao, and performed by Ayisha Mi.
Where: Etcetera Theatre, The Glitch at A Pinch of Vault; Etcetera Theatre
When: 22-24, 27 Feb (various times)
Ticket link: https://www.wearevault.org/apov/she-and-i
https://www.citizenticket.com/events/etcetera-theatre/she-and-i/
Tell me a bit about She and I, your new show! What should audiences expect from it?
She and I is a one-woman play inspired by a real murder case, unraveling the misogyny and patriarchy ingrained in traditional East Asian society.
The story centres around a Chinese girl implicated in a murder case involving her flatmate, a hairdresser who fled her hometown.
From the perspectives of these two women, the play presents pervasive issues of domestic and gender violence in their families and culture and how it leads to darkness.
This play is quite a brave movement to confront and challenge societal silence and stigma. This is my first time directing and dramaturging a crime thriller, so I’m very excited about it!
I believe the audience can expect more than just watching a work-in-progress; they can anticipate an integrated visual and aural experience in the theatre.
By following small clues and signs, the audience will piece together the missing puzzle and unravel the truth. I won’t spoil it, but there is more than one twist in this crime story.
I hope that we can offer not only an opportunity to encourage empowerment among East Asian women but also an intriguing night enjoying some fun of uncovering the backstory.
What’s the best thing about being part of a festival like A Pinch of Vault?
A Pinch of Vault provides us with a wonderful opportunity to develop the play with generous support while receiving useful feedback from the audience and reviewers.
It creates a platform for us to collaborate, communicate, and work regularly with other members to develop the play from multiple perspectives and incorporate various elements that enrich the piece in new dimensions.
We also have the chance to connect with many incredible creatives and observe how they integrate cutting-edge and experimental components into their work.
Additionally, we encounter numerous fresh stories and agendas that people care about, which motivates and encourages us in the development of our pieces and future projects.
During rehearsals for She and I, we thoroughly enjoy exploring our shared cultural backgrounds and creating something empowering.
We are excited to have this opportunity and space to experiment and see how it unfolds. We eagerly anticipate the audience’s reaction at A Pinch of Vault.
For Ayisha – this play is about crime, culture, and connection. Have you enjoyed exploring this as a solo performer?
I really enjoyed it! Obviously it’s very challenging to perform two characters in different age ranges and from different cultural and educational backgrounds.
During rehearsals with director, Belle, we are exploring different movements and voices for them. Although it’s a one-person show, I’ll play 4 characters out of the total 9.
The relationships between them are complicated. Everyone has their own personalities and backgrounds. While developing these characters, I found that I’m also learning and improving my acting craft, which is definitely inspiring and helpful!
I’ve always been passionate about crime stories; designing and hiding clues in details makes me tremor. I also love using my body and imagination to create connections between characters and bring the whole story to life for the audience.
Therefore, I’m enthusiastic about this show, and I love the entire process of working with my director and the writer!
For Ayisha – does your experience as a non-binary performer, does it give the play an extra edge or resonance?
Honestly, my feelings are complicated. Growing up in my culture, I loved acting, but I’ve always been asked to play ‘a girl’ or ‘a woman’.
The roles they wrote are actually very stereotypical female roles due to binary standards and patriarchal societal backgrounds.
The roles are always trapped by their ‘female identity’ and not seen as human beings. This is not only happening to female actors but also restricting everyone in the industry.
Personally, I completely stand for women because I’ve inhabited a female body for the last 25 years and have witnessed the struggles and situations females face. I will always use my work to discuss and support women.
However, since I was very young, I haven’t felt like I actually identify with any binary genders and have always just wanted to be seen as human.
Although there is a lot of resistance from the environment, especially when it comes to acting and working, I think in general, people are still in the stage of understanding and learning more about gender diversity.
Right now, there are many words that haven’t been created yet. For example, what do we call a non-binary person who is your sibling? Sister or brother?
We need to use our artwork to create more spaces for people to discuss and explore, and ultimately, accept and support. I think that’s what art does; it melts barriers between individuals and creates more understanding.
Regarding this show, I hope that by using my perspective to explore and develop the characters, they can somehow jump out from the ‘gaze’ that people always put on females based on binary standards and just let the characters be human.
The suffering they’ve faced because they’ve been seen as ‘women’ and disciplined for many years, but I believe they are definitely not symbols that ‘have been mistreated because of their genders’; they are human beings and souls just like you and me.
What’s next for She and I?
Our future plan is to expand the piece into a full-length play, focusing on strengthening the characters and enriching the story to make it more compelling.
We aim to captivate audiences with the intricacies of the plot and the depth of the characters’ emotions, leaving them deeply moved and eager for more.
Furthermore, we will explore various possibilities for audience interaction to provide a fully immersive experience of investigating a murder case.
Additionally, we intend to showcase the play at more festivals and theatres to reach a larger audience and engage them with the characters, the story, and the overall production.