'Such a moving and bold Asian queer play' - Audience Review
TANA
Co-created by Isabella Londoño and Felicia Jiang
Length:
75 minutes (no interval)
Language:
English - Chinese
Audience:
+18
Trigger warnings:
It may content sexual explicit language and images - The scene takes place during COVID lockdown.
Embark on a captivating journey of desire, liberation, and the pursuit of queer utopia in a surrealistic tale rooted in reality. Tana weaves together spoken word, physical theatre, and cabaret, within the confines of a London lockdown. This play intimately explores the universal yearning for identity and belonging through the eyes of two young Asians. As they challenge societal constraints, the boundaries between dreams and reality blur, igniting a powerful quest for self-discovery and acceptance.
About:
Based on a true story, this play aims to establish a dialogue with the spectator about the possibilities of being and how fluctuating relationships are under the magnifying glass of habits. What defines us as identity and at the same time how many identities we inhabit are some of the questions that cross our protagonists during the two months they lived confined to the living room of a studio apartment that their course director lent them during the lockdown.
With a surrealist tone, the narrative is divided between everyday life and dreams, opening F's inner universe to the viewer's eyes, and will make visible the ghost of that teacher who unwittingly affects the way in which T previously developed his identity.
“The performers were SO talented. It's well written. As a queer Chinese person I felt super seen and represented"
Synopsis:
When F and T had to move together during the first lockdown into the living room of their teacher’s apartments, they didn’t know that the clear boundaries that their friendship held suddenly would begin to blur when they started to play cross-dressing with each other. Something new emerged, or someone new… Tana. ‘Who am I falling in love with? What am I falling in love with?’ A play about boundaries, identity, and sexuality in a queer- Asian context.
“As queer artists coming from oppressive cultures which we often felt estranged from, we faced similar challenges here as migrants. Tana is an act of resistance, trying to bring attention to those challenges"
“Had a really impressive night at Bar Soho with Tana project leading! Thank you all for presenting such a moving and bold Asian queer play tonight! The forbidden room, the desire of the characters and their relationship just like the bloody chamber and THE KEY of going in Tana is two lonely hearts”
Details:
As a production, Tana had a successful premiere season during September and October 2022: performed in two venues, demonstrating that as a production it is versatile as it works in both conventional and non-conventional venues, and with a 90% box office sales.
Soho Bar - September 20, 21 and 22 (2022): A space for 50 people on the second floor of a bar in the heart of Soho, London.
Camden People's Theatre - September 30 and October 1 (2022), as part of the autumn season: a space for 65 people, committed with new narratives and alternative ways to create theater and engage with audiences.
In 2023 the production had a first run at the Bread and Roses Theatre - July 5, 6 and 7 as part of it's EdFringe Preview season and then on August 2 it started their 20 day run as part of the C Arts programme at the Edinburgh Fringe 2023!
"At the heart of the piece is a well depicted central narrative, an unfolding situation, an evolving encounter between two young people, there is some impressive, authentic character acting, fringed with some more anarchic polemic about pleasure and the sacred nature of sex and hedonism. The piece has the intention to break rules in theatrical form, is bold and unapologetic in its brash interference with the linear narrative." - Published August 24, 2023 by Paul Levy at fringereview.co.uk
Created by:
Co-created by Isabella Londoño and Felicia Jiang
Director:
Isabella Londoño
Cast:
Felicia Jiang, Sonny Kong, Celeste Cahn.
Creative associate:
Mariia Tiunova
Music:
Dmitry Sereda
Light design:
Carly Altberg
Consultants:
Khushboo Sah, Graham Desouza
Consultant producer:
Iona Bremner
Technicians:
Baptiste Mireau, Melissa Remus
Photographer:
Baptiste Mireau
Poster design:
Laura Londoño
'I felt like I was touching an injured but powerful string when watching'
“'Tana' was a mesmerizing performance moving from joy to sadness in an instant. The compelling performers drew the audience into their worlds with beautiful movements, eloquies of queer sadness and cheeky moments of fun and frolics. It's a poignant piece of theatre I'd highly recommend” - Leon Clowes
Minimum stage / Performance space size:
4 Mtrs x 3 Mtrs
Set up / Get in time:
20 minutes / 3 Hours
Touring / Company size:
6 people including cast.
Upcoming dates:
DRAG FOR THE FUTURE at Pushkin House
Join Masha Tiunova and Felicia Jiang/FJ of Tana Theatre Company in this2 hour workshop where we will co-create our visions through drag, create unique personas and celebrate them through a catwalk performance.
The event is a part of our ongoing exploration of the themes of migration, diaspora and queer ecologies.
The event is a part of our ongoing exploration of the themes of migration, diaspora and queer ecologies.
Dates:
SAT 15 JUNE 2024
12:00—02:00 PM
Venue:
Pushkin House - 5A Bloomsbury Square, London, WC1A 2TA