Words: Elodie Marriot
3 Stars
A Funeral for My Friend Who Is Still Alive expresses the sadness and grief a woman faces when her friend is forced out of their homeland. This performance contains many firsts for Kasen Tsui: her first Fringe, solo debut, and English show. It is a sombre tale narrated with optimism and sureness.
Shooting darting looks at each individual in the audience, it feels like she’s reminding us to pay close attention. With minimal music and audio elements, we are hooked on her every word. Rather than over-relying on props, she mimes instead, whether it’s everyday actions like smoking and playing tennis, or less ordinary things like trying to outrun teargas.
The show conveys the complex emotions attached to nostalgia, showing us the good times with her friend, along with the trauma caused by what she has seen as a journalist. While the story of the present is bleak, it is a performance of hope. Her wish to be reunited with her friend in an improved and peaceful city. But a future cannot be built without a solid foundation of a collective past.
Kasen Tsui urges us to see more performances by artists from Hong Kong, as the shows create a platform for them to speak freely. Through art, it is possible to fight for important topics to remain in the public’s memory, even when political forces strive to make people forget.
A Funeral for My Friend Who Is Still Alive
theSpace @ Niddry Street, Studio
10.00
Aug 12
