Scenes from a Repatriation
A 1000-year-old statue of the Boddhisattva Guan Yin lives in The British Museum.
When it emerges that the statue was stolen from its original home, the museum attempts to deflect both the public response and controversial repatriation claims from the Chinese government.
As statesmen scheme and grease their palms, beneath the statue witches dance, a cleaner prays, and spirits weep. Guan Yin’s gaze falls over the broken shards of human life from empires old and new.
Joel Tan’s shape-shifting play unfolds the statue’s journey from China to Britain and back again, stirring up centuries of ghosts. Directed by experimental theatre-makers emma + pj (Ghosts of the Near Future, Barbican), Scenes from a Repatriation questions who can claim cultural artefacts – and why.
Author: Joel Tan
Direction: emma + pj
Design: TK Hay
Lighting Design: Alex Fernandes
Sound Design: Patch Middleton
Video Design: Tyler Forward
Movement Direction: Ken Nakajima
Dialect & Language Coach: Jenru Wang
Costume Supervisor: Ellen Ray de Castro
Casting Director: Jatinder Chera
Ensemble:
Kaja Chan, Aiden Cheng, Jon Chew,
Fiona Hampton, Robyn Khor Yong Kuan, Sky Yang
Assistant Designer : Yijing Cheng
Stage Manager : Aimee Neeme
Deputy Stage Manager : Daze Corder
Produced + Supported by:
