Diaspora
Supported by Homecoming Scotland, Visiting Arts,
National Arts Council (Singapore) and the Singapore Arts Festival
National Arts Council (Singapore) and the Singapore Arts Festival
About the Performance
Sweeping, panoramic performance
Diaspora is a sweeping, panoramic performance exploring memory, migration, assimilation and the triumph of the human spirit. Ong Keng Sen's visionary production is an intricate layering of music, video and live story-telling.
Notions of home
Keng Sen and a group of video artists have searched for real-life stories of diaspora and displacement. Through the personal stories of Vietnamese Americans, Indonesian Chinese, Indians in South East Asia, Orang Laut (or sea nomads) and Scottish Muslims, Keng Sen explores notions of home, identity and the dispersion of peoples through war, through birth and through choice.
2000 years of Chinese music
This epic panorama of image and sound is underscored by a timeline of Chinese music spanning 2000 years, ranging from mountain songs to contemporary compositions, performed live by the Singapore Chinese Orchestra.
'Ong Keng Sen is one of Singapore's cultural jewels.' The Guardian
Ong Keng Sen is Leverhulme Artist in Residence at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Edinburgh.
Performance Details
Diaspora is a sweeping, panoramic performance exploring memory, migration, assimilation and the triumph of the human spirit. Ong Keng Sen's visionary production is an intricate layering of music, video and live story-telling.
Notions of home
Keng Sen and a group of video artists have searched for real-life stories of diaspora and displacement. Through the personal stories of Vietnamese Americans, Indonesian Chinese, Indians in South East Asia, Orang Laut (or sea nomads) and Scottish Muslims, Keng Sen explores notions of home, identity and the dispersion of peoples through war, through birth and through choice.
2000 years of Chinese music
This epic panorama of image and sound is underscored by a timeline of Chinese music spanning 2000 years, ranging from mountain songs to contemporary compositions, performed live by the Singapore Chinese Orchestra.
'Ong Keng Sen is one of Singapore's cultural jewels.' The Guardian
Ong Keng Sen is Leverhulme Artist in Residence at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Edinburgh.
Performance Details
By Ong Keng Sen
TheatreWorksSingapore Chinese Orchestra
European Premiere
Ong Keng Sen Director and writer
Tsung Yeh Conductor
Choy Ka Fai Video installation
Toru Yamanaka Electronic composer
Scott Zielinski Lighting designer
Video artists: Rabiya Choudhry, Ariani Darmawan, Zai Kuning, Dinh Q. Le, Navin Rawanchaikul, Tintin Wulia
Actors: Koh Boon Pin, Janice Koh, Lim Kay Tong, Nora Samosir
主題是diaspora 散居 四幕背景 投影人像 使音樂更具敘事性和感染力 四位主要敘述者好似憑空穿行 也表述了回憶被架空和曲解的意思
都 是亞洲人 印度人 華人 巴基斯坦人 越南人⋯⋯各族後裔在世界各地的無根無身分歧視茫然 華人在印度尼西亞65年及98年遭遇的屠殺 印尼女隨兒女定居加州 她為他們美國化而心痛 問到自己認為自己是美國人還是印尼人 坦言其實我是中國人 我父親甚至都出生在中國 星洲男因為母親是印度人從小受盡歧視 和日本女人結婚後做了變性手術 然後發現自己女兒有母親那樣的胎記 道教廟宇在巴厘島神蹟飄搖 越南戰爭幸存者回到胡志明市瘋狂搜購舊相片 ［人們以為當年的越南只有死亡 但是我們生活過 尋回我家族的影像已經不可能了 所以我想保存所有可能的記憶］
像我這樣的所謂上海人 祖父母輩遷移入滬 為甚麼？因為戰爭 來不及哀悼親朋的屍首 手足相殘又十年 終於決定忘記傷痛安頓家園 所有信望一夜成為恥辱 50年代不能提 60年代不能提 70年代不能提 80年代可以提最末一年的下半年－－新中國總共30年歷史 我們怎樣被教導成人？恥辱與驕傲 兩者深植於同一物 壓在心上的腫瘤也是肩上的負擔 越戰幸存者言：如何找尋流逝的？記憶被我們曲解 具體到個體 家因為［面積小 壓強就相對的大］所以家比故土更沈重 人人肅穆 事事凝重 家裡有些甚麼 人人避諱 也是為甚麼三表哥（我一共就兩名表兄 三表哥是為了讀起來順口……）和我都希望離家 而根在哪裡？異鄉客的生活殆盡心智 也是為甚麼Ong Keng Sen的一位敘事者的話這樣打動我：
i spend my life time going back home. 言下之意，雖歸家心切，卻無法回去。
不 想讓我的痛哭流涕破壞了別人的心情 結束後盡可能的和人解釋為甚麼這個演出對我來說這麼disturbing，因為這裡有這樣一個［雖歸家心切，卻無法回去］芝諾悖論。說到這裡為了鼓舞人心 就又自我開涮逗人樂：there's such a zeno’s paradox here，can u see the link between two great civilisations, the greek and the chinese? can u? can u? er??
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