Cathy Lam x Kasen Tsui Presents:
A Funeral for my Friend who is Still Alive
“I am hosting a funeral for my friend, but he told me he is not coming.”
This is a brand-new dark comedy about farewell. One evening, Kasen decides to host a funeral in her tiny apartment for her long-lost friend who is still very much alive. So, she prepares a eulogy to celebrate this friend’s life.
This theatre play is speaking to those who share the same stories of being forced to leave their homeland, striving for survival, freedom and hope.
Everyone in Hong Kong has lost someone or something during the social movement. For the many who chose to leave the city, some of them were forced to cut ties with all their friends and families to protect those who chose to stay. Kasen shared with Cathy a story about a friend she lost—and the emotional rollercoaster it has been. Cathy invited Kasen to create a story that celebrates this friend’s life, reimagining what would she say to him if she could speak to him one last time. Not all funerals have to be sad, but all need a good eulogy to say a proper goodbye. This play is about healing, resolution and reconciliation. And we invite everyone to come and join this journey of laughter, rediscovering of oneself, and moving on with hope. The show will be performed and co-written by Kasen Tsui; produced, directed and co-written by Cathy Lam.
Listings information
Venue: theSpace@Niddry Street
Dates: 4–12 August 2023
Time: 10:00 (0hr45)
Ticket prices: £10 / concessions £7
Venues box office: 0131 510 2384 / boxoffice.niddry@thespaceuk.com
Fringe box office: 0131 226 0000 / www.edfringe.com
Social network: linktr.ee/stillaliveedfringe
Ages 12 & above
It strikes me that there is quite a strong political context to the production. What is happening in Hong Kong that has led to migration on this scale?
Cathy & Kasen: There was a social movement in 2019 and the social movement have been on-going since then. And because of the social movement, it leads to different levels of censorship, narrows the freedom of everything in Hong Kong. With the fear of national security law, and unforeseeable future for young people, many fled the city and strive for better life and freedom. Or let me put it in this way, people in Hong Kong is experience collective trauma, many fled for a chance to be freed from fear.
What is it about theatre and performance that makes it a good medium to express these ideas?
Cathy & Kasen: Theatre is the language that we are most familiar with. Theatre and performance provides a space for unlimited imagination, a space that we feel safe to express our ideas, our perspective, our context to the audience. Theater is also a bold space which we don't have to play it safe to tell our story, we can be brutally honest to tell what we observe and see, and how we feel and think. A theatre play can be generational, we can use such medium to prolong the dialogue of Hong Kong, and to keep people aware of why Hong Konger's identity matters.
During the day of Prague Spring, they had Václav Havel's work and other theatrical work, we see how the whole arts industry developed, changed and shaped the country. We cannot compare ourselves to Havel, and we are not trying to compare Hong Kong with Prague. But we thought, artists are social observer, we develop our work through things surround us. We cannot find a better way to express what we experience, and therefore theatre and performance makes it a good medium for us.
How did the writing collaboration work in the creating process?
Cathy: The whole process starts with Kasen telling me different stories that she heard and witnessed when she was a journalist. Then, I tried to pick the elements of each story, including my own perception and story of my own and friend's, and started to write the script. And in the creating process, we devised together, select and design what situation, context, emotion, word and action needed to present through the script. There was a lot of rewriting and restructuring, and finally, becomes what we are going to see at the fringe.
What are you hoping to achieve at the Edinburgh Fringe?
Cathy & Kasen: We hope audience could find healing and reconciliation through our play. Or at least, we hope this play could walk alongside many people who have experienced tears and trauma, and hope this play could offer them hope and love.
Kasen Tsui X Cathy Lam:
Mentee & Mentor, friends that both care about humanity and social justice. Kasen is a former journalist, now a dancer, theatre practitioner, storyteller and social behaviour observer. Cathy is the Artistic Director of Kairos Arts Development Company Limited and Let’s Be Together Arts Festival, and founder of ThreeWoods Playwright. Cathy has produced numerous acclaimed productions including Wither on the Vine and Smoking with Grandma; Kasen performed in both. This is their first-time co-writing together.
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