A sumptuous audio-visual experience and song cycle by award-winning vocalist, producer and multi-disciplinary artist Rainbow Chan 陳雋然.
Drawing on her Weitou ancestry (first settlers of Hong Kong), Chan reimagines a Weitou ritual known as the bridal lament, a public performance of grief in which a bride wept and sang in front of family and friends. In this liminal space, brides expressed bitterness towards their arranged marriages and the prevailing patriarchal rule.
Conceived and structured as a song cycle, The Bridal Lament brings to life intergenerational and cross-cultural perspectives on diasporic experiences and the complex history of Hong Kong. With a new suite of songs by Chan and direction from Contemporary Asian Australian Performance’s Artistic Director Tessa Leong, this lush and lavish work pays homage to ritual in a vibrant and dynamic world of projection, movement and colour.
Rainbow Chan’s music and shows have been hailed as ‘genre-bending art pop’ (NME) and ‘bewitchingly elfin in the exactly the same way that those words have been used to describe Bjork.’ (The Music). The Bridal Lament, her debut solo theatre work, shares its name with her forthcoming album.
THEATRE THOUGHTS
"Ambitious beautiful and engaging...Chan’s voice is honeyed and mellifluous."
ABC ARTS
"...a celestial blend of pop electronica and Weitou melodies."
GLAM ADELAIDE
"The laments themselves are worth the price of admission on their own: beautifully sung, moving and authentic."
Performances
Thu 23 January, 7:30 PM
Fri 24 January, 7:30 PM
Sat 25 January, 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM
Sun 26 January, 3:00 PM
Lennox Theatre, Riverside Parramatta
TICKETS
Key Creatives
Lead Artist and Performer Rainbow Chan 陳雋然
Director Tessa Leong
Choreographic Consultants Amrita Hepi & Victoria Hunt
Video Design Rel Pham
Set Design Al Joel & Emily Borghi
Costume Design Al Joel
Lighting Concept Govin Ruben
Lighting Realisers Susie Henderson and Sam Read
Cultural Consultant and Narrator Irene Cheung 張翠屏
Video Programmer Daniel Herten
Produced by Contemporary Asian Australian Performance.
SUPPORTED BY
The Bridal Lament was co-commissioned by Performance Space as part of Liveworks Festival 2023 and OzAsia Festival 2023, with commissioning support from Carriageworks and the City of Melbourne through Arts House. Supported by George Paramananthan and ParmCo.
Warnings
The Bridal Lament contains haze, loud sounds, low lighting, lights that change in colours and intensity, black out and flashing moving imagery.
Performance includes translation of Weitou dialect into English through open captioning.
Detailed access information is available to download below
PDF | Word Doc
The Bridal Lament, her debut solo theatre work, shares its name with her forthcoming album. Watch the clip from its first single, Seven Sisters.
Previous Seasons
Liveworks Festival
19–22 Oct
Bay 20, Carriageworks
OzAsia Festival
1–2 Nov 2023
Space Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre Theatre
Arts House
8 – 19 May 2024
Art House, Melbourne
