Ancestral Futures 源流之後 is an expansive processional street performance. The inaugural iteration was in honour of the first recorded Chinese people in Sheffield –a group of magicians on tour from China who performed at the Whitsuntide Festival, 1855.
On 31st May, 1855, the lead magician, Teh Kwei 德貴, buried his 5-week old baby in a Sheffield graveyard. The baby is listed in the St Paul’s Burial Register as ‘A Chow’ (Chinese).
Guided by Sheffield’s East and Southeast Asian [ESEA] communities, Wan Cho 碗祖, a new mythological character embodied the spirits of these ancestors. Taking place during Hungry Ghost Festival, where in some ESEA cultures, the deceased are believed to visit the living, the procession conjured the British born Chinese baby and his family. Weaving movement, costume, ancestral objects and sound to activate stories from the past, present and future, the procession was an act of re-writing the archive into the city streets.
Wan Cho 碗祖 was accompanied by ESEA community members carrying images of ancestors and objects from another time and place.
The procession began at 2pm on Sat 17th Aug on Tudor Sq, Sheffield [outside The Crucible].
Details about the procession route can be found here.
Collaborators include:
Dance Artist, Tala Lee-Turton
Sound Artist, Angela Wai Nok Hui
Costume Designer, Christine Ting-Huan 挺歡 Urquhart
Costume Maker, Erin Guan
Make-Up Artist, Kinga Dwornik
Co-Facilitator, Clara Cheung of CandG Artpartment
Maker, Jennifer Chan
Supporting Performers, Sophia Lee, Yiu Wai Chu, Ning Chuan & Clara Cheung
Photos by Anh Do
Commissioned by archival justive movement, Dig Where You Stand for the inaugural DWYS Biennial, 2024.
Developed with support from Sheffield Theatres, Artcry, Necessity, Centre for Equity and Inclusion.
