Vivien and The Shadows
Ong Keng Sen/Theatreworks
A soul-stimulating, post-modern spectacle, Vivien and The Shadows melds film/performance, race, gender and sexuality. Internationally lauded Singaporean director Ong Keng Sen gathers some of the best talents in global performing arts and transports us into the fantasy world of Vivien Leigh’s Blanche DuBois, inspired by the 1951 film, A Streetcar Named Desire.
With new texts by acclaimed Asian-American playwright Chay Yew; soundscapes by pioneering London electronica artist Kaffe Matthews; sizzling videos by CalArts media artist Brian Gothong Tan; and three virtuoso performers who witness, impersonate and accompany Vivien Leigh-Blanche DuBois to her transcendence: multiple Obie-winner Karen Kandel, art-burlesque star of the New York underground Julie Atlas Muz, and the charismatic Charlotte Engelkes from Sweden.
Conception/Direction Ong Keng Sen
Collaborators/Performers Charlotte Engelkes, Karen Kandel, Julie Atlas Muz, Ong Keng Sen
Text Chay Yew with additional text by company
Music Kaffe Matthews
Video Brian Gothong Tan
Set Justin Hill
Lighting Scott Zielinski
Producer Tay Tong
Production Stage Manager Cindy Knight
Technical Director Andy Lim
Sound Engineer Micha Meliani
Project Manager KC Hoo
World Premiere, 21 October 2008
Memorial Hall, Carolina Performing Arts, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Commissioned by Carolina Performing Arts with support from the National Arts Council’s International Collaboration Grant (ICG)
Photo: Brian Gothong Tan
Photo: Brian Gothong Tan
Photo: Brian Gothong Tan
Photo: Brian Gothong Tan