Asia-Pacific Bond
What a week it was in Vietnam at the Asia Pacific Bond For Theatre Schools Conference 2019!
We arrived in Hanoi and settled in for the evening before an Opening Night banquet. The next day, we were told that the theatre we were booked to spend the week in was no longer available to us. Following riots in Hong Kong, apparently the Vietnamese Government got wind of a group of international students gathering, and decided to prohibit us from performing in any public spaces - including our private booked venue - just incase we would have brought riots or protests to Vietnam.
So we found ourselves confined to our hotel. Which was also already hosting another conference.
Workshops were held in conference rooms and meeting rooms, and rehearsals were held in whatever spaces we could find, including the hotel corridors at one point.
Performances were held in the hotel dining hall. Bedsheets and table cloths became curtains and covers, tables were flipped and became walls. Everyone rallied together to turn it into a performance space, sharing resources for lighting, sound, props, sets and more to occur.
And although it was less than ideal, the mantra for myself and the other theatre makers became “If we can pull this off, we can do anything!”
And so our collaboration with the students and staff of University Sains Malaysia was performed. It seemed to have a strong impact on those in the audience. Six weeks ago when we arrived in Penang Malaysia, we had no idea what to expect, and the experience continued to provide twists and turns to the end here in Hanoi. But we premiered ‘AMOK>>>>HALT’ - a devised multi-lingual exploration of mental health and depression - and the response was immense.
An incredible cross-cultural experience with incredible people. Especially within our VCA-USM collaboration, but also including the 26 other Universities from across Asia-Pacific and beyond! Massive thanks to Leon and Budi for making it all happen!
Some photos of our crew are included below. To see images of the performance, click here.
