07/09/2026
Last weekend I was in Guangzhou, China to see the first performance of ‘Balance’ by Third Act Theatre Company directed by Cai Shugun (Sean).
It is a piece of work that has been developing for over ten years.
I first met Sean in Hong Kong over ten years ago. I had been working with Joyce Nga Yu Lee who was, at the time, a resident director at Mind The Gap Company in Bradford. We travelled to Galway in Ireland to work together on a piece. We talked a lot about Hong Kong and she suggested I should meet one of her teachers/mentors Mok Chiu Yu Mok Augustine who was the director of an organisation called Centre of Community Cultural Development (CCCD) . She arranged for us both to travel to Hong Kong to meet Mok and run a workshop. Sean was a participant in the workshop.
As a result of this Hong Kong project I was invited to make a piece in Guangzhou and worked with a brilliant group of people in an amazing setting in Huang Pu ancient village. Sean was one of the performers.
At the centre of all my work is a slow walking exercise that has been part of my practice for over 30 years. It’s based on the principle that if somebody stands on a stage and you shine a light on them that in itself can be meaningful. Everything they do after that, whether they tell a story, sing, dance, do a play, perform an opera - that is the bonus. The most important thing is to present yourself, sincerely and completely, in the moment. Anybody can do this. Everybody is capable of this. You let go of everything. You do nothing. You just rely on your presence. “This is me, I am here and I am fine”. It can be so powerful. It is as if you see people completely. Not trying to be anything, just being. It is my first step to creating a performance piece. I have always believed that audiences want to know performers first and then see what you do. Of course most actors want to disappear into characters but that is not my type of theatre. At Northern Stage Ensemble for ten years, and now at The Performance Ensemble (TPE), the company do the exercise every morning before rehearsals,
Sean has been learning this technique for over ten years now. In 2023 he travelled from Guangzhou to Leeds to share his work with us at TPE’s project “1001 Stories A Take-Over of Leeds Playhouse by Older People’. We were grateful to The British Council for funding this trip. Sean saw our production of ‘Sinfonia’ and he recognised the power of it. He has taken this idea and developed it in his own way. I am now learning from him. He has created his own company and it is growing in stature. Third Act Theatre will be performing ‘Balance’ at the 2nd Hong Kong Festival of Creative Ageing later this month. It’s a beautiful piece of work. 12 older women from 60 to 83 years old sharing their stories in such an unique way. It really touched me and the whole audience.
I am hopeful we can bring the piece to Leeds in October 2027, when we are organising an International Festival of Creative Ageing. More about that later.
