A Chinese-Malaysian woman’s experience in UK

Bound Feet Blues: A Life Told In Shoes is both a theatre production – running for three weeks from November 24th in the heart of the West End  – and a book. The memoir, to be published on November 9th, is Yang-May Ooi’s personal story, centred on the tradition of foot binding, as practiced by her great grandmother. The unconventional memoir and one-woman live theatre show interweaves Yang-May’s story with those of women in her family to create a rich, engaging tale.

Bound Feet Blues explores Yang-May’s experiences of being a Chinese-Malaysian woman in the UK, her unique ‘coming out’ story, cultural reflections of what it means to be a woman, and an exploration of mother-daughter relationships, and the role history plays on us today.

Female desirability, identity and empowerment are explored in this personal story, told through two unique forms of story-telling, and demonstrated through shoes in Yang-May’s life – from stilettos to expensive Italian pumps to trainers, hiking boots and biker boots.

From internationally best-selling fiction author to performing her personal story, with a three-week run at Tristan Bates Theatre scheduled from November 24th to December 12th 2015, Yang-May has evolved to become the confident storyteller she is today, shining in her 50s. The show is part of the South East Asian Arts Festival 2015 and funded by The Arts Council and The Housing Finance Corporation. Yang-May is supported by a team of experts including Jessica Higgs, creative director, Eldarin Yeong, producer and Hua Tan, theatre designer.

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