From Shore to Shore

By MW Sun and Mary Cooper

Three stories, three lives, three journeys to find a place called home.
Cheung Wing is escaping from war, Mei Lan’s had enough of the potato peeler, and Yi Di wants the impossible – her parents’ approval.
Award-winning writer Mary Cooper and multilingual collaborator M W Sun have woven together stories of love and loss, struggle and survival into a powerful drama. Blending English, Mandarin and Cantonese, From Shore to Shore tells the untold stories of Chinese communities in the UK.

Reviews

"Drawn from conversations with Chinese people living in West Yorkshire, the stories are compelling not for any high drama but for the rich detail of lives lived. They have the impressionistic quality of a dream.

There’s the boy separated from his mother during the Sino-Japanese war; the clever daughter born under China’s one-child policy, never good enough for the father who wanted a son; and the girl suffering playground racism after an early childhood in Hong Kong. Their displacement is not just from one side of the world to the other. It’s in the shifting attitudes of the generations, a clash of values as well as of cultures. What emerges is a quest for self-definition: what does it mean to be Chinese when being Chinese can mean so many things?" **** The Guardian

Authors:

Mary Cooper
Award-winning writer, Mary Cooper, has written extensively for theatre, radio and television. She has written more than 30 stage plays which have been commissioned and toured by theatre companies throughout England and Wales. For radio, she has written seven single plays and a ten part series for BBC Radio Four. For screen, her short film Missing Out won the IVCA Award for Best Drama and for television she was a winner in the Granada/Yorkshire New Voices scheme. www.mary-cooper.co.uk

MW Sun
MW Sun 孙培德 was born in Shanghai but grew up in Hong Kong. She is a former news journalist reporting for the BBC, CNBC and Radio Television Hong Kong in London, China, Hong Kong and Singapore. Her short play, Arachnophobia, was produced by Yellow Earth Theatre. She is currently working on a commissioned new play and a novel.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Aurora Metro Books
• Release date: Mar 14, 2019
• ISBN: 9781912430260

Book preview

Mary Cooper

Award-winning writer, Mary Cooper, has written extensively for theatre, radio and television. She has written more than 30 stage plays which have been commissioned and toured by theatre companies throughout England and Wales. For radio, she has written seven single plays and a ten part series for BBC Radio Four. For screen, her short film Missing Out won the IVCA Award for Best Drama and for television she was a winner in the Granada/Yorkshire New Voices scheme. www.mary-cooper.co.uk

MW Sun

MW Sun 孙培德 was born in Shanghai but grew up in Hong Kong. She is a former news journalist reporting for the BBC, CNBC and Radio Television Hong Kong in London, China, Hong Kong and Singapore. Her short play, Arachnophobia, was produced by Yellow Earth Theatre. She is currently working on a commissioned new play and a novel.

First published in the UK in 2019 by Aurora Metro Publications Ltd.

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copyright © 2019 Mary Cooper and MW Sun

Cover image courtesy of On the Wire Productions

Production: Peter Fullagar

With many thanks to: Marina Tuffier, Maja Florczak

All rights are strictly reserved.

For rights enquiries including performing rights, please contact the publisher: [e-mail]

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

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Printed in the UK by

ISBNs: 978-1-912430-25-3 (print)

978-1-912430-26-0 (ebook)

From Shore

to Shore

by

Mary Cooper

with MW Sun

Acknowledgements

With thanks to our partners: Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester; Northern Stage, Newcastle; Everyman & Playhouse, Liverpool; The Dukes, Lancaster; More Music, Morecambe; Birmingham Repertory Theatre; Confucius Institute, University of Manchester; Confucius Institute, University of Liverpool; Confucius Institute, University of Newcastle; Confucius Institute, University of Lancaster; Aspers Casino, Newcastle; University of Leeds.

CONTENTS

ABOUT THE COMPANY

CAST & CREATIVES

BIOGRAPHIES

ABOUT THE PLAY

FROM SHORE TO SHORE

MORE FROM AURORA METRO

About On The Wire

On the Wire creates fresh, high quality theatre experiences in all sorts of spaces and places inspired by real stories that reflect contemporary Britain. People are at the heart of our activities; people whose voices and stories are not often heard. We believe that engaging with theatre can affect fundamental change and our productions aim to appeal to as wide an audience as possible.

Founded in 2017 by Deborah Dickinson and Mary Cooper, On the Wire aims to create theatre events and experiences in collaboration with artists, audiences and adventurers.

The Company

Cast

Matt Lim – Bob/Young Cheung Wing/Kwok Fu

Luna Dai – Yi Di/Kam Fa

Lucy Lan Luo – Ying/Teacher/Neighbour/Instructor/Singer/Waiter/Student

Alice Lee – Yi Di’s Mum/Grandma - Por Por/Cheung Wing’s Ma/Mei Lan’s Mum – O/S

Windson Liong – Yi Di’s Dad/Trader/Old Tyke/Doctor/Mei Lan’s Dad – O/

Michelle Yim – Mei Lan

Ozzie Yue – Cheung Wing

Creatives

Writer – Mary Cooper in collaboration with MW Sun

Director – David KS Tse

Designer – Pui Lee

Composer/Live Musician – Nicola Chang

Lighting Designer – Douglas Kuhrt

Stage Manager – Sabina Smith

Assistant Stage Manager – Kieran Sing

Events Manager – Sinman Yue

Social Media – Dee Lo

PR – Duncan Clarke

Producer – Deborah Dickinson

Biographies

OZZIE YUE

A British actor of Chinese descent, Ozzie has worked extensively, in TV, Film, Theatre and Radio since the early 1980’s and also as a musician since the 60’s.