VietNamNet Bridge – Independent artist Phan Y Ly will bring a stage production titled Nguoi La (Stranger) to the World Stage Design Festival (WSD) 2013 in Cardiff, Wales from September 5-15.

Sensual shapes: Phan Y Ly and her co-star Ho Ngoc Bao Khiem perform in Stranger, a stage work whose dance movements and body gestures were choreographed on illustrations from the Kama Sutra. —Courtesy Photo of Phan Y Ly

The WSD 2013 website introduces the show: "Stranger explores the idea of masculinity and femininity in modern Viet Nam. What is the strange unfamiliar land of the other?

Are we forever separate or do we belong together? This visual performance piece uses sound, image, language and music to trace the journey of a young woman and man who question the gender roles they are subject to."

During the WSD, Ly will attend the seminar with key industry figures, artists and performance groups from across the world.

The Stranger is the first joint production between Ly and two of her close friends, Robert Hale and Ho Ngoc Bao Khiem.

"The idea was initiated in 2011 from my personal interest in knowing more about the relation between man and woman," said Ly. She used to be an advocate of strong and independent women while disregarding women who were fragile and dependent.

"Now, my proximity to eastern beliefs has made me rethink. It is not as simple as I first assumed," Ly admitted.

Stranger's dance movements and body gestures were choreographed based on illustrations from the ancient Indian Hindu text Kama Sutra and a book called The Sensuous Woman which Ly read in India in 2011 and made her realise that independence and weakness can both exist in a woman.

"We named our show Stranger because the man and the woman are always strangers to each other," Ly revealed.

The production was co-directed by Hale and Ly in 2012 with seed funding from the British Council Art Fund and the Danish Cultural Development and Exchange Fund. The creators teamed with UK stage designer Paul Burgess to produce three improvised performances in Ha Noi last April.

The sell-out performances were received enthusiastically and formed the basis of the final piece which will be performed at WSD and beyond.

"Stranger has been invited to the festival due to its experimentation and exploration of the gender viewpoints of the east and the west. It will be more interesting if it is played by both eastern and western actors," said Ly.

The Cardiff performances will feature Welsh actor Eddie Ladd, performing alongside Ly and Khiem.

The Vietnamese production will be staged without art design and minimal props. The actors will improvise on the stage, proving a flexibility which means the work can be performed in Ha Noi, Cardiff, London and beyond, according to Burgess.

Held every four years since 2005, the WSD is one of the most prestigious festivals in the world. It celebrates international performance design from the world of theatre, opera and dance as well as public performances and installations in non-theatre spaces.

Source: VNS