Ancestral Futures - A Street Procession in Sheffield
Ancestral Futures 源流之後 is a processional street performance in honour of the first recorded Chinese people in Sheffield –a group of magicians on tour from China who performed at the Whitsuntide Festival, 1855.
On 31st May, 1855, the lead magician, Teh Kwei 德貴, buried his 5-week old baby in a Sheffield graveyard. The baby is listed in the St Paul’s Burial Register as ‘A Chow’ (Chinese).
Guided by Sheffield’s East and Southeast Asian [ESEA] communities, a new mythological character will embody the spirits of these ancestors. Taking place during Hungry Ghost Festival, where in some ESEA cultures, the deceased are believed to visit the living, the procession will conjure the British born Chinese baby and his family. Weaving movement, costume, ancestral objects and sound to activate stories from the past, present and future, the procession will re-write the archive into the city streets.
Assemble at 2pm on Sat 17th Aug on Tudor Sq, Sheffield [outside The Crucible].
Details about the procession route can be found here.
Ancestral Futures has been commissioned by archival justive movement, Dig Where You Stand for the inaugural DWYS Biennial.
Developed with support from Sheffield Theatres, Artcry, Necessity, Centre for Equity and Inclusion.
