ASIAN
PIRATE MUSICAL
is a devised musical featuring five seafaring Asian characters across three time periods, intertwining the lives of 14th century Muslim diplomat Zheng He, 19th century pirate queen Shih Yang, 21st century survivor Nazar and 24th century queer space revolutionaries Keliling and Riang.
Through an experimental blend of traditional indigenous sounds, 21st century Asian pop, and musical influence from diasporas, ASIAN PIRATE MUSICAL explores freedom, found families, and finding fun in the face of our future.
After seeing ASIAN PIRATE MUSICAL at the VAULT Festival in March 2020, Papergang Theatre is proud to produce the digital development of this joyous piece during the COVID-19 Lockdown with support of the Arts Council England. We admire the collaborative structure of the creative team and support this exploration of a new non-hierarchical creative practice:
Anyone who came to see ASIAN PIRATE MUSICAL at VAULT festival might have laughed at our sprawling devised/ book/ lyrics/ compositions credits. Our goal for this musical was to write a collaborative musical where there was no single Lyricist, no Composer, and no Bookwriter, but a team of people working across jobs simultaneously.
Production Credits
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Writer/Director: ZHUI NING CHANG
Writer/Stage Manager: NEMO MARTIN
Writer/Dramaturg: FREY KWA HAWKING
Music Director/Composer:
JADE LEAMCHARASKUL
Sound Designer/Musician: XANA
Composer/Musician/Writer:
SARITA LEWIS
Illustration: Charis Loke