Performance and Migration website is designed to support any researcher, student or specialist in completing literature reviews, essays, publications or more in the field of Theatre and Migration by providing an easily accessible archive of research which has been compiled and sorted into several comprehensive collections

Archives: Productions

304 entries

Title: +51 Aviación, San Borja

Geography: Asia > Eastern Asia > Japan

Year: 2015

Produced by: Okazaki Art Theatre / precog

Creative Team: Written and directed by Yudai Kamisato; performed by Wataru Omura, Masahiko Ono and Mari Kodama

Synopsis: +51 Aviación, San Borja begins with Yudai Kamisato’s family history of migration between Okinawa and Peru. Research into his grandparents’ movement expands towards wider Japanese migration to Latin America and the political histories connecting Japan to the region. The title uses Peru’s telephone country code and the name of a Lima neighbourhood, locating the work inside trans-Pacific geography. Studying the life of Seki Sano and Ryoichi Jinnai, Kamisato has put together a production which considers the concept of home and belonging. The production asks whether ancestry can provide cultural certainty. Latin America becomes part of Japanese memory, challenging national narratives that imagine migration primarily as foreigners entering Japan.

Source: Okazaki Art Theatre, official production page: https://okazaki-art-theatre.com/en/work/aviacion Performing Arts Network Japan, interview with Yudai Kamisato discussing the production and migration research: https://performingarts.jpf.go.jp/en/article/7125/
Title: 1 Hour Photo

Geography: Americas > Northern America > Canada

Year: 2017

Produced by: Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre

Creative Team: Donna Yamamoto | Playwright/Performer/Filmmaker: Tetsuro Shigematsu
Artistic Producer: Donna Yamamoto

Synopsis: 1 Hour Photo, written and performed by Tetsuro Shigematsu, tells the life story of Mas Yamamoto, a Japanese Canadian man shaped by the 20th century’s major events. From his childhood in a Fraser River fishing village to internment during WWII and work in the Arctic during the Cold War, Yamamoto’s journey unfolds through poignant recordings and vivid miniatures. The play explores memory, identity, and resilience, offering a heartfelt portrait of a life marked by hardship, love, and the enduring will to remember.

Source: https://vact.ca/shows-and-events/1-hour-photo/
Title: 1000 Miles

Geography: Americas > Northern America > United States of America

Year: 2024

Produced by: New City Players | Abre Camino Collective | Island City Stage

Creative Team: Playwright: Vanessa Garcia | Director: Elizabeth Price

Synopsis: 1000 Miles takes place in an imaginary country called the “City” and the main character, Solis, comes from an imaginary place called “1000 miles across the sea.” The characters are all from different vaguely made-up countries as they go through their experiences. The audiences also upon arrival get assigned a country or origin from actors playing guards in the lobby. This production removed contexts from the immigrant stories of the characters and lets the audience find their own associations with their stories.

Source: https://newcityplayers.org/2023-24-season | https://newcityplayers.org/s/1000-Miles-Playbill-3-11-WEB.pdf | https://www.vanessagarcia.org/theatre/
Title: 14.4

Geography: Europe > Southern Europe > Spain

Year: 2024

Produced by: Barco Pirata and Teatro Español

Creative Team: Dramaturgy by Juan Diego Botto, Sergio Peris-Mencheta and Ahmed Younoussi; directed by Sergio Peris-Mencheta; performed by Ahmed Younoussi; design by Alessio Meloni

Synopsis: The title 14.4 refers to the shortest distance across the Strait of Gibraltar between Morocco and Spain. Ahmed Younoussi recounts his childhood in Tangier before travelling on the undercarriage of a truck in an attempt to reach Spain. His arrival as an unaccompanied minor leads through shelters and precarious work. Younoussi performs his own history without allowing the journey to become a narrative of individual success. The narrow geographical distance contrasts with the legal and economic barriers governing movement between the two shores. Spain is visible from Morocco, yet access to it remains structured by nationality and class.

Source: Teatro Español, official production page: https://www.teatroespanol.es/espectaculo/144 Teatro Español, production dossier: https://www.teatroespanol.es/sites/default/files/media/document/2024/06/ Te24_pm_14-4.pdf Tras la Máscara, production review: https://www.traslamascara.com/14-4-critica-teatral/ Portugal
Title: 36 Views

Geography: Americas > Northern America > Canada

Year: 2007

Produced by: ARC

Creative Team: Naomi Iizuka | Playwright: Naomi Iizuka Director: David Ferry

Synopsis: 36 Views is a play about authenticity, deception, and perception set in the Asian art world. When a rare Japanese pillow book is discovered, excitement turns to suspicion as its origins are questioned. Told in 36 short scenes, the story unravels the blurred lines between truth and illusion in both art and relationships. Through layered characters, multimedia design, and cultural critique, the play explores how identity and desire shape what we choose to believe.

Source: https://ttdb.ca/shows/36-views/
Title: A Deal

Geography: Americas > Northern America > United States of America

Year: 2017

Produced by: Urban Stages（Off-Broadway, New York）

Creative Team: A play by Zhu Yi | Director: John Giampietro

Synopsis: A Deal is a dark comedy that follows Li Su, a privileged Chinese student-turned-aspiring actress in New York, whose attempt to secure success and belonging leads her to fabricate a traumatic identity as a human rights victim, while her parents arrive from China carrying illicit wealth to buy her an apartment, revealing deep fractures within the family and escalating ideological conflict. Structured as a fast-paced, multi-layered satire that blends realism with theatrical self-reflexivity (including audition scenes and meta-theatrical encounters), the play situates migration within the circuits of global capital, elite education, and cultural performance rather than forced displacement. It interrogates diasporic assimilation, self-exoticization, and the commodification of suffering, exposing how immigration status, identity, and even trauma can become negotiable “deals,” thereby raising ethical questions about authenticity, representation, and the entanglement of personal ambition with geopolitical and economic power.

Source: https://www.zhuyizhuyi.com/single-post/2017/10/08/adeal
Title: A Ghost in My Suitcase

Geography: Oceania > Australia and New Zealand > Australia

Year: 2018

Produced by: Barking Gecko Theatre

Creative Team: Adapted by Vanessa Bates; directed by Matt Edgerton and Ching Ching Ho

Synopsis: A Ghost in My Suitcase follows twelve-year-old Celeste as she travels from Australia to China after her mother’s death. The visit introduces her to a grandmother she barely knows and to a family history that has remained distant from her Australian upbringing. The production utilises supernatural encounters that allow the return journey to directly confront questions about cultural inheritance. Through the use of Puppetry and theatrical illusion, ancestral presences are made visible to the audience. Celeste must negotiate unfamiliar cultural practices while deciding how their histories belong within her own identity. The production is especially relevant to second-generation belonging because the protagonist travels towards an origin that is emotionally significant but not fully known.

Source: Sydney Festival, production archive page: https://2019.sydneyfestival.org.au/events/a-ghost-in-my-suitcase ABC, world-premiere feature: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-18/barking-gecko-brings-a-ghost-in-my-suitcase-to-stage/1038665 4
Title: A Nanking Winter

Geography: Americas > Northern America > Canada

Year: 2008

Produced by: Cahoots Theatre Company and Nightwood Theatre

Creative Team: Marjorie Chan | Playwright: Marjorie Chan Director: Ruth Madoc-Jones

Synopsis: A Nanking Winter by Marjorie Chan is a haunting portrayal of survival during the 1937 invasion of Nanking. Interweaving past and present, the play follows a young writer, Irene, determined to uncover forgotten histories despite resistance from her publisher. Meanwhile, a group of unlikely wartime heroes—including a nun and a Nazi-affiliated German diplomat—struggles to protect civilians amid atrocity. Chan delivers a gripping, brutally honest reflection on memory, witness, and the human will to endure.

Source: https://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/playtext-overview?docid=do-9781770915855&tocid=do-9781770915855-div-00000008
Title: A TASTE OF EMPIRE

Geography: Americas > Northern America > Canada

Year: 2018

Produced by: Rice & Beans Theatre

Creative Team: Playwright & Director: Jovanni Sy

Synopsis: A Taste of Empire is a sharp-witted solo performance where a chef prepares Rellenong Bangus live onstage while unraveling a satirical history of colonialism, migration, and global food systems. As ingredients are chopped and stories unfold, the audience is served not only aromas and flavors but a deeper critique of imperialism’s lasting legacy on what we eat. Performed in Cantonese with surtitles, this theatrical “cooking show” blends humor, history, and social commentary into a compelling feast for the senses.

Source: https://ttdb.ca/shows/a-taste-of-empire-2/
Title: A Taste of Hong Kong

Geography: Americas > Northern America > Canada

Year: 2025

Produced by: fu-GEN Asian Canadian Theatre Company and Pi Theatre and Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre
Presented by Theatre Passe Muraille

Creative Team: Richard Wolfe | Director: Richard Wolfe Playwright: Anonymous

Synopsis: Synopsis：In A Taste of Hong Kong, Jackie Z guides audiences through a theatrical food tour featuring iconic Hong Kong street snacks like curry fish balls and siu mai. As flavors unfold, so does the story of Hong Kong’s complex history—from colonial rule to recent struggles for democracy. Through humour, memory, and resilience, this solo show explores cultural pride, identity, and the lasting impact of political change—told with urgency, nostalgia, and a love for “Home Kong.”

Source: Source：https://www.passemuraille.ca/a-taste-of-hong-kong/