Archives: Productions

Geography: Americas > Northern America > Canada

Year: 2024

Produced by:

Creative Team: Jasmine Chen | Playwright:Jasmine Chen
Director: Derek Chan

Synopsis: Synopsis：Jade Circle is a 60-minute interdisciplinary solo performance by Jasmine Chen, blending music, movement, and storytelling in Mandarin and English. Part of The Mother Tongue Project, the piece follows Chen’s journey to reconnect with her late grandmother by relearning Mandarin and uncovering lost family histories through interviews with her mother. Featuring an interactive lobby display tracing audience migration paths, Jade Circle premiered in 2024 at Gateway Theatre and invites audiences to reflect on language, heritage, and intergenerational memory.

Source: https://www.gatewaytheatre.com/events/jade-circle/?srsltid=AfmBOoq6Hd2QXgkhM2EhOi8fLKvaNOoXmNRv6essnCA5VQbyKRygDgAF

Geography: Americas > Northern America > Canada

Year: 2019

Produced by:

Creative Team: Creative Team: Johnny Wu
Designer: Keely O’Brien

Synopsis: Synopsis：The Gateway Language Exchange Gameshow is a participatory promenade theatre experience that brings English and Mandarin speakers together in intergenerational teams to complete language-based challenges across Richmond’s cultural landmarks. Created by Jasmine Chen during her residency at Gateway Theatre, the Gameshow encourages play, collaboration, and cultural exchange using devised theatre techniques. Presented in 2019 as part of the Pacific Festival, the sold-out event fostered community-building across age and language groups, transforming audience members into active participants in a joyful, bilingual celebration.
Jovanni Sy is a Montreal-based playwright, director, and actor of Chinese-Filipino heritage. Formerly Artistic Director of Gateway Theatre and Cahoots Theatre, he is known for creating culturally resonant work that bridges East and West. His acclaimed plays include Nine Dragons, A Taste of Empire, and Salesman in China (with Leanna Brodie), which premiered at the 2024 Stratford Festival. Sy’s work spans Canada, Hong Kong, and the U.S., blending sharp social insight with theatrical flair. He is also a recipient of the Jessie Richardson and Tom Hendry Awards.

Source: https://nac-cna.ca/en/bio/jovanni-sy

Geography: Americas > Northern America > Canada

Year: 2018

Produced by:

Creative Team: Playwright and Director: Jovanni Sy.

Synopsis: Synopsis：Nine Dragons is a gripping noir-inspired thriller by Jovanni Sy set in 1920s colonial Hong Kong. The play follows Tommy Lam, a brilliant Chinese detective facing racism from British superiors as he investigates a series of brutal murders. As Lam’s pursuit leads him to wealthy suspect Victor Fung, the story explores race, identity, and colonial power. Blending social critique with suspense, Nine Dragons examines systemic injustice while delivering a compelling mystery that resonates with contemporary issues in multicultural Canada.

Source:

Geography: Americas > Northern America > Canada

Year: 2006

Produced by:

Creative Team: Jovanni Sy | Playwright: Jovanni Sy Director: Guillermo Verdecchia
Co-Director: Jovanni Sy

Synopsis: In The Five Vengeances, master swordswoman Fury sets out to avenge the murder of her bride-to-be, Bella, at the hands of the tyrannical Overlord. With help from Bella’s fierce sister, Shotgun, Fury must infiltrate the corrupt royal court of the Northern Lands. But vengeance proves treacherous, as Fury becomes entangled in the royal family’s own betrayals and power plays. A stylized mashup of Jacobean revenge tragedy and 1970s kung-fu cinema, the play is a wild, action-packed journey blending love, loss, loyalty—and razor-sharp justice.

Source: https://ttdb.ca/shows/the-five-vengeances/

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/

Geography: Americas > Northern America > Canada

Year: 2022

Produced by:

Creative Team: Jovanni Sy | Written and Director: Jovanni Sy

Synopsis: Synopsis：Set in a post-pandemic, ultra-wealthy Singapore à la Crazy Rich Asians, The Tao of the World is a sharp, modern adaptation of William Congreve’s The Way of the World. As high society emerges from isolation, the elite scramble to reclaim lost pleasures—seducing partners and scheming for family fortunes. In this decadent world of betrayal and desire, Jovanni Sy’s play satirizes moral decay and questions whether the pandemic taught anyone anything at all.

Source: https://arts.ucalgary.ca/creative-performing-arts/news-and-events/school-events/scpa-2021-22-season/drama-2021-22-season-0

Geography: Americas > Northern America > Canada

Year: 2001

Produced by:

Creative Team: Composed by Chan Ka Nin Libretto by Mark Brownell
Cantonese translations by George K. Wong.

Synopsis: Chan Ka Nin is an acclaimed composer who has received over 60 national and international awards, including the Béla Bartók and Barlow Competitions, Chalmers Awards, and a Juno. His works have been performed worldwide by leading ensembles such as the Toronto Symphony and Kodály Quartet. Published by Editio Musica Budapest and others, his music appears on six CDs. A former Indiana University professor, he joined the University of Toronto in 1982 and has served on the board of the League of Canadian Composers.

Source: https://tapestryopera.com/performances/iron-road/

Geography: Americas > Northern America > Canada

Year: 2023

Produced by:

Creative Team: Michael Hidetoshi Mori | Composed by Chan Ka Nin Libretto by Mark Brownell
Director: Michael Hidetoshi Mori

Synopsis: Profile: https://www.chankanin.com/blank-2

Source: https://tapestryopera.com/performances/dragons-tale/

Geography: Americas > Northern America > Canada

Year: 2017

Produced by:

Creative Team: Carmen Aguirre | Playwright: Carmen Aguirre Director: Paulina Abarca-Cantin
Assistant Director: Sophie Gee

Synopsis: Synopsis：The Refugee Hotel follows a group of Chilean exiles newly arrived in 1974 Montreal after fleeing Pinochet’s brutal dictatorship. Set in a temporary resettlement hotel, the dark comedy explores their trauma, culture shock, and clashing personalities as they rebuild their lives. Through moments of grief, absurdity, love, and resilience, the play weaves personal histories with political urgency, highlighting the human cost of displacement while examining Canada’s role in refugee resettlement and the complexities of healing in exile.

Source: https://teesriduniyatheatre.com/project/2016-the-refugee-hotel/