The sadness, the fear and the anger felt in our community cannot go unheard. The discussions around the model minority complex, the hypersexualisation of Asian females and the sinocentric attitudes towards the ESEA diaspora need to be listened to outside of our own circles.

Stop Asian Hate

Our first podcast Earth 2 Air aims to further amplify and champion stories of East and South East Asians in the UK.

Earth 2 Air

New Earth Theatre is setting up a BESEA Freelance Theatre Hardship Fund for those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Freelance Theatre Hardship Fund

New Earth Theatre and Chinese Arts Now (CAN) have chosen Pamela Carter and Tobi Poster-Su to receive the inaugural Digital Theatre Commisssion.

Pamela Carter and Tobi Poster-Su receive Digital Theatre Commisssion

Originally published in The Stage. It’s no mean feat for a theatre company to survive for 25 years. Yellow Earth, founded in 1995, is today recognised as a leading producer of British East and South East Asian theatre.

New Earth will be a crucial voice for BESEA artists

Throughout the last decade, British theatre has led the world with regard to the Black, Asian and ethnic diversity on our stages. Many of those actors are now international names

An Open Letter to the Culture Secretary

Launched to provide mentoring for British East and South East Asian artists in the performing arts.

Rising Waves

We are pleased to announce Lucy Sheen has been selected to join the Freelance Task Force. It was Lucy’s experience in advocacy and her perspectives surrounding the BESEA freelance experience that led us to putting her forward for the Task Force.

Freelance Taskforce Appointment

Anti-Racism Touring Rider: BSL Version

We have signed up to the Anti-Racism Touring Rider, committing to actions that will improve working conditions within the touring sector.

Anti-Racism Touring Rider

Uncovering the lives of Japanese women in the UK since 1945.

Tsunagu/Connect

What starts as a game descends into a fight for survival as sex, power, money and race collide on a hot night in the Pearl River Delta.

Adapted by Amy Ng

Miss Julie

Bayanihan with Love is a project made in response to the adverse effects of the pandemic on the Filipino community in the UK.

Bayanihan With Love

Using puppetry, music and striptease, this is a show about diaspora, assimilation, and siblinghood.

by Tobi Poster-Su

Chang and Eng and Me (and Me)

Pamela Carter's new film explores family and heritage through the lives of her grandmothers, one in Singapore, the other in England.

by Pamela Carter

Duck Rabbit

A British East and South East Asian guide to Manchester’s Past, Present & Future

Signal Fires: Beyond Chinatown

Triptych is a new trio of short films by Quang Kien Van reflecting on experiences of Lockdown, Quarantine and Isolation.

Online

Triptych

A digital short play festival. Streaming 17 new plays from 17 British East and South East Asian playwrights.

New Stories

Dark and unsettling, Fix is the debut psychological thriller by Bruntwood Prize longlisted writer, Julie Tsang.

by Julie Tsang

Fix 懼

Big Dog struggles to overcome opium addiction and for Eunuch Lin, the fall of the Imperial Dynasty couldn’t have come at a worse time.

by Daniel York Loh

Forgotten 遗忘

Helen has grown up in the UK, but always felt a piece of her story was missing. Amidst the skyscrapers and bustling streets of Hong Kong, she meets her grandmother, Lily Kwok.

by In-Sook Chappell

Mountains: The Dreams of Lily Kwok

The story of a lowly shepherd who rises the power and conquers half the world through sheer brutality and self-belief.

Adapted by Ng Choon Ping

Tamburlaine

It started in Limehouse in 1958 when the local council was planning to bulldoze the last remnants of Limehouse Chinatown.

by Jeremy Tiang

The Last Days of Limehouse

Past productions

New Earth Off Stage Academy is a weekly online training session, every Wednesday 7-9pm. No previous performance experience is needed, you can come from any discipline or background. We welcome all ages from 18+

This online course in technical theatre is open to anyone living in the UK. Students will have an opportunity to meet and discover what different roles are available through interactive workshops with leading BESEA design creatives.

Classes will include workshops with BESEA industry professionals in set, lighting, sound and audio visual design.

Applications Open: Thursday 5th May
Applications Close: Monday 6th June

Select your course below and fill out the application form.

You will be asked to write a paragraph telling us about yourself and any previous technical theatre experience you might have.

You will also need to submit a photo of yourself and an Equal Opportunities form as part of the application form.

We also accept a video up to 5 minutes in length to answer the questions in the application form if preferred. If you have any questions about the writers academy, require the documents to be in a different format or need any adjustments made in order to apply, please get in touch with Yuyu at yuyu@newearththeatre.org.uk

This policy statement indicates how we fulfil our statutory obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998 and EU General Data Protection Regulations May 2018.

When and how we collect your personal information

You complete a Feedback Form in personal at an event or on our website

You buy a ticket from a theatre for one of our events and give permission for your email address to be passed on to us

We will always make it clear what data we are collecting from you during these transactions and how we will use it.

Sometimes we may be given your information from third parties, such as theatre venues who have specifically asked your permission to share your data with us.

If your data is provided to us by another person because they feel you may be interested in our work or from a publicly accessible source, we will always make it clear to you where we obtained the information.

The following data and information may also be collected automatically when you visit our website:

We only collect personal information that is essential to our operation and which allows us to inform people about our public events, theatre practitioner development programmes, (usually via our newsletter) and to maintain our records of who has attended out events and participated in our programmes.

How you heard about an event that you attend or participate in

Records of any donations made to the New Earth Theatre and your Gift Aid status, where applicable and as required by the UK tax authorities.

Records of communications sent to you by New Earth Theatre

Records of communications received from you

Records of any volunteering by you on behalf of New Earth Theatre
Photos, film and audio recordings of projects or performances

If you are a participant in one of our workshops or productions we may also collect:

Details of any disability and support you may need to enable your successful participation

We analyse personal information to better understand the interests of our attendees, participants and donors, to help identify potential supporters and to make appropriate requests for support.

If you do not wish us to use your data in this way please contact us via one of the methods given above.

On occasion, we may collect sensitive classes of information.
This could include:

If you have a disability or long-term health impairment

This data is only collected if it is provided directly by you with your full consent.

Where this data is recorded, stored or processed for the purposes of monitoring and reporting it is always done so anonymously.

The information we collect about you helps us to provide you with appropriate information about forthcoming public events or participatory programmes, and to better understand what you would like from us.

Provide you with information about other public events or participatory programmes similar to those you have already attended or enquired about.

Provide you with information on work by other theatre companies whose work is similar to ours.

Conduct research to better understand the geographical location and demographics of our audiences

Notify you about practical issues that could affect your booking (like cancellations or cast changes)

To carry out research to find out if you would be interested in receiving information about future appeals for support for specific projects

To invite you to participate in surveys or interviews to obtain your opinions about our work

How We Manage and Protect Personal Information

We will never share your personal information with any third parties for marketing purposes.

We will never sell or trade your personal contact information.

We protect all the personal information we collect with password protected systems. All data stored in our online mailing system is password protected and encrypted.

We’ll only keep your details for as long as is reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this policy and to fulfil our legal obligations.

We’ll never keep more information than we need.

If you ask us to stop sending you direct marketing emails we will immediately stop doing so

We may need to share personal information with the police or a regulatory or government authority

Although we will do our best to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of the data you transmit to our site as no transmission over the internet is 100% secure; any transmission of your data to us is therefore at your own risk.

Every email you get from us will include a link to be able to unsubscribe

You have the right to ask us to stop using your personal information for marketing purposes. You can do this by phoning, emailing, or in writing using the contact details below.

You have the right to get the information we hold on you corrected. If you have any concern about the accuracy of your personal data, please let us know using the details below.

You have the right to be forgotten; if you would like us to remove the contact information we hold, please contact us using the details below.

You can request details of the personal information we hold about you by contacting us using the details below and providing proof of your identity.

By phone 020 8694 6631 and ask for the General Manager

By post to New Earth Theatre The Albany Douglas Way London SE8 4AG

You have the right to lodge a complaint with The Information Commissioner’s Office.

The newearththeatre.org.uk website is owned and operated by NewEarth Theatre Company Ltd

New Earth Theatre Company Ltd is a registered charity No. 1047991.

For the purpose of the Data Protection Act 1998 and EU General Data Protection Regulations the data controller is New Earth Theatre Co Ltd at The Albany Douglas Way London SE8 4AG
ICO Registration Number: A8302264
This policy was last revised on 1 May 2018. We will update it from time to time to reflect changes in our operations or to fulfil new statutory obligations. The updated policy will then be displayed on our website. We may also inform you directly of any substantive changes.

Further information on data protection regulations can be found on the Information Commissioners website here.

We are currently hybrid working, between our office and from home. Our offices are closed to the pubic until further notice. If you need to get in touch with one of us, please email admin@newearththeatre.org.uk

Our fully funded, intensive summer course for British East and South East Asians aged 18 and over.

New Earth Academy

UK Online
Course Dates: 22nd June - 13th July
Course Leader: Natalie B. Wong
Location: Zoom

We develop and produce high quality work that asks key questions of identity, culture and heritage, of the world we live in and our place in that world.

We challenge perceptions around, provoke conversations about and promote understanding of the BESEA experience.

We create new pathways and opportunities for BESEA artists on and off stage – with a particular focus for those outside of London, to engage, participate and grow their creativity and skills.

Four exciting staged readings of new plays written by playwrights on our Professional Writers Programme.

New Earth Playreadings

A £1,000 bursary for drama school graduates including a FREE year's subscription to Spotlight.

Constellation Creatives Drama Student Bursary

Birmingham
Course Dates: 18th - 23rd July
Course Leader: TBC
Location: Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and Birmingham Hippodrome

A unique audio experience, bringing food and stories from Lewisham’s Vietnamese community together.

The Audio Dining Experience

Sonic Phở

Launched in January 2017 to support the develoment of writers and their ideas that are often under represented in theatre.

Professional Writers Programme

12-month pilot programme developed to support the next generation of ethnically diverse producers.

Producers First

5-month programme of workshops for British East and South East Asian Creatives and Artists.

BESEA Creatives and Artists

Mentoring for New Earth Academy alumni as they prepare to navigate the professional industry.

Mentorship Scheme

London
Course Dates: 18th - 22nd, 25th - 29th July
Course Leader: Broderick Chow
Location: Royal Central School of Speech and Drama

The company was renamed New Earth Theatre in 2020 to signal new beginnings, new growth and new possibilities. We adopt the following values to guide us on that journey.

We place BESEA artists and communities at the heart of everything we do

We believe to work in a collaborative way is to engage at the deepest level

We work to create an open, safe and accessible working space with care and respect

We place integrity and excellence as cornerstones of our work

We listen, innovate and adapt to a changing world

Leeds
Course Dates: 1st - 5th August
Course Leader: Kash Arshad
Location: Leeds Playhouse

We use the term BESEA to mean anyone from the following countries and their diasporas who live and work in Britain.

These countries make up an area that is known as East and South East Asia;
Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, China, East Timor, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, North Korea, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam.

Lupton Travel

Chung Ying Theatre

China Now

Heritage Lottery Fund

Arts and Business

British Council (Connections through Culture)

British Council (Shanghai)

British Council (Chongqing)

British Council (Hong Kong)

Visiting Arts

London Borough of Merton

ALRA

Regents University

Everyone self identifies in their own way and that identity is not necessarily fixed. We currently use the term BESEA so that we can have collective power when making our case for the many artists from communities that continue to be severely underrepresented in our theatre industry.

Meet the team

Our history

New Earth Theatre presents four exciting staged readings of new plays written by the talented playwrights on our Professional Writers Programme.

A Tidal Home by Marie Yan
Directed by Jennifer Tang

The City sits on a peninsula. One day the tide starts following strange patterns and water invites itself further and further into the streets. Canals overflow. The sewage system collapses. Everywhere, pipes exploding. Against the backdrop of this inexplicable catastrophe, lovers panic, a businessman rubs his hands with glee, the mayor descends into authoritarianism, young people doubt their future and up above in heaven, dead philosophers pity the living. All face a dilemma: should you leave and give up on your home, or stay and fight for it?

Content warning: contains references to natural catastrophe (flood), death and mourning, psychological and physical abuse, mention of stillbirth

zaazaa by Nemo Martin
Directed by Andrea Ling

talk, I listen, talk… listen In endless round. Taro is facing oblivion. They cannot do it alone. Inspired by the poetry of Paiute poet Richard Stewart, two friends confront run-down murder motels, shot-gun racists, internment camps and burial grounds as they meet, survive, tell stories, joke and mourn a peace they'll never know.

Content warnings contains references to self-harm, suicide ideation, concentration camps, death, anti-Japanese, anti-Native American and anti-Black racism, transphobia, cannibalism 

Before You Go by Lao Lee
Directed by Emily Ling Williams

Most people only come out once right? Not for Kit, whose mother has early onset dementia. Caught between wanting acceptance, saving her engagement and searching for her estranged brother, Kit uncovers uneasy truths. Before You Go explores queer identity, repression, and trauma.

Content warning: contains references to homophobia, dementia, emotional and physical abuse, child abuse, intergenerational trauma, violence, blood, vomiting

Miss Philippines by Rogelio Braga
Directed by Ria Parry

Miss Philippines is a story of two sassy transgender women, of gowns, glitter, beauty queens, and a fabulous gay beauty pageant in the middle of a bloody war on drugs in Duterte’s Philippines.

Content warning: contains references to extra-judicial killings in the Philippines, homophobia, criminalisation of drug use and migration, police violence, armed conflict with the state, suicide ideation, self-harm, UK's hostile environment policy. 

There is a 15 minute interval between plays.

The Professional Writers Programme supports early career British East and South East playwrights over the course of two years, providing workshops, masterclasses and seed commissions to develop four full-length plays. The Programme has been generously funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation with support from the National Theatre and Soho Theatre.

It’s Chinese New Year in 1940s Hong Kong and celebrations are in full swing. 

Julie, the daughter of the island’s British Governor, crashes the servant’s party downstairs. What starts as a game descends into a fight for survival as sex, power, money and race collide on a hot night in the Pearl River Delta.

British-Hong Kong playwright Amy Ng has adapted this thrilling psychological Strindberg classic into a newly politically-charged production.

Commissioned as part of Storyhouse's  Season 11 of original drama, Miss Julie is revived for a UK tour by New Earth Theatre and Storyhouse.

Running time
75 mins (no interval)

Ages guidance
16+ Contains some strong language, violence and scenes of a sexual nature.

Phở is a popular noodle soup dish from Vietnam and a firm favourite in Vietnamese restaurants across the world.

22 – 26 June 2021
York Theatre Royal
St Leonard’s Place
York 
YO1 7HD

29 June – 3 July 2021
Southwark Playhouse
77-85 Newington Causeway
London 
SE1 6BD

8 – 10 July 2021
Belgrade Theatre
Belgrade Square,
Coventry
CV1 1GS

Saturday 11 June
12:00pm and 5:00pm
The Albany
Douglas Way
London 
SE8 4AG

Saturday 18 June
12:00pm and 3:00pm
Museum of the Home
136 Kingsland Rd
London 
E2 8EA

Post-show discussion (vimeo.com/wattleanddaub/cemmdiscuss)
Bonus feature: Sculpting Eng (vimeo.com/wattleanddaub/sculpteng)

“There’s an image that I’ve carried around with me for the best part of 30 years. My brother and I read about it when we were kids…”

Tobi has spent most of his life with a weird, romanticised and probably quite orientalist image of the deaths of Chang and Eng Bunker – the original Siamese twins – in the back of his mind. He isn’t sure why. Recently he discovered that like him, they were of mixed Chinese heritage, and perhaps the first such performers to make it big in the West. In doing so they carved out an uneasy space in the rotten heart of the American dream.

Using puppetry, music and striptease, this is a show about diaspora, assimilation, and siblinghood; about what happens when you don’t know how to read yourself, and about reaching across history in search of a reflection.

Commissioned by Chinese Arts Now and New Earth Theatre

Created by Tobi Poster-Su
Additional Direction by Tanuja Amarasuriya
Sound and Additional Music by Nicola Chang
Design and Paintings by James Chen-Wishart
Movement Direction by Lizzie Wiggs

Additional Puppetry Consultancy by Laura Purcell-Gates
Tobi’s Brother as Tobi’s Brother
Liver Song Arrangement by Pteromost and Ebu
Associate Producer Jess Hicks
With thanks to Mat Fraser and Yunte Huang

We Are Lewisham is presented by Lewisham Council in partnership with the Albany as part of the Mayor’s London Borough of Culture 2022.

Miss Julie UK Tour

Thinking Through Auto/biography – A Post-Show Discussion

Chang and Eng and Me (and Me) is part of a project exploring the difficulties and tensions inherent in telling the story of an unknowable Other or Others – in this case Chang and Eng Bunker, who were both marginalised and celebrated for their status as racial and physical ‘freaks’ in 19th-century America. At the same time the show explores Tobi’s experience of assimilation, family and unknowable diasporic memory in contemporary Britain. By thinking through both Chang and Eng’s, and Tobi’s biographies, the piece creates a space to examine contemporary concerns around identity and representation.

In this post-show discussion, Tobi Poster-Su is joined by Jennifer Tang, Husam Abed and Martin O’Brien, maker and researchers who use auto/biography to create performance exploring questions of identity, to think through the possibilities and ethics of auto/biographical work. This is followed by a short audience Q&A.

Post-show discussion in association with People’s Palace Projects

Chang and Eng and Me (and Me) can be found here: vimeo.com/wattleanddaub/cemm 

Post-show discussion: Thinking through auto/biography

Chang and Eng and Me (and Me) is part of a project exploring the difficulties and tensions inherent in telling the story of an unknowable Other or Others – in this case Chang and Eng Bunker, who were both marginalised and celebrated for their status as racial and physical ‘freaks’ in 19th-century America. At the same time the show explores Tobi’s experience of assimilation, family and unknowable diasporic memory in contemporary Britain. By thinking through both Chang and Eng’s, and Tobi’s biographies, the piece creates a space to examine contemporary concerns around identity and representation.

In this post-show discussion, Tobi Poster-Su is joined by Jennifer Tang, Husam Abed and Martin O’Brien, makers and researchers who use auto/biography to create performance exploring questions of identity, to think through the possibilities and ethics of auto/biographical work. This is be followed by a short audience Q&A.

Post-show discussion in association with People’s Palace Projects

Chang and Eng and Me (and Me) Panel Discussion

Writer: Amy Ng
Director: Dadiow Lin
Designer: Adam Wiltshire
Lighting Designer: Chris Davey
Sound Designer and Composer: Max Perryment
Intimacy Director: Yarit Dor
Choreographer: Yukiko Masui
Production Manager: Natalie James-Fox
Company Stage Manager: Jessica Thanki

Additional Puppetry Consultancy by Laura Purcell-Gates
Tobi’s Brother as Tobi’s Brother
Liver Song Arrangement by Pteromost and Ebu
Associate Producer Jess Hicks
With thanks to Mat Fraser and Yunte Huang

What's on

Get involved

Workshops

News

Support us

About

Contact

Nullam id dolor id nibh ultricies vehicula ut id elit. Integer posuere erat a ante venenatis dapibus posuere velit aliquet.

Privacy Policy

New Earth Theatre
The Albany 
Douglas Way 
Deptford 
London 
SE8 4AG

+44(0) 20  8694 6631
admin@newearththeatre.org.uk

New Earth Theatre (formerly Yellow Earth Theatre) was formed in 1995 by five British East and Southeast Asian* (BESEA) actors; Kwong Loke, Kumiko Mendl, Veronica Needa, David KS Tse and Tom Wu.