by Silk Bath Collective
Produced by Silk Bath Collective in Partnership with Theatre Passe Muraille
Photo (L to R) of Bessie Cheng, Phoebe Hu (胡馨勻), Richard Lam and Madelaine Hodges (賀美倫) by Jae Yang | Design and Illustrations by Emily Jung
“Experience the taste of the Woking Phoenix!”
An epic exploration of two decades of a family’s survival. Woking Phoenix tells the story of three siblings, their mother, and their restaurant as they seek to find belonging within small-town Ontario. An intergenerational Chinese love story about creating community and the food that reminds us of home.
After its sold out run at Theatre Passe Muraille in 2024, Woking Phoenix went on to win the Jon Kaplan Audience Choice Award at Toronto’s Dora Mavor Moore Awards. This hilarious and touching play will travel on tour to Richmond, BC, and a TBA stop in 2027
Show Dates
March 2027 (Gateway Theatre, Richmond, BC)
May/June 2027 (TBA)
Running Time:
140 minutes with intermission.
Accessibility
Mandarin is spoken and will be translated using surtitles
Location
Gateway Theatre, Mainstage (6500 Gilbert Rd., Richmond, BC)
Tickets
Tickets can be purchased from Gateway Theatre’s website.
- Spoken Mandarin with surtitle translations
- Tightly focused lighting states
- Flashing Lights
- Use of Haze
- Loud and surprising sounds included within the music of the performance and live door slams
- Repeated & immersive sounds
Family grief, family conflict, implied homophobia, implied violence, implied sexual content, the experience of racism & microaggressions, the use of coarse language and heightened emotional states.
Credits
Co-creator, Director, and Producer
Aaron Jan
Co-creator, Director, Producer, and Performer
Bessie Cheng
Co-creator, Director, Producer, and Associate Sound Designer
Gloria Mok (莫嘉詠)
SILK BATH COLLECTIVE is Bessie Cheng, Aaron Jan and Gloria Mok. Since 2016, we have produced critically acclaimed work that centres around our lived experiences as first, second and third generation Chinese-Canadians. Bessie immigrated from Urumqi, Xinjiang in 2001, Gloria’s parents immigrated from Kowloon, Hong Kong in the 1980s, and Aaron’s grandparents immigrated from Toisan, Guangdong in the 1950s.
As a collective, we seek to redefine what makes a Chinese-Canadian play through our different experiences of what it means to be “Chinese”. We are fascinated with how Chinese tradition, language, and culture are communicated through music, food, pop culture, stories, and physicality are informed by an intergenerational lens and regional differences.
Silk Bath Collective Team:
Co-creator, Director, and Producer | Aaron Jan
Co-creator, Director, Producer, and Performer | Bessie Cheng
Co-creator, Director, Producer, and Associate Sound Designer | Gloria Mok
To schedule an interview with the artist, or staff members at Theatre Passe Muraille regarding this production, please email B-Rebel Communications at ash@b-rebelpr.com. We will try our best to accommodate your media requests, however they are not guaranteed.
Silk Bath Collective: Bessie Cheng, Aaron Jan and Gloria Mok
Thank You
