Artists Biographies
Calita Leong Rainford (Anna May Wong) Recent film work includes Anna Simonitz in the thriller, Iron Cross (Calibra Pictures) opposite Roy Scheider, and Kendra in the paranormal thriller, Beacon77 (Kaleidoscope Films) – both due for release in 2010. Other film and television credits include Return to House on Haunted Hill (Warner Bros), Dream Team (Hewland) and Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (BBC). Her stage appearances include Kitty Wu in Moon Palace (TNT Theatre Britain - Germany tour), Comrade Chin in M. Butterfly (Bromley Theatre), Maria in Tranquil (Cockpit), Karen in Boy’s Life (Camden Etc) and Siobhan in Friday Night Drinks (Old Red Lion). Calita is delighted to be celebrating the life of Anna May Wong.
Yuyu Rau (dancer) is a professional dancer and teacher from Taiwan. She finished her MA Performance: Dance at University of Chichester in 2008. Since 2006 she has worked with a number of highly-regarded British and international contemporary dance choreographers in the UK.
Quang Kien Van (dancer) trained at Central School of Ballet in London. He went on to dance for a wide variety of companies including Adventures in Motion Pictures, Skanes Danstheater, Peter Schaufuss Ballet, Cirque du Soleil and AmbrosiaBerlin. As a UK-based freelance dancer Quang has worked with choreographers Michael Clark, Michael Keegan Dolan, Jacky Lansley, Fleur Darkin and Linda Dobell. Recently Quang created 'Patient 319' his choreographic debut, as part of Step Out Arts' British East Asian Choreographers Development Scheme.
Suki Mok (composer/sound design/performance) has had his music compositions played at the Barbican, Sadlers’ Wells, Royal Opera House 2 (Linbury Studio) and Soho Theatre, among others. He has also performed live extensively across London in various bands and with many musicians, most recently performing an experimental film score for Piccadilly, the 1929 silent movie, at the South Bank for the Thames Festival.
Ruth Chan (composer / sound design / performance) trained as a classical pianist from an early age, which led her to study music and composition at Oxford University and Royal College of Music. Ruth has composed for many films and documentaries as well as for theatre and concert commissions. Soundtracks include the award winning film 'Variable' and documentary 'Attack on the Pentagon' (Discovery Channel).
Nguyen Ngoc Anh (choreographer) was born in Hanoi and trained at the Vietnamese Dance College and later the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. He has worked at Ballet Persans, Random Dance and Phoenix Dance Theatre. He received the New British Choreography Bonnie Bird Award in 2005 and was a finalist at The Place Prize in 2006. He was dance assistant for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and has choreographed a number of works, including commissions from the Arts Council. Anh won the Spotlight award of the Critic's Circle Dance award 2008.
Sin-man Yue (choreographer) trained in Hong Kong and LCDS in London. She has danced with Bi Ma; Janet Smith; Claire Russ and many other dance productions since 1992. Her choreographic commissions have included Resolution! ROH2 new;currents at the Royal Opera House, Stratford Circus; Dance City etc... She teaches widely, and is an experienced residency leader and choreographer. Most recently, worked for Olympic Torch Relay; BBC’s Silk Screen at Birmingham and also with French company Les Passagers at O2 arena.
Shan Ng (film-maker) has had films screened in significant venues in UK and worldwide including National Film Theatre, Curzon Soho Cinema, Emergeandsee tour show in Kino Internationale Berlin and Trafo Kortars Muveszetek Haza Budapest, also in France, Sweden and Portugal. Last year’s productions included Merry-Go-Round (Film) and The Pilgrimage of the Heart (Theatre), commissioned by Film London and the Arts Council England respectively.
O Zhang (film-maker) is an artist working in photography and film. A graduate of Royal College of Art in London and Central Academy of Art in Beijing, she is living and working in New York and Beijing. O Zhang was the recipient of the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Artist Fellowship (New York), winner of RCA Photography Graduate Award (London) and nominated/short listed for numerous awards including Chinese Contemporary Art Awards (Beijing), Beck’s Future Award (London) and Creative Capital Awards (New York). O Zhang has had more than 80 exhibitions and screenings worldwide, including a recent solo show at the Queens Museum of Art in New York. Her work is in the collection of Guggenheim Museum in New York. http://www.ozhang.com
Alice Lee (co-writer) actress and writer, was inspired by the courage and determination of Anna May Wong when she wrote and performed her one woman play, Dragon Lady: Being Anna May Wong, in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 07. She feels enormously privileged to be part of the creative team of Piccadilly Revisited and hope that through the project many more people will be touched and inspired by the first Chinese Hollywood film star.
David Tse Ka-Shing (director and co-writer) is an actor, writer, director and filmmaker. He is a Fellow of Rose Bruford and was Artistic Director of Yellow Earth for thirteen years, where he wrote and directed a number of acclaimed plays. He has contributed to the development of the British East Asian theatre sector, and as Creative Director of CAS, is now working for the development of other BEA artforms.
Uma Jackson (assistant director) trained in acting/directing at Bangkok Chulalongkorn University and has worked in Thailand as a professional actor and director prior to completing her MA in performance at Goldsmiths, University of London. Uma was an assistant director for Clod Ensemble’s visual theatre production, Red Ladies (2006) in Fierce Festival in Coventry and London Hackney Empire and recently participated in Yellow Earth Theatre Company's skill development initiative for emerging British East Asian Director/Producer, assisting the directors with Typhoon 6 International Playreading Festival, as well as the touring productions wAve and Boom at Greenwich Theatre.
Wai Yin Kwok (set designer) trained at Rose Bruford College in Theatre Design. Recent designs include, Chikyubako (Za-Koenji Theatre in Japan), Boom/Wave (UK Tour), Hanjo/Hells Screen (Oval House), State Fair (Finborough Theatre), Soho’s Got Talent (Soho Theatre), Midsummer Night’s Dream (Southwark Playhouse), Pangu & Nuwa (Trafalgar Square), Monkey! (Polka Theatre), The Mona Lisas (UK Tour), Into The Wood /Big Top (The Bridewell Theatre), The First Chinese Emperor (British Museum), When Midnight Strikes (Chelsea Theatre), I Sing (The Union Theatre), Dead Fiddler (New End Theatre).
Jennifer Ng (costume designer) graduated from the Royal College of Art with an MA in Fashion Design in 1992. Since then her 18 years of experience has involved both working in mainstream fashion as well as commissions for costumes and uniforms. Her first involvement in theatre came when she assisted Jasper Conran in designing for the Royal Ballet and the Scottish Royal Ballet. She runs her own design company JNG Design.
Douglas Kuhrt (lighting designer) is an experienced lighting designer. Doug's recent work includes The Pitmen Painters at The National Theatre, which is transferring to New York in September. He has just lit Dick Whittington for Liverpool's Everyman Theatre, his 8th consecutive panto for The Everyman. He has lit most of Yellow Earth's shows, a number of West End productions, Panto, Cabaret, Opera, Children's Theatre and Clowning. Doug's next production is Britain's Got Bhangra for Rifco Arts.
Guest Musicians
Cheng-Ying Chuang: Countertenor & Chinese Lutenist (liuqin & zhongruan)
Orlanda Byers: Cellist & Vocalist
Soname Yangchen: Vocalist
Andre Seet: Percussionist
Production team
Gary Beestone (Production Manager) provides creative production management for theatre and events in the UK and Overseas, working in the West End, regionally and on UK and international tours. Most recently he has been working with: The Ambassador Theatre Group, Sonia Friedman Productions, Out of Joint, Qdos and the Menier Chocolate Factory. His company strives for a creative, flexible and innovative approach to all its work – www.garybeestone.com
Sarah Jenkins (Stage Manager) Recent work includes The Mountaintop (Trafalgar Studios); Boom and wAve (tour in rep for Yellow Earth Theatre Company); Alf Ramsey Knew My Grandfather (Gala Theatre, Durham); The Blue Room (Haymarket Theatre Basingstoke); Jack and the Beanstalk (Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds); West Side Story (Pattichion Municipal Ampitheatre, Cyprus); and Desire Under The Elms (Young Vic).
I am Ann May Wong sung by Alice Lee
(P18)
Short film credits
Film #1
Directed by Shan Ng
Director of Photography: Kathinka Minthe
Cast
Tom Sawyer: lover
Kaneda Hoang-Vuong: child Anna May Wong
Robyn Howe: Tap Dancer
Kwong Chan: father
Calita Leong Rainford: Anna May Wong
Crew
Marius Smuts: 1st Assistant Director
Natasha Huang: Key Hair & Makeup Artist
Jeremy Hunt: Lighting Assistant
Edward Lidster: Production Designer
Philip Lidster: Assistant Art Director
Filippo Gasparini: Production Manager
Suki Mok: Still Photographer
Lee Watson: Visual Effect Artist and Online Editor
Steve Giles: Gaffer and Additional Photography
Christiana Howell: Makeup Artist
Jeehyun Kwon: Director’s Assistant
João Cerqueira: Gaffer
Jenny Ng Matthews: Costume Designer
Ewan Mulligan: Camera Assistant
Uma Jackson: Casting Director
Armando Avallone: Additional Photography
Thalia Charalambous: Director of Movement
Photo Credit: Anthony B. Chan, Perpetually Cool: The Many Lives of Anna May Wong, 1905-1961 (Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, Scarecrow Press, 2003, 2007).
Film #2
Directed and Written by O Zhang
Produced by Jonathan Hsu
Director of Photography: Jack Lam
Cast
Chantal Thuy: Anna May Wong
Klemen Novak: Anna May Wong’s lover-
Michele Hirsig: Shadow Monster
Klemen Novak: Laughing Mask #1
Michele Hirsig: Laughing Mask #2
Christine Hung: Laughing Mask #3
Michele Hirsig: Makeup Girl #1
Emmeline Wilks-Dupoise: Makeup Girl #2
Crew
Jonathan Hsu: Production Manager
Xiao Li Tan: 1st Assistant Director
Tinx Chan: 1st Assistant Camera
Jordan T. Parrott: Gaffer
Alfonso Ponton: Grip
Justin Coco: Swing
Alex Keipper: Swing
O Zhang: Art Director
Peter Garfield: Additional Prop Designer
Emmeline Wilks-Dupoise: Assistant art director
Jeremy Hersch: Props Person
Peter Garfield: Props Person
Shan Ng: Casting Director
Peter Garfield & Darcy Schlitt: Location Scout
Michelle Hirsig: Producer Assistant
Angelique Velez: Makeup Artist
Jillian Moschitto: Hair Stylist
Cynthia Chung & Samantha Chan: Set Photography
Xiao Li Tan: Editor
Lee Eaton: Colourist
Special thanks to: Bennet Media Studios NYC, Tina Chen, Rachel Black
A HsuBox Production
Thanks
Chinatown Arts Space would also like to thank the following for their work and support to the Piccadilly Revisited project: Executive Director, Jude Woodward, Chair, Christine Yau, Vice Chair, Ming Kong, Treasurer, Lee Fulton, Board Members Sunny Ong, Joseph Wu, Junko Takewaka and Brendan Kearney; Anna Chen; Adjjima Na Patalung; Roger Austin and Kam Dale, Westminster City Council; Kay Tsang, graphic design; Mulberry Design, other design; Yellow Earth Theatre; Yming restaurant; Spectrum radio; Joyce Wilson, ACE London; Andrew Youdell, BfI; Shaftesbury PLC
