Jan 14-15
Dragon Ladies Don't Weep
WestK Solo Fest, Hong Kong
About
Dragon Ladies Don’t Weep is a sonic portrait of new music icon Margaret Leng Tan – an evocative exploration of memory, time, control and loss. New York-based Singaporean pianist Tan forged a path as a major force within the 20th century American avant-garde, serving as muse for such giants as John Cage and George Crumb, and transforming the toy piano into a serious instrument.
Combining text, projected images and original music for prepared piano, toy piano, toys and percussion composed by Tan's long-term collaborator Erik Griswold, this Singapore/Australia cross-cultural collaboration creates an evocative collage of the forces that have shaped Tan's life. Music emerges as both her passion and her refuge.
Collaborators
Awards
2020 Winner, APRA AMCOS Art Music Awards, Work of the Year Dramatic
Presentation History
2025 Sejong S Theatre, Seoul Performing Arts Festival [24-25 October]
2024 Southbank Centre London, UK
2023 National Theatre & Concert Hall, Taiwan International Arts Festival
2022 Adelaide Festival Centre, Australia, OzAsia Festival
2022 Singtel Waterfront Theatre, Esplanade Theatres on the Bay, Singapore
2020 Arts Centre Melbourne, Australia, Asia TOPA
2021 The Studio, Esplanade Theatres on the Bay, Singapore
Reviews
'[Tan] remains a vital and energetic performer, and Dragon Ladies provides us with a rare insight into that which drives her passion as an explorer and pioneer of new musical territories.'
'In a work featuring twelve short musical scores by Erik Griswold, director Tamara Saulwick and Tan have collaborated to devise a uniquely structured, visually stunning choreographic, sound-based performance.'
'At 74, she cuts a figure of elegance, grace and ferocity behind the 51cm instrument where she possesses a power that’s bewildering.'
'The narrative, the music – by Tan’s long-term collaborator, composer Eric Griswold – and the visualisations all dance with the tension between precision and improvisation, between playfulness and perfectionism.'
'This one-night-only world premiere performance at Asia TOPA in Melbourne is going to be very difficult to describe because most superlatives would short-change Tan for her display of artistry, grace, style, eloquence, presence and physicality … These aren’t just sounds that entertain. Coupled with her lines of spoken word, they’re sounds that stir emotions and jolt the senses.'
'Asia TOPA has created a glorious week for me and it was topped off with the amazing Margaret Leng Tan performing her story at the Playhouse in Dragon Ladies Don’t Weep. Partnering with Chamber Made, Tan and her long time music collaborator, Erik Griswold, took us through a personal journey of music, mental health, and magic.'
Partners
Dragon Ladies Don’t Weep is a Chamber Made and CultureLink Singapore co-production and is co-commissioned by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay. This activity received grant funding from the Australian Cultural Diplomacy Grants Program of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and is supported by Creative Victoria, Australia Council for the Arts, National Arts Council (Singapore), The SUBSTATION, Playking Foundation, Asia TOPA, Sidney Myer Fund and the Robert Salzer Foundation.
Asia TOPA is a joint initiative of the Sidney Myer Fund and Arts Centre Melbourne and is supported by the Australian and Victorian Governments.
