Mosaic Arts Collective
a sense of our practice
Mosaic Arts Collective, previous collaborations
Mosaic Arts Collective consists of artists Ruth Chan, Simon Wu and Jonathan Man. We are co-directors for this project-based company. The chair of our board is Christine Yau, who was awarded an MBE for services to the Chinese community, was the previous chair for Kakilang arts, and has been the current chair for the London Chinese Community Centre for over two decades.
Our earliest collaboration can be traced back to 2011, the play “There is Only One Wayne Lee” by Roy Williams and produced by Lumenis Theatre, was directed by Jonathan Man and the music by Ruth Chan. In our version, the protagonist is a British Chinese teen growing up in the 70s, and explores his friendship with a Black British classmate who took him under his wing. This mirrored how often other diverse groups have been allies to Chinese, East & South East Asian(ESEA) immigrants and their “second generation” children in the face of daily racism and discrimination. The script was translated into Chinese by Simon Wu which was used as surtitles when performed at Southwark Playhouse and then the Beijing International Fringe Festival, with mainland Chinese audiences very shocked at the plight of their Chinese diaspora “cousins” here in the UK, generating tremendous discussion.
Our next project came out of fury at the orientalist tropes we saw in mainstream productions of operas such as Madame Butterfly and Turandot. We undertook an R&D in 2015 for “Turandot Reimagined”, in collaboration with SOAS University and New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth (NTRP), bringing authentic Chinese instrumentation and the culture of Kublai Khan to Puccini’s masterpiece. Caroline Sharman, who was Artistic Director at NTRP at the time, is an experienced opera director & re-imaginer, and mentored us through the concept creation. Our ACE Relationship Manager during this time was Tina Speed in the London Music Team. A sharing was first performed at SOAS University and then the London Chinese Community Centre, and a third sharing was produced by New Theatre Royal at Portsmouth Guildhall. Jonathan directed the research and development process with music rearranged by Ruth and lyrics creatively translated into Mandarin by Simon.
“Turandot Reimagined” was performed again for Tete a Tete Festival in 2016, and Grimeborn Festival (Arcola) in 2018.
Our earliest collaboration can be traced back to 2011, the play “There is Only One Wayne Lee” by Roy Williams and produced by Lumenis Theatre, was directed by Jonathan Man and the music by Ruth Chan. In our version, the protagonist is a British Chinese teen growing up in the 70s, and explores his friendship with a Black British classmate who took him under his wing. This mirrored how often other diverse groups have been allies to Chinese, East & South East Asian(ESEA) immigrants and their “second generation” children in the face of daily racism and discrimination. The script was translated into Chinese by Simon Wu which was used as surtitles when performed at Southwark Playhouse and then the Beijing International Fringe Festival, with mainland Chinese audiences very shocked at the plight of their Chinese diaspora “cousins” here in the UK, generating tremendous discussion.
Our next project came out of fury at the orientalist tropes we saw in mainstream productions of operas such as Madame Butterfly and Turandot. We undertook an R&D in 2015 for “Turandot Reimagined”, in collaboration with SOAS University and New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth (NTRP), bringing authentic Chinese instrumentation and the culture of Kublai Khan to Puccini’s masterpiece. Caroline Sharman, who was Artistic Director at NTRP at the time, is an experienced opera director & re-imaginer, and mentored us through the concept creation. Our ACE Relationship Manager during this time was Tina Speed in the London Music Team. A sharing was first performed at SOAS University and then the London Chinese Community Centre, and a third sharing was produced by New Theatre Royal at Portsmouth Guildhall. Jonathan directed the research and development process with music rearranged by Ruth and lyrics creatively translated into Mandarin by Simon.
“Turandot Reimagined” was performed again for Tete a Tete Festival in 2016, and Grimeborn Festival (Arcola) in 2018.
“Follow The Light”
Project background and video of song extracts
As theatre & musical makers and song writers of Hong Kong Chinese descent living in the UK, the subject of migration resonates deeply within us from personal experiences and from what we see around us today.
To help set a historical context, the Communist Party took over the whole of China in the 1949. Between 1947 – 1951, millions of landowners in China were executed by the Communist party to allow for a land grab, including Ruth’s grandfather, a kindly landowner with a very modest amount of land. Ruth’s father’s life involved escaping to Hong Kong from starvation in the 1960s during the Cultural Revolution in China. In the pitch black nights of pre-industrial southern China, those trying to escape were told to “follow the light” of Hong Kong. His life was then taken up by working and training as a chef in Hong Kong, and subsequently migrating to the UK to the West Midlands, and forgetting his dream to be a professional musician playing the Erhu (a Chinese fiddle). During this period, Simon grew up in humble surroundings in Hong Kong, witnessing as a child this turbulent history, and emigrating to the UK as an adult in order to pursue a life as a playwright, poet and musicals writer. Following occupation by invading Japan, Jonathan’s extended family suffered greatly in Hong Kong during post World War 2 and the rebuilding period, his parents then coming to the UK as well in the 1960s and settling in Portsmouth in search of a better life.
It is estimated that over half a million people made the same journey from China to British-ruled Hong Kong, where they were welcomed with open arms. To honour this historical migration, we propose to tell this story through the music that helped get our forebears get through very challenging times, and uncovering the family wounds and trauma that eats away unless the light of hope is shone onto this darkness. Whilst our family histories may be the starting point, we hope to tap into the universal human dreams of a better future for their loved ones through our new musical Follow The Light.
Follow the Light was showcased as a digital pitch in 2021 at BEAM, the UK’s biggest showcase of new musical theatre, which is organised by Mercury Musical Developments (MMD) and Musical Theatre Network (MTM) in association with Hackney Empire. Out of 320 applications, we were one of the 42 chosen projects to be showcased. MTN’s Chief Executive, James Hadley describes Follow the Light as “[being] filled with all the hope, resilience, joy and incitements for change that we could wish for from tomorrow’s musical theatre breakthroughs and discoveries.”
MTN (Musical Theatre Network) selected us for an online workshop week on character development, with dramaturg Robert Lee and composer Fred Carl (who previously ran the new musical development workshops at Theatre Royal Stratford East). MTN also awarded us a seed bursary of £600 towards the next first phase of development.
Our ACE Relationship Manager during part of this development and advising on community engagement was Lynette Dakin in the ACE South West England Team.
We were awarded an ACE project grant in 2024 for the first phase of development. This started with first hand research, visiting Jonathan's father's home village in Hong Kong, Ruth's parents' home villages in southern China, and where Simon grew up on Hong Kong Island.
We also partly retraced the mountain routes from China to a beach where from the 1950s onwards "freedom swimmers" entered the sea at night to swim towards Hong Kong. We took a boat trip to re-trace the perilous routes across the sea. And we visited mangroves where so many arrived in Hong Kong and where many died in the mud. We also interviewed unbelievably courageous elders who swam this route, as well as those who selflessly helped the freedom swimmers when they arrived in Hong Kong in a desperate state and brought the swimmers food, dry clothes and words of comfort.
This was all a life-changing & incredibly moving experience.
Back in the UK, we then met British Chinese elders in Birmingham, London, Southampton and Portsmouth, and had the privilege to listen deeply to their stories around how they settled here in the UK, the ups and the downs.
After a writing period around a piano, we distilled all these experiences into several songs and draft scenes, and incorporating the Erhu (Chinese fiddle) into many of the songs. We presented these songs & scenes as R&D sharings in London, Portsmouth and Birmingham, to audiences who could share in both the joy yet the regrets of a freedom swimmer and the subsequent challenges he faced in the UK. And also the struggles of the second generation British Chinese including his daughter and how in our story by re-tracing their roots they could find understanding and empathy.
These R&D sharings were extremely well received by a wide range of audiences, from British Chinese, East & South East Asians (BESEAs), theatre goers and potential industry partners.
Here is a short video recorded at a sharing at partner venue Birmingham Hippodrome in September 2024 which features extract of three songs from Follow the Light:
To help set a historical context, the Communist Party took over the whole of China in the 1949. Between 1947 – 1951, millions of landowners in China were executed by the Communist party to allow for a land grab, including Ruth’s grandfather, a kindly landowner with a very modest amount of land. Ruth’s father’s life involved escaping to Hong Kong from starvation in the 1960s during the Cultural Revolution in China. In the pitch black nights of pre-industrial southern China, those trying to escape were told to “follow the light” of Hong Kong. His life was then taken up by working and training as a chef in Hong Kong, and subsequently migrating to the UK to the West Midlands, and forgetting his dream to be a professional musician playing the Erhu (a Chinese fiddle). During this period, Simon grew up in humble surroundings in Hong Kong, witnessing as a child this turbulent history, and emigrating to the UK as an adult in order to pursue a life as a playwright, poet and musicals writer. Following occupation by invading Japan, Jonathan’s extended family suffered greatly in Hong Kong during post World War 2 and the rebuilding period, his parents then coming to the UK as well in the 1960s and settling in Portsmouth in search of a better life.
It is estimated that over half a million people made the same journey from China to British-ruled Hong Kong, where they were welcomed with open arms. To honour this historical migration, we propose to tell this story through the music that helped get our forebears get through very challenging times, and uncovering the family wounds and trauma that eats away unless the light of hope is shone onto this darkness. Whilst our family histories may be the starting point, we hope to tap into the universal human dreams of a better future for their loved ones through our new musical Follow The Light.
Follow the Light was showcased as a digital pitch in 2021 at BEAM, the UK’s biggest showcase of new musical theatre, which is organised by Mercury Musical Developments (MMD) and Musical Theatre Network (MTM) in association with Hackney Empire. Out of 320 applications, we were one of the 42 chosen projects to be showcased. MTN’s Chief Executive, James Hadley describes Follow the Light as “[being] filled with all the hope, resilience, joy and incitements for change that we could wish for from tomorrow’s musical theatre breakthroughs and discoveries.”
MTN (Musical Theatre Network) selected us for an online workshop week on character development, with dramaturg Robert Lee and composer Fred Carl (who previously ran the new musical development workshops at Theatre Royal Stratford East). MTN also awarded us a seed bursary of £600 towards the next first phase of development.
Our ACE Relationship Manager during part of this development and advising on community engagement was Lynette Dakin in the ACE South West England Team.
We were awarded an ACE project grant in 2024 for the first phase of development. This started with first hand research, visiting Jonathan's father's home village in Hong Kong, Ruth's parents' home villages in southern China, and where Simon grew up on Hong Kong Island.
We also partly retraced the mountain routes from China to a beach where from the 1950s onwards "freedom swimmers" entered the sea at night to swim towards Hong Kong. We took a boat trip to re-trace the perilous routes across the sea. And we visited mangroves where so many arrived in Hong Kong and where many died in the mud. We also interviewed unbelievably courageous elders who swam this route, as well as those who selflessly helped the freedom swimmers when they arrived in Hong Kong in a desperate state and brought the swimmers food, dry clothes and words of comfort.
This was all a life-changing & incredibly moving experience.
Back in the UK, we then met British Chinese elders in Birmingham, London, Southampton and Portsmouth, and had the privilege to listen deeply to their stories around how they settled here in the UK, the ups and the downs.
After a writing period around a piano, we distilled all these experiences into several songs and draft scenes, and incorporating the Erhu (Chinese fiddle) into many of the songs. We presented these songs & scenes as R&D sharings in London, Portsmouth and Birmingham, to audiences who could share in both the joy yet the regrets of a freedom swimmer and the subsequent challenges he faced in the UK. And also the struggles of the second generation British Chinese including his daughter and how in our story by re-tracing their roots they could find understanding and empathy.
These R&D sharings were extremely well received by a wide range of audiences, from British Chinese, East & South East Asians (BESEAs), theatre goers and potential industry partners.
Here is a short video recorded at a sharing at partner venue Birmingham Hippodrome in September 2024 which features extract of three songs from Follow the Light:
“Follow The Light”
Credits & Selected Reviews for lead artists Ruth Chan, Simon Wu and Jonathan Man
Ruth Chan (composer)
I am a composer for stage, film & television and concert music, and composer for Follow the Light, a new musical in development showcased at BEAM2021. I started my career as a pianist then studied music at Oxford University before obtaining a Masters in Composition for Screen at the Royal College of Music.
My dance, music theatre, and opera credits include: RONiN 0 (Korzo Theater); The Power of Camelot (British Youth Music theatre/Exeter Northcott Theatre); The Jungle Book (Chichester Festival Theatre); The Doncastrian Chalk Circle (National Theatre); Beauty and the Seven Beasts (The Opera Story, Brixton Jamm); The Hatchling (Plymouth Hoe, Our Year Wakefield District 2024, The Platinum Jubilee Pageant); Between Constellations (Pittsburgh Opera Festival & Grimeborn Festival); The Triumph of Time (Thailand International Composition Festival, Pianoforte Studio Chicago, Shakespearean Theatre Conference Stratford, Ontario); Mokita (Hong Kong Arts Festival); From the Top (Hong Kong Arts Festival);Turandot Reimagined (Tête-à-Tête Opera & Grimeborn Festival) and Piccadilly Revisited (Royal Opera House, Hong Kong Arts Festival, UK Now Festival Beijing).
I was the Composer-in-Residence for Endelienta in 2016, Artist-in-Residence for Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra in 2014 and was in the National Theatre’s Music Theatre Group scheme in 2018/9. My re-orchestration of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly for Opera Up Close toured nationally in early 2020.
My theatre credits include: Our NHS Stories (Aviva Studios); Untitled: f*ck m*ss s**gon (Royal Exchange Theatre/Young Vic); Further than the Furthest Thing (Young Vic); Strange Tales (Traverse Theatre/Grid Iron Theatre); Hedda Tesman (Chichester Festival Theatre); Taming of the Shrew (Royal Shakespeare Company); Mountains: The Dreams of Lily Kwok (Royal Exchange Manchester); Snow in Midsummer (Royal Shakespeare Company - nominated for The Stage Debut Award for Best Music, 2017).
My soundtrack for the silent film Around China With A Movie Camera (British Film Institute) has been performed at Flatpack Film Festival and China Changing Festival at Royal Festival Hall.
I am currently working on The Great Magician, an exciting new musical with illusions & magic tricks in Shanghai (in Chinese), and a new stage adaptation of Philip Pullman's The Firework-Maker's Daughter with Polka Theatre.
Selected reviews:
Taming of the Shrew (Royal Shakespeare Company)
The Real Chrisparkle
“Most impressive were Ruth Chan’s compositions, superbly played by the six musicians perched above the stage, which varied from madrigal to West End showtune, and everything in between. I’m sure one of the group numbers was Italy’s entry to the 1592 Eurovision Song Contest.”
Around China with a Movie Camera (Live performance at the British Film Institute)
ithankyou
“But she (Ruth) also more than achieved one of her key aims of humanising this old film and helping us reconnect with, a world we never knew existed.”
Snow in Midsummer (Royal Shakespeare Company)
The Stage
“Ruth Chan's music mixes an Erhu's lament with pumping bass and synth”
Bromsgrove Advertiser
“CLASHING cymbals, crashing chords and a pounding drum beat all added to the wonderful atmosphere of this magical reworking of one of China’s most famous classical dramas.”
I am a composer for stage, film & television and concert music, and composer for Follow the Light, a new musical in development showcased at BEAM2021. I started my career as a pianist then studied music at Oxford University before obtaining a Masters in Composition for Screen at the Royal College of Music.
My dance, music theatre, and opera credits include: RONiN 0 (Korzo Theater); The Power of Camelot (British Youth Music theatre/Exeter Northcott Theatre); The Jungle Book (Chichester Festival Theatre); The Doncastrian Chalk Circle (National Theatre); Beauty and the Seven Beasts (The Opera Story, Brixton Jamm); The Hatchling (Plymouth Hoe, Our Year Wakefield District 2024, The Platinum Jubilee Pageant); Between Constellations (Pittsburgh Opera Festival & Grimeborn Festival); The Triumph of Time (Thailand International Composition Festival, Pianoforte Studio Chicago, Shakespearean Theatre Conference Stratford, Ontario); Mokita (Hong Kong Arts Festival); From the Top (Hong Kong Arts Festival);Turandot Reimagined (Tête-à-Tête Opera & Grimeborn Festival) and Piccadilly Revisited (Royal Opera House, Hong Kong Arts Festival, UK Now Festival Beijing).
I was the Composer-in-Residence for Endelienta in 2016, Artist-in-Residence for Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra in 2014 and was in the National Theatre’s Music Theatre Group scheme in 2018/9. My re-orchestration of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly for Opera Up Close toured nationally in early 2020.
My theatre credits include: Our NHS Stories (Aviva Studios); Untitled: f*ck m*ss s**gon (Royal Exchange Theatre/Young Vic); Further than the Furthest Thing (Young Vic); Strange Tales (Traverse Theatre/Grid Iron Theatre); Hedda Tesman (Chichester Festival Theatre); Taming of the Shrew (Royal Shakespeare Company); Mountains: The Dreams of Lily Kwok (Royal Exchange Manchester); Snow in Midsummer (Royal Shakespeare Company - nominated for The Stage Debut Award for Best Music, 2017).
My soundtrack for the silent film Around China With A Movie Camera (British Film Institute) has been performed at Flatpack Film Festival and China Changing Festival at Royal Festival Hall.
I am currently working on The Great Magician, an exciting new musical with illusions & magic tricks in Shanghai (in Chinese), and a new stage adaptation of Philip Pullman's The Firework-Maker's Daughter with Polka Theatre.
Selected reviews:
Taming of the Shrew (Royal Shakespeare Company)
The Real Chrisparkle
“Most impressive were Ruth Chan’s compositions, superbly played by the six musicians perched above the stage, which varied from madrigal to West End showtune, and everything in between. I’m sure one of the group numbers was Italy’s entry to the 1592 Eurovision Song Contest.”
Around China with a Movie Camera (Live performance at the British Film Institute)
ithankyou
“But she (Ruth) also more than achieved one of her key aims of humanising this old film and helping us reconnect with, a world we never knew existed.”
Snow in Midsummer (Royal Shakespeare Company)
The Stage
“Ruth Chan's music mixes an Erhu's lament with pumping bass and synth”
Bromsgrove Advertiser
“CLASHING cymbals, crashing chords and a pounding drum beat all added to the wonderful atmosphere of this magical reworking of one of China’s most famous classical dramas.”
Simon Wu (co-book writer, co-lyricist)
I am co-book writer and co-lyricist for Follow the Light, a new musical in development showcased at BEAM2021. Being a first-generation emigrant from Hong Kong who has lived in London for twenty years, I have insight into both the culture of Hong Kong and the UK. As a university academic and author I am an experienced researcher, well able to conduct necessary research into the main themes and background of the musical.
My background in lyric writing includes a free translation of part of the opera libretto for Puccini’s Turandot in the “Turandot Reimagined” project in London in 2015. In 2016 I was also commissioned by the Bournemouth Symphony Chorus to write a libretto for a choral opera. My plays have been published, performed and broadcast in the UK and Hong Kong.
As a poet, I enjoy bringing an extra, poetic dimension to my lyrics – my poems were collected in Outloud by Xtraloud Press and Outloud Too by MCCM Creations.
My adaptation, Pilgrimage of the Heart, received an Arts Council R&D grant then a grant for a full production at the Etcetera Theatre, Camden. The music for the play was composed by Ruth Chan. My stage play, Oikos, commissioned by Red Room, was performed in a theatre space made of upcycled materials, and published by Oberon Books. My plays have also been performed at Soho Theatre, Greenwich Theatre, Oval House and Tara Arts. The Two of Us was longlisted by the Bruntwood Competition and was chosen for the ACE Decibel Showcase Festival. Wolf In The House was included in the East Showcase by the Soho Theatre and awarded an Arts Council grant for a production at Tara Arts.
I have been awarded a Peggy Ramsay grant for my writing. I was a member of the Critical Mass organized by the Royal Court Theatre and was chosen to be part of the “Unheard Voices Recently Arrived” by the Royal Court Theatre. My co-written play, City Stage: Hong Kong Playwriting In English (Hong Kong University Press) – Looking for Stones was published in Hong Kong.
My radio plays, The Curse of the Five Elements - Fire, and Disappearance of Mr. Chan, were broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in Nov 2024 and February 2020 respectively. My other co-written radio plays include Demolition Man, Bare Branches and Looking for Stones broadcast by BBC World Service. My play, Diwali and Curry, was based on the Alperton tube station as part of the “Urban Scrawl” online radio project organized by Theatre 503 and Theatre Voice.
Selected reviews:
Oikos
The Guardian, Review by Michael Billington:“Simon Wu’s Oikos (pronounced ee-kos) certainly lives up to the building’s ark-like contours. His play gains horrendous topicality from the crisis in Pakistan; Wu is shrewd enough to suggest that Salil, whose Indian family was devastated when the Gangs overflowed, learns that ecological disasters are a result of human actions rather than divine intervention.”
Pilgrimage of the Heart
WriteWords Review
"Simon Wu’s adaptation of Eileen Zhang’s short story demonstrates the art of bringing a complete city into a room.”
British Theatre Guide
"Simon Wu is clearly a very capable dramatist."
Radio Times by Fiona Hughes
"A charismatic investigator, a family with secrets, and the Dragon Tea House are the main ingredients of Simon Wu's engrossing drama."
I am co-book writer and co-lyricist for Follow the Light, a new musical in development showcased at BEAM2021. Being a first-generation emigrant from Hong Kong who has lived in London for twenty years, I have insight into both the culture of Hong Kong and the UK. As a university academic and author I am an experienced researcher, well able to conduct necessary research into the main themes and background of the musical.
My background in lyric writing includes a free translation of part of the opera libretto for Puccini’s Turandot in the “Turandot Reimagined” project in London in 2015. In 2016 I was also commissioned by the Bournemouth Symphony Chorus to write a libretto for a choral opera. My plays have been published, performed and broadcast in the UK and Hong Kong.
As a poet, I enjoy bringing an extra, poetic dimension to my lyrics – my poems were collected in Outloud by Xtraloud Press and Outloud Too by MCCM Creations.
My adaptation, Pilgrimage of the Heart, received an Arts Council R&D grant then a grant for a full production at the Etcetera Theatre, Camden. The music for the play was composed by Ruth Chan. My stage play, Oikos, commissioned by Red Room, was performed in a theatre space made of upcycled materials, and published by Oberon Books. My plays have also been performed at Soho Theatre, Greenwich Theatre, Oval House and Tara Arts. The Two of Us was longlisted by the Bruntwood Competition and was chosen for the ACE Decibel Showcase Festival. Wolf In The House was included in the East Showcase by the Soho Theatre and awarded an Arts Council grant for a production at Tara Arts.
I have been awarded a Peggy Ramsay grant for my writing. I was a member of the Critical Mass organized by the Royal Court Theatre and was chosen to be part of the “Unheard Voices Recently Arrived” by the Royal Court Theatre. My co-written play, City Stage: Hong Kong Playwriting In English (Hong Kong University Press) – Looking for Stones was published in Hong Kong.
My radio plays, The Curse of the Five Elements - Fire, and Disappearance of Mr. Chan, were broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in Nov 2024 and February 2020 respectively. My other co-written radio plays include Demolition Man, Bare Branches and Looking for Stones broadcast by BBC World Service. My play, Diwali and Curry, was based on the Alperton tube station as part of the “Urban Scrawl” online radio project organized by Theatre 503 and Theatre Voice.
Selected reviews:
Oikos
The Guardian, Review by Michael Billington:“Simon Wu’s Oikos (pronounced ee-kos) certainly lives up to the building’s ark-like contours. His play gains horrendous topicality from the crisis in Pakistan; Wu is shrewd enough to suggest that Salil, whose Indian family was devastated when the Gangs overflowed, learns that ecological disasters are a result of human actions rather than divine intervention.”
Pilgrimage of the Heart
WriteWords Review
"Simon Wu’s adaptation of Eileen Zhang’s short story demonstrates the art of bringing a complete city into a room.”
British Theatre Guide
"Simon Wu is clearly a very capable dramatist."
Radio Times by Fiona Hughes
"A charismatic investigator, a family with secrets, and the Dragon Tea House are the main ingredients of Simon Wu's engrossing drama."
Jonathan Man (director, co-book writer, co-lyricist)
I am a London-based theatre director and independent producer and the director and co-book & lyrics writer for Follow the Light, a new musical showcased at BEAM2021.
I was previously CEO for Kakilang, a festival platforming British Chinese culture in the UK. I was also selected to be on the National Theatre’s “Step Change” programme for arts leaders and managers. I was previously co-artistic director at Yellow Earth (rebranded as New Earth), a national touring theatre company; guest lecturer for Shanghai Theatre Academy; guest artist at Hong Kong Repertory Theatre; participated in the Lincoln Center Theatre's annual Directors Lab in New York; and was artist-in-residence at the University of Michigan in the Department of Theatre & Drama.
I am an alumni of the Stage One commercial "Producers Workshop" which is supported by SOLT. I was previously dramaturg for Liverpool Trading by Anita Gonzalez and Errollyn Warren MBE, a new musical about the transatlantic journeys and intertwining stories of black African slaves and white Irish indentured servants which had a workshop presentation at The Cell Theatre in New York. I am dramaturg & co-writer for the new musical "Tokyo Rose" by Burnt Lemon theatre, which was a standout hit at Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and later embarked on a successful tour in partnership with Birmingham Hippodrome and Southampton MAST. A new production performed in Japanese was produced at the New National Theatre Tokyo in December 2023 to sold out audiences.
Selected Directing Credits: ‘Monkey!’ (based on the Chinese novel Journey to the West); ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ (Southwark Playhouse), as winner of the Better Bankside Shakespeare Award; “wAve” (a modern Medea, Yellow Earth); double-bill 'Magical Chairs' by Mary Mazzilli and 'There’s Only One Wayne Lee' by Roy Williams (for Lumenis Theatre at Southwark Playhouse & the Beijing International Fringe Festival); ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ for Shanghai Repertory Theater, with music by Ruth Chan; and 'Turandot Reimagined', a collaboration with the SOAS Chinese Music Ensemble, a queer reinterpretation of Puccini's opera using authentic Chinese culture (Tete a Tete festival; Grimeborn Festival at the Arcola Theatre).
Selected reviews:
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Directed by Jonathan Man, Performed at the Southwark Playhouse
Review by Susan Meehan, Japan Society
“Noticeable A Midsummer Night’s Dream pits the fantastical and magical world of the forest fairies, against the world of the Duke and Duchess. Man goes one step further by clearly demarcating the world of the mechanicals, or labourers, by expertly drawing on the Japanese theatre traditions of Noh, Kabuki and Kyogen. Man additionally used language as a demarcator. The fairy world, dominated by Oberon and Titania, largely spoke Japanese as opposed to the nobles and the mechanicals who spoke English peppered with the odd Japanese word. The insertion of Japanese was great fun for anyone with a smattering of the language. All in all, it was a thoroughly entertaining performance with good casting.”
Review of wAve by Sung Rno
"Unique, funny and moving production."
by David Byrne for Remotegoat (and current Artistic Director, Royal Court)
“Jonathan Man directs a beautifully slick production which not only keeps the pace romping along but often, with the simplistic staging, clean lines and beautiful lighting design from Douglas Kuhrt, mirrors the sterile society the individuals are inhabiting. Yellow Earth and their rep company of actors have created a modern piece that is both funny and touching while feeling unique. It's not often you come across a play quite like this one.”
I am a London-based theatre director and independent producer and the director and co-book & lyrics writer for Follow the Light, a new musical showcased at BEAM2021.
I was previously CEO for Kakilang, a festival platforming British Chinese culture in the UK. I was also selected to be on the National Theatre’s “Step Change” programme for arts leaders and managers. I was previously co-artistic director at Yellow Earth (rebranded as New Earth), a national touring theatre company; guest lecturer for Shanghai Theatre Academy; guest artist at Hong Kong Repertory Theatre; participated in the Lincoln Center Theatre's annual Directors Lab in New York; and was artist-in-residence at the University of Michigan in the Department of Theatre & Drama.
I am an alumni of the Stage One commercial "Producers Workshop" which is supported by SOLT. I was previously dramaturg for Liverpool Trading by Anita Gonzalez and Errollyn Warren MBE, a new musical about the transatlantic journeys and intertwining stories of black African slaves and white Irish indentured servants which had a workshop presentation at The Cell Theatre in New York. I am dramaturg & co-writer for the new musical "Tokyo Rose" by Burnt Lemon theatre, which was a standout hit at Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and later embarked on a successful tour in partnership with Birmingham Hippodrome and Southampton MAST. A new production performed in Japanese was produced at the New National Theatre Tokyo in December 2023 to sold out audiences.
Selected Directing Credits: ‘Monkey!’ (based on the Chinese novel Journey to the West); ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ (Southwark Playhouse), as winner of the Better Bankside Shakespeare Award; “wAve” (a modern Medea, Yellow Earth); double-bill 'Magical Chairs' by Mary Mazzilli and 'There’s Only One Wayne Lee' by Roy Williams (for Lumenis Theatre at Southwark Playhouse & the Beijing International Fringe Festival); ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ for Shanghai Repertory Theater, with music by Ruth Chan; and 'Turandot Reimagined', a collaboration with the SOAS Chinese Music Ensemble, a queer reinterpretation of Puccini's opera using authentic Chinese culture (Tete a Tete festival; Grimeborn Festival at the Arcola Theatre).
Selected reviews:
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Directed by Jonathan Man, Performed at the Southwark Playhouse
Review by Susan Meehan, Japan Society
“Noticeable A Midsummer Night’s Dream pits the fantastical and magical world of the forest fairies, against the world of the Duke and Duchess. Man goes one step further by clearly demarcating the world of the mechanicals, or labourers, by expertly drawing on the Japanese theatre traditions of Noh, Kabuki and Kyogen. Man additionally used language as a demarcator. The fairy world, dominated by Oberon and Titania, largely spoke Japanese as opposed to the nobles and the mechanicals who spoke English peppered with the odd Japanese word. The insertion of Japanese was great fun for anyone with a smattering of the language. All in all, it was a thoroughly entertaining performance with good casting.”
Review of wAve by Sung Rno
"Unique, funny and moving production."
by David Byrne for Remotegoat (and current Artistic Director, Royal Court)
“Jonathan Man directs a beautifully slick production which not only keeps the pace romping along but often, with the simplistic staging, clean lines and beautiful lighting design from Douglas Kuhrt, mirrors the sterile society the individuals are inhabiting. Yellow Earth and their rep company of actors have created a modern piece that is both funny and touching while feeling unique. It's not often you come across a play quite like this one.”
Photography from past collaborations
Stage 1 R&D 2024 Summary
With project grant support from Arts Council England, our research explored illegal migration from China to Hong Kong and first-generation Chinese immigration to the UK. We conducted field research in Hong Kong and Mainland China, interviewing individuals who had made the journey (e.g. family contacts, freedom swimmers), migration experts (e.g. Professor Sinn), and officials (former police member and current border guard). We visited key locations, including Lau Fau Shan, where illegal immigrants arrived, and migration routes in Guangzhou (Luofu Mountain) and Shenzhen (Wutong Mountain, Dameisha Beach).
Our Cantonese opera and musical research included attending performances, meeting artists and academics, and studying how Cantonese opera techniques could be adapted for a musical.
This trip also helped us build relationships with Hong Kong theatre practitioners. With British Council HK support, Chung Ying Theatre Company organized a meeting where we connected with local theatre professionals. We also met producers Gigi Chang and Susanna Yu, as well as Poon Wai Sum, the artistic director of the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre, and So Kwok Wan, the programme director of the Hong Kong Arts Festival.
We also engaged in UK community outreach research, visiting Chinese community centres in London, Portsmouth, and Birmingham to understand migration stories and intergenerational experiences.For creative development, we held intensive artistic workshops, received dramaturgical support, and presented five work-in-progress sharings in London, Portsmouth, and Birmingham, attended by local Chinese communities and industry professionals. We also ran three masterclasses in London, Portsmouth, and Birmingham and participated in a Chinese New Year celebration in Portsmouth.To ensure our findings and creative work have a lasting impact, legacy, our research and development process has been documented for future audiences and creatives.
Stage 1 R&D opening scene
To give a sense of the story, here is the opening scene from the work in progress sharings. To be developed further during the proposed Stage 2 R&D with support from dramaturg and industry partners.
With project grant support from Arts Council England, our research explored illegal migration from China to Hong Kong and first-generation Chinese immigration to the UK. We conducted field research in Hong Kong and Mainland China, interviewing individuals who had made the journey (e.g. family contacts, freedom swimmers), migration experts (e.g. Professor Sinn), and officials (former police member and current border guard). We visited key locations, including Lau Fau Shan, where illegal immigrants arrived, and migration routes in Guangzhou (Luofu Mountain) and Shenzhen (Wutong Mountain, Dameisha Beach).
Our Cantonese opera and musical research included attending performances, meeting artists and academics, and studying how Cantonese opera techniques could be adapted for a musical.
This trip also helped us build relationships with Hong Kong theatre practitioners. With British Council HK support, Chung Ying Theatre Company organized a meeting where we connected with local theatre professionals. We also met producers Gigi Chang and Susanna Yu, as well as Poon Wai Sum, the artistic director of the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre, and So Kwok Wan, the programme director of the Hong Kong Arts Festival.
We also engaged in UK community outreach research, visiting Chinese community centres in London, Portsmouth, and Birmingham to understand migration stories and intergenerational experiences.For creative development, we held intensive artistic workshops, received dramaturgical support, and presented five work-in-progress sharings in London, Portsmouth, and Birmingham, attended by local Chinese communities and industry professionals. We also ran three masterclasses in London, Portsmouth, and Birmingham and participated in a Chinese New Year celebration in Portsmouth.To ensure our findings and creative work have a lasting impact, legacy, our research and development process has been documented for future audiences and creatives.
Stage 1 R&D opening scene
To give a sense of the story, here is the opening scene from the work in progress sharings. To be developed further during the proposed Stage 2 R&D with support from dramaturg and industry partners.
Not My Fault (daughter's song)
Follow The Light (father's song recalling his decision to leave China and swim to Hong Kong)
The Moon Know My Name (father's song in the present day, UK, looking back at the old China he longs for)
Proposed Stage 2 R&D confirmed partners supporting comments
“Follow The Light brings a little heard story, from under-represented voices, to UK audiences. The music is distinctive and the narrative has potential to offer fresh viewpoints from different generations. In Birmingham, this will resonate deeply with our communities. We are excited to see what happens next with its development and will be happy to support where we can.”
Chris Sudworth, Creative Director, Birmingham Hippodrome
“After seeing the presentation of Follow the Light in 2024, Mayflower Studios have followed the development of the work with interest, particularly given the relevance to and interest in the piece for members of the local community. The compelling tale, perhaps unknown to many, is one we are keen to support where we can with an offer space for rehearsal/workshop/writing, to help with the pieces further progression. We look forward to seeing the next iteration of the piece”.
Jamie Smith, Senior Producer, Southampton MAST
“From what I saw at the Hippodrome last year, it has the potential - with more narrative focus - to tell a story that reaches across the generations, and to represent the BEASEA community in musical form, as never before! Especially in the musical form.”
Andrew Smaje, Senior Producer, Leeds Playhouse.
"China Plate are enthusiastic supporters of Follow The Light. Simon, Ruth and Jonathan have an important story to tell and the work they have done building the project and exploring their family and wider community histories has been extraordinary. It will be exciting to see how the story of the show grows from the deep research they have undertaken.”
Ed Collier, Director, China Plate
“I am following the development of 'Follow the Light' with interest, since it was selected for the BEAM2020 showcase by MTN & MMD, and subsequently for the MT Spotlights digital pitches initiative as part of BEAM2021, attending development workshops since then.
I believe 'Follow the Light' occupies new creative territory in contemporary UK musical theatre, with strong audience development appeal and high quality content which will entertain, provoke and enlighten.”
James Hadley, Executive Director, Musical Theatre Network
Selected community & audience reactions:
"Fantastic acting and song numbers. I enjoyed the characters interactions and generational divide."
"I understand now the gravity of the whole 'moving to HK' thing. Pretty sure my ancestors have done that, but I don't think I've properly understood that before. So thank you for that, brought tears to my eye."
"Great to see Chinese actors telling Chinese stories"
"Rare to see BESEAs struggles in musical form, great!"
"Excellent portrayal, it was very touching and I certainly enjoyed it and felt SEEN as a British Born Chinese."
"I liked being brought into another world and learn about the culture through different generational journeys"
"I had never fully understood struggles experienced by the British Born Chinese. Fabulous singers!!"
"I could see this in a big theatre. The parents were great, I liked the supercalifragilistic (style) song about a spoonful of this and a portion of that."
"Beautiful beginnings, there are such strong songs and characters. It's exciting to see at this stage. I love the (title) song Follow the Light"
"The Chinese musical instrument in the Western style songs match perfectly."
"It was amazing! I love how the music has its own story and voice."