The Bitten Peach: 2020 Projects
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The Bitten Peach is a Pan-Asian cabaret collective seeking to increase participation from Asians in the performance world, both on stage and in the audience. We are now one year old and ready to upgrade ourselves to the next level (PokEvolve to our next evolution). But unfortunately we are not crazy rich Asians, and need your help to make our 2020 projects come to life.
For the moment, we don’t have any upcoming events. Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, we’ve postponed our event plans, including our show ‘Crouching Tiger Mum, Hidden Drag Queen’, which was set to debut on March 20th. At the moment, East Asians are specifically being targeted as the cause and carriers of COVID-19. Despite that belief being rooted in racism, we feel an even higher responsibility to combat it spreading.
But we are taking this time to prepare for the year ahead. Now that we are one year old, we are ready to upgrade ourselves to the next level (PokEvolve to our next evolution). But unfortunately we are not crazy rich Asians, and need your help to make our 2020 projects come to life.
In 2020, we plan to…
1. Provide Aid to Asian Performers who are suffering from loss of income due to COVID-19 job cancellations. This is now our primary priority! With most events cancelled, the performing arts industry is being hit hard. Many performers are struggling, and so we are planning to provide financial support to The Bitten Peach performers in the coming weeks.
2. Increase Asian Representation through our “Peach Fuzz” programme, where we foster Asian talent by providing mentorship and rehearsal space for Asians eager to gain performance experience and hone their skills. If you are interested in joining the programme, please email [email redacted]
3. Increase Accessibility by breaking down barriers to enjoying live performance.
- Pay-as-you-can ticket scheme: Providing discounted tickets for Asians and other People of Colour, who cannot afford full price tickets.
- Working with QuipLash to provide BSL and audio description interpreters
4. Present Traditional Asian artforms in new queer contexts. We want to study traditional Asian artforms (Chinese fans, Bhangra dance, kabuki, etc.), reimagine them and expose them to new audiences.
5. Debut 'Crouching Tiger Mum, Hidden Drag Queen’* a brand-new theatre show focused on dismantling Asian stereotypes, then tour to connect with Asian communities across the UK. The story follows a young drag performer, who starts having a panic attack just before their debut performance, due to internalised racism, sexism and homophobia. As they question their ability to break from stereotypes, they are visited by a fairy godmother / fairy tiger mother who takes them on a magical journey to meet queer Asian ancestors, each defying racial expectations in their own way. Eventually we want to go on tour to reach new audiences and to connect with Asian communities across the UK.
*Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, we’ve had to postpone our initial debut date on March 20th. If you had bought a ticket, please consider donating the ticket money instead of asking for a refund. This will help the venue stay afloat during these difficult times.
We need your help to make these projects a reality! Urgently we need to provide support to Asian artists. Your donation will directly support the Asian community by helping those struggling financially.
Share with your family and friends, even your frenemies. Share with your umma, appa, your obachan, ojichan, your JieJie, MeiMei, DiDi, GeGe, your Pinsan, and every single one of your aunties!
More about The Bitten Peach...
We create platforms where queer Asian performers are able to express themselves and be celebrated! Movies and TV exclude our storylines, so we are creating our own platforms where we control the narrative! We offer a unique point of view where Asian performers have the autonomy to showcase their talents how they see fit. We seek to unite Asian diasporic communities, as our members represent East, Southeast, and South Asia. Regardless of borders and nationality, we are a collective and a family presenting an image of a united Asia.
The Bitten Peach is dedicated to challenging audiences’ perceptions of Asians, breaking down tired, boring Asian stereotypes, like...
Asian men are effeminate and undesirable
Asian women are meek and subservient
Asians are the model minority, seen but never heard
But here we are: a diverse group of Asians existing in defiance of those tired tropes. Our shows empower Asians and other people of colour, queer people in general, and especially queer Asians. Our intersectional identities are complicated but they are also beautiful, and at the Bitten Peach we celebrate our struggles and our triumphs.
For the non-Asians who attend the Bitten Peach, our shows are a learning experience that challenges them reevaluate their racial expectations about gender and queerness. The audience has to review how they are complicit in perpetuating racism, and will emerge as better allies to the Asian community.
Since our founding in Feb 2019, we have had a series of sold-out shows at The Glory, Royal Vauxhall Tavern, and London Horror Festival, and were nominated for “Best Collective” for QX Cabaret Awards 2019. In Sep 2019, we put on our largest event to date at Underbelly Festival. A cast of 22 Asian cabaret performers put on a show for an audience of over 300 and raised over £4000 for Cabaret vs Cancer. Our collective now has over 45 performers of Asian descent working in a variety of nightlife performance genres, including drag, burlesque, dance, comedy, music, and circus, including Lilly Snatchdragon (21st Century Burlesque’s Top 10 UK), Bolly-Illusion (Winner of Lipsync1000), Evelyn Carnate (Miss Burlesque UK), and Bolly Ditz Dolly Winner Burlesque Idol, ShayShay (writer and director of The Vaults’ ‘Aladdin & the Feast of Wonders’).
For the moment, we don’t have any upcoming events. Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, we’ve postponed our event plans, including our show ‘Crouching Tiger Mum, Hidden Drag Queen’, which was set to debut on March 20th. At the moment, East Asians are specifically being targeted as the cause and carriers of COVID-19. Despite that belief being rooted in racism, we feel an even higher responsibility to combat it spreading.
But we are taking this time to prepare for the year ahead. Now that we are one year old, we are ready to upgrade ourselves to the next level (PokEvolve to our next evolution). But unfortunately we are not crazy rich Asians, and need your help to make our 2020 projects come to life.
In 2020, we plan to…
1. Provide Aid to Asian Performers who are suffering from loss of income due to COVID-19 job cancellations. This is now our primary priority! With most events cancelled, the performing arts industry is being hit hard. Many performers are struggling, and so we are planning to provide financial support to The Bitten Peach performers in the coming weeks.
2. Increase Asian Representation through our “Peach Fuzz” programme, where we foster Asian talent by providing mentorship and rehearsal space for Asians eager to gain performance experience and hone their skills. If you are interested in joining the programme, please email [email redacted]
3. Increase Accessibility by breaking down barriers to enjoying live performance.
- Pay-as-you-can ticket scheme: Providing discounted tickets for Asians and other People of Colour, who cannot afford full price tickets.
- Working with QuipLash to provide BSL and audio description interpreters
4. Present Traditional Asian artforms in new queer contexts. We want to study traditional Asian artforms (Chinese fans, Bhangra dance, kabuki, etc.), reimagine them and expose them to new audiences.
5. Debut 'Crouching Tiger Mum, Hidden Drag Queen’* a brand-new theatre show focused on dismantling Asian stereotypes, then tour to connect with Asian communities across the UK. The story follows a young drag performer, who starts having a panic attack just before their debut performance, due to internalised racism, sexism and homophobia. As they question their ability to break from stereotypes, they are visited by a fairy godmother / fairy tiger mother who takes them on a magical journey to meet queer Asian ancestors, each defying racial expectations in their own way. Eventually we want to go on tour to reach new audiences and to connect with Asian communities across the UK.
*Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, we’ve had to postpone our initial debut date on March 20th. If you had bought a ticket, please consider donating the ticket money instead of asking for a refund. This will help the venue stay afloat during these difficult times.
We need your help to make these projects a reality! Urgently we need to provide support to Asian artists. Your donation will directly support the Asian community by helping those struggling financially.
Share with your family and friends, even your frenemies. Share with your umma, appa, your obachan, ojichan, your JieJie, MeiMei, DiDi, GeGe, your Pinsan, and every single one of your aunties!
More about The Bitten Peach...
We create platforms where queer Asian performers are able to express themselves and be celebrated! Movies and TV exclude our storylines, so we are creating our own platforms where we control the narrative! We offer a unique point of view where Asian performers have the autonomy to showcase their talents how they see fit. We seek to unite Asian diasporic communities, as our members represent East, Southeast, and South Asia. Regardless of borders and nationality, we are a collective and a family presenting an image of a united Asia.
The Bitten Peach is dedicated to challenging audiences’ perceptions of Asians, breaking down tired, boring Asian stereotypes, like...
Asian men are effeminate and undesirable
Asian women are meek and subservient
Asians are the model minority, seen but never heard
But here we are: a diverse group of Asians existing in defiance of those tired tropes. Our shows empower Asians and other people of colour, queer people in general, and especially queer Asians. Our intersectional identities are complicated but they are also beautiful, and at the Bitten Peach we celebrate our struggles and our triumphs.
For the non-Asians who attend the Bitten Peach, our shows are a learning experience that challenges them reevaluate their racial expectations about gender and queerness. The audience has to review how they are complicit in perpetuating racism, and will emerge as better allies to the Asian community.
Since our founding in Feb 2019, we have had a series of sold-out shows at The Glory, Royal Vauxhall Tavern, and London Horror Festival, and were nominated for “Best Collective” for QX Cabaret Awards 2019. In Sep 2019, we put on our largest event to date at Underbelly Festival. A cast of 22 Asian cabaret performers put on a show for an audience of over 300 and raised over £4000 for Cabaret vs Cancer. Our collective now has over 45 performers of Asian descent working in a variety of nightlife performance genres, including drag, burlesque, dance, comedy, music, and circus, including Lilly Snatchdragon (21st Century Burlesque’s Top 10 UK), Bolly-Illusion (Winner of Lipsync1000), Evelyn Carnate (Miss Burlesque UK), and Bolly Ditz Dolly Winner Burlesque Idol, ShayShay (writer and director of The Vaults’ ‘Aladdin & the Feast of Wonders’).
Organizer
Bitten Peach
Organizer
