Join celebrated artist William Yang as he shares his personal journey through spoken word, film and photographs in Blood Links at the Canberra Theatre Centre until 23 April 2016.
William Yang’s family is scattered around the world, yet the bond of blood binds them in unexpected and powerful ways. When his mother died in 1992, he embarked on a personal journey to rediscover his immediate and extended family. The result is Blood Links, a visual feast from one of Australia’s most renowned artists, an intriguing blend of storytelling, social history, performance and documentary photography.
With humour and irony this one migrant family takes us around the world and back again. A family story of birth, traditions, skeletons, death, love and food, hauntingly familiar in content, Blood Links is acclaimed across the globe. His stories will inspire audiences to take a family journey of their own.
William Yang is one of Australia’s most celebrated independent photographers and performers. Born William Young in North Queensland in 1943, he changed his name to William Yang in 1983. He worked as a playwright from 1969 to 1974, and since then as a freelance photographer.
Integrating his skills as a writer and a visual artist in 1989, Yang began to perform monologues with slide projection in the theatre. These slide shows were a form of performance theatre and have become his favourite way of showing his work.
This unique theatrical style has taken Yang around Australia and the world with acclaimed shows including:China, Sadness, Friends of Dorothy, My Generation, The North, Blood Links, Shadows, I Am A Camera andObjects for Meditation.
He has received many awards and accolades including an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from Queensland University for his services to photography and the H.C. Coombs Creative Arts Fellowship at the Australian National University.
“William Yang’s performances are among the enduring pleasures of Australian Theatre… part of the appeal is Yang’s presence on the side of the stage – contemplative, charming, with an understated vocal style that eschews rhetoric.” – The Australian
Creator & Performer: William Yang Composer: James Brown Producer: Performing Lines
William Yang: Blood Links
Courtyard Studio – Canberra Theatre Centre, London Circuit, Canberra
Season continues to 23 April 2016
Bookings: (02) 6275 2700 or online at: www.canberratheatrecentre.com.au
For more information, visit: www.canberratheatrecentre.com.au or www.performinglines.org.au for details.
Image: William Yang (supplied)