About the performance

XX/XY is a musical battle composed by Liz Liew and Andy Leung, inspired by the competition of life - from the battle of the sexes (female/male chromosomes) to the competitive spirit of the Olympics and Paralympics: victories and defeats, human and machine, beginning and end, UK and world. XX/XY features video exploring these themes, highlighting our dysfunctional relationship with the environment, and includes a sustainable urban youth junk band.

Chinatown Arts Space’s XX/XY is part of New Music 20x12, an independent commissioning programme initiated by Jillian Barker and David Cohen, and delivered by PRS for Music Foundation in partnership with the BBC, The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, and Sound and Music.

Key Personnel

Pak Ling Wan - CAS General Manager
David Tse Ka-shing - Creative Director
Andy Leung - Composer/ Musician
Liz Liew - Composer/ Musician
Oyvind Aamli - Sound Engineer
Jeehyun Kwon - Videographer
Bernie Gardner - Musician
Juan Hua - musician

Production Information

Running time at full length: 60 mins full set/12 mins performed several times for festivals.

Suitable for all age groups

No text

Use of recorded and live music

Does not require a clear understanding of English or another language

Touring Information

Small scale show (up to 400 seats)

Appropriate for staged or outdoor setting

Available to tour January 2013 to November 2013

Suitable for rural touring

Outreach and Educational Work

The full work can include a young people's urban junk band, developed in partnership with a host venue and their education department. This is an additional cost and does not tour with a particular young people's urban junk band.

Company History

Chinatown Arts Space (CAS) was established in 2005 as a non-profit making arts organisation to champion British East Asian (BEA*) performing and visual artists, and address the significant gap in provision for this sector in the UK.
CAS encourages innovation in both traditional East Asian and contemporary arts, with a focus on collaboration and cross-artforms. Our vision is to showcase excellent East Asian artists and engage the British public, particularly children and young people, in the discovery of BEA arts for entertainment, education and social cohesion.
CAS has organised successful BEA arts festivals The Circle (2007) and Five Circles (2008) and presented acclaimed multi-media production Piccadilly Revisited (2009-11).
We have performed at the Linbury Theatre (ROH2), Royal Opera House; Lilian Baylis Theatre, Sadler's Wells; Royal Festival Hall, Southbank; City Hall Theatre, Hong Kong; Chinatown, London; Leicester Square; Hyde Park, etc.
While we have toured internationally to HK, this will be our first UK tour. Our performers and stage management have all toured extensively before.
(*Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, China, East Timor, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Tibet, Vietnam and their diasporas)

Recent Productions / Tours

Our most recent production, Piccadilly Revisited, was shown at the Royal Opera House, the Southbank Centre and the Hong Kong Arts Festival. It has been invited to tour to the Macau Arts Festival in 2012, and possibly further afield.
Piccadilly Revisited includes new live music for the British silent film Piccadilly, which starred Hollywood's first Chinese American star, Annie May Wong. Our multimedia production includes new short films and voice-over narration about her turbulent life. An earlier version included contemporary dance, which can easily be added (subject to negotiation). The tour-ready production can be staged indoors, although outdoors is also possible (subject to negotiation)