Online

Friday, 16 September 2022 onwards

The Substation’s website and YouTube channel

Onsite

Friday, 16 September 2022 – Sunday, 18 September 2022

Friday, 23 September 2022 – Sunday, 25 September 2022

11:00 am – 7:00 pm

A Performance Video by The Blue Statesmen, presented by The Substation for SeptFest 2022: uproot | rootless

Written and Directed by Bryan Tan

Visual and Sound Design by Casey Lim

Dramaturgy and Research by Robin Loon

Videography by Joanne Tan

Performed by Ranice Tay and Serene Chen

In 2012, The Blue Statesmen (comprising theatre artists Bryan Tan, Robin Loon and Casey Lim) presented the play BluePrince, an homage to the founder of The Substation, Kuo Pao Kun (1939 – 2002) for SeptFest 2012. A decade later, the collective reunites for Descent, a performance video that draws on concepts and concerns in Kuo’s seminal play, Descendants of the Eunuch Admiral.

Descent uses Kuo’s play as a platform for the contemplation of our society’s cultural values and contemporary beliefs. As a counterpoint, a young actress wanders through the city and performs a ritualistic summoning of the Chinese sea goddess, Mazu, invoking her blessings for the vulnerable individuals in our country – just as she once protected Zheng He and his armada during a storm at sea, or so folklore would have us believe.