Sailing Is For Nomads
Sailing Is For Nomads is a story about storytelling.
During the pandemic, two actors journeyed to Denmark to study artistic creation at Odin Teatret. Along the way, they encountered fellow wanderers from their hometown and gathered fragments of their stories of life adrift in foreign lands. These encounters became the seed of the tale of the blackbird and the shamaness. Carrying these stories with them, they passed through cities overshadowed by the pandemic before finally arriving at Odin Teatret to begin their work. Yet the process was far from smooth. As they moved between fairy tales, detective fiction, wuxia novels, and other forms, repeated setbacks forced them to pause and ask: What is storytelling? In tracing the cracks in memory, the loneliness of wandering, and the fractures within relationships, they gradually began to understand why we tell stories.
In their tale, the blackbird and the shamaness’s grandmother come from a fallen city — a city that collapsed when its people lost their imagination. Can those who are forced to leave their city ever find a new home? And why does that original home matter so deeply?
The realm of memory knows no bounds; the past shifts with our state of mind and lived experience. Devoted to storytelling, the two actors, together with a passionate creative team, weave multiple interwoven worlds. They imagine cities they have never known and stand alongside the audience in search of stories that offer comfort and courage. In this once-in-a-lifetime gathering, they invite the audience on a tender journey through memory.
Photo Credit: Dicky Wong
During the pandemic, two actors journeyed to Denmark to study artistic creation at Odin Teatret. Along the way, they encountered fellow wanderers from their hometown and gathered fragments of their stories of life adrift in foreign lands. These encounters became the seed of the tale of the blackbird and the shamaness. Carrying these stories with them, they passed through cities overshadowed by the pandemic before finally arriving at Odin Teatret to begin their work. Yet the process was far from smooth. As they moved between fairy tales, detective fiction, wuxia novels, and other forms, repeated setbacks forced them to pause and ask: What is storytelling? In tracing the cracks in memory, the loneliness of wandering, and the fractures within relationships, they gradually began to understand why we tell stories.
In their tale, the blackbird and the shamaness’s grandmother come from a fallen city — a city that collapsed when its people lost their imagination. Can those who are forced to leave their city ever find a new home? And why does that original home matter so deeply?
The realm of memory knows no bounds; the past shifts with our state of mind and lived experience. Devoted to storytelling, the two actors, together with a passionate creative team, weave multiple interwoven worlds. They imagine cities they have never known and stand alongside the audience in search of stories that offer comfort and courage. In this once-in-a-lifetime gathering, they invite the audience on a tender journey through memory.
| Organizer | Li Ni Shan, Envoyage Artist Collective |
| Devising Actor | Li Ni Shan, Yuen Wang Chun |
| Dramaturgy | Woo Siu Man, Leung Ching Sum |
| Music and Sound Designer | Tang Yat Yin Ian |
| Set and Sound Installation Designer | Mak Yung Ka |
| Lighting Designer | Tin Yin Ho |
| Set Designer | Wong Tsz Chun Issac |
| Costume and Make-up designer | Wong Ching Man |
| Stage Management | Hon Ka Wang, Poon Lai Wa, Wong Ching Man |
| Producer | Yau Lok Tung |
| Marketing Strategy | Terrence Leung |
| Make-up artist | Au Hiu Ching |
Photo Credit: Dicky Wong
