The Bridal Lament
Riverside Theatres and the Contemporary Asian Australian Performance, supported by Sydney Festival, is excited to present The Bridal Lament 哭嫁歌 by award-winning vocalist, producer and multi- disciplinary artist Rainbow Chan 陳雋然 at the Riverside Theatres from the 23rd – 26th January 2025.
Rainbow Chan’s music and performances are celebrated as ‘genre-bending art pop’ (NME), drawing comparisons to iconic innovators like Björk for their enchanting and avant-garde qualities (The Music). Her debut solo theatre work, The Bridal Lament, named after her highly anticipated forthcoming album, promises to immerse audiences in a lush, pop-infused audio-visual experience, blending the boundary- pushing artistry of contemporary pop with striking theatricality.
Drawing on her Weitou ancestry (first settlers of Hong Kong), Chan reimagines a Weitou ritual known as the bridal lament, a public performance of grief in which a bride wept and sang in front of family and friends. In this liminal space, brides expressed bitterness towards their arranged marriages and the prevailing patriarchal rule.
Conceived and structured as a song cycle, The Bridal Lament brings to life intergenerational and cross- cultural perspectives on diasporic experiences and the complex history of Hong Kong. With a new suite of songs by Chan and direction from Contemporary Asian Australian Performance’s Artistic Director Tessa Leong, this lush and lavish work pays homage to ritual in a vibrant and dynamic world of projection, movement and colour.
An award-winning vocalist, producer and multi-disciplinary artist, Rainbow Chan has previously been recognised in Asian-Australian Leadership Awards’ ’40 Under 40: Most Influential Asian Australians Award’ for her contribution to arts and culture and won ‘Artist of the Year’ in the 2022 FBi SMAC Awards.
