ANDY HEDGECOCK relishes two exhibitions that blur the boundaries between art and community engagement
Women from Chinese history
Associate artists at LSO St Luke’s, Tangram’s latest work is a music and dance journey exploring the story of two important Chinese 19th century heroines, Afong Moy and Qiu Jin. SIMON DUFF reports

Tangram Bound/Unbound
LSO, St Luke’s, London
TANGRAM is a London-based music collective, founded in 2019, designed to showcase cutting-edge contemporary composition in Chinese and Western culture. Bringing together music from across four continents, they are associate artists with the LSO.
Their previous work, Nature Echo, from January this year, was a deep multimedia reflection on global environmental issues. The latest work has been co-written by Xiaolo Guo, a Chinese-born British novelist, mesmerist and film-maker, with Tangram co-directors Alex Ho and Sun Keting. Ho and Keting co-composed the music and directed.
The story winds round a host of powerful themes and history set over four acts.
More from this author
The phrase “cruel to be kind” comes from Hamlet, but Shakespeare’s Prince didn’t go in for kidnap, explosive punches, and cigarette deprivation. Tam is different.

ANGUS REID deconstructs a popular contemporary novel aimed at a ‘queer’ young adult readership

A landmark work of gay ethnography, an avant-garde fusion of folk and modernity, and a chance comment in a great interview

ANGUS REID applauds the inventive stagecraft with which the Lyceum serve up Stevenson’s classic, but misses the deeper themes
Similar stories

The sonic possibilities of the violin are tested to their limits in new works, reports SIMON DUFF

SIMON DUFF is thrilled by the provocative pairing of two major works from a time of profound ideological opposition

SIMON DUFF revels in a performance by up and coming concert pianist Aidan Chan

SIMON DUFF admires new work at the LSO Jerwood Composer + Showcase that employs rap, sampling and live music to explore unashamedly political themes