We’d use it to support the development of The Seagull – An Immersive Exploration of ESEA Performers, a new collaboration between Diana Feng and Vinna Law. This dual-reality performance reimagines Chekhov’s The Seagull as a multilingual, immersive experience rooted in our shared experiences as East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) performers in the UK.
Drawing from Feng’s PhD at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, examining systemic challenges faced by ESEA performers, audiences enter what seems like a conventional production, only to discover a fractured, layered world where each character speaks their mother tongue—Mandarin, Cantonese, Tagalog, Japanese, Vietnamese, and more. As the performance unravels, tensions, and truths surface through overlapping scenes and shifting spatial encounters.
We propose a two-phase R&D in Darlington in the span of 2 years:
– Phase 1: One week of devising, immersive testing, and a local engagement workshop
-Phase 2: Follow up by another week of further exploration informed by community feedback from phase 1, staging an Work In Progress showing at the end of phase 2.
We’ll collaborate with up to 8 local or neighbouring ESEA performers, each bringing their language and lived experience into the process. Their involvement allows us to trial multilingual layering and audience movement centred around Darlington.
Budget:
-Lead artists’ fees (£3,500)
-Rotating ESEA performer fees (£3,000)
-Venue (£1,200)
-Sound/tech experimentation (£800)
-Dramaturgical support (£400)
-Mental Health & Wellbeing support(£400) – Due to the nature of the show, we believe it is important for the creatives to have access to wellbeing support during this R&D
-Travel & accommodation (£700)
This award allows us the space/time to take risks: challenge current status quo of classical text staging in the UK, disrupt traditional forms, and populate that space with an all-ESEA cast. Creating mindful / authentic space to explore limits and non-limits of multilingualism in an English dominated space. Marking significant steps in our practices as migrant artists—merging academic research with place-responsive theatre-making, growing as artists who intentionally respond to our ever changing social climate. It’ll mark a vital step in our collaboration with this being the first project together.
Engaging Darlington as a backdrop to develop The Seagull – An Immersive Exploration of ESEA Performers, will be a vital part of the work’s evolution. With around 94% of the population identifying as white (Source: ons.gov.uk), bringing a multilingual, ESEA-led creative process to town offers valuable opportunities to broaden cultural visibility and foster new conversations around representation and identity in the arts.
We hope to collaborate with up to 8 local or neighbouring ESEA creatives. We believe an in-depth research informed by real life experiences of these local artists will be imperative to the widening of ESEA narratives.
We’ll engage the local community through a series of low-barrier, meaningful encounters, including open rehearsals, where audiences can witness the process in action, and a work-in-progress showing, where we’ll share material and invite discussions. These events offer insight into our immersive process and allow Darlington audiences to directly influence the work.
We plan to document our residency publicly—via video, photography, and published writings —highlighting our discoveries and featuring reflections from participants. This will ensure the impact reaches beyond the studio and contributes to Darlington’s and the UK’s wider cultural conversation.
Vinna Law is a Malaysian born Chinese actor, writer, theatre maker and emerging interdisciplinary artist trained in Hanyang University (Seoul) and East 15 Acting School (London). Recent relevant work: Since 2025 – Guest Lecturer at London Contemporary Dance School. Facilitates classes on performance presence and creative freedom. 2025 – Participating artist, “Apocalyptic Yesterday”, commissioned by Bow Arts curated by Hidden Keileon 2025 – Devising Performer for “The Nutmeg’s Curse”, performed at Tara Theatre. Created for the Climate Justice Festival presented by Kali Theatre, New Earth Theatre and Tara Theatre Diana Feng is a Taiwanese-Canadian performer, producer, multidisciplinary theatre maker, and playwright. She’s currently conducting a PhD research at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, on Culturally Specific Performance Practice and British East and Southeast Asian Representation in collaboration with New Earth Theatre. Her work explores barriers ESEA performers face in the UK theatre industry and ways to expand audiences for ESEA-majority productions. Recent relevant work: 2025- SOHO theatre Maker’s Lab – The Runaway Effect (not yet announced) 2025- The Jury Experience UK Tour, produced by FEVER 2025- New Earth Theatre Heritage Fund Archive, supported by V&A, National Theatre and Arts Council (Ongoing- exhibition and publication in September) 2024- Don’t Call Me China Doll – Underbelly Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Planned Tour in 2026 Spring
Vinna
-BA in Theatre & Film (Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea)
Training includes: set design, lighting design, sound design, stage make up design, western & eastern theatre and film history, training in both on stage and production creative processes.
-MA in Acting (East 15 Acting School)
Diana
-BA in Theatre and Screen Acting at Central Academy of Drama (Beijing, China)
-MA in Contemporary Acting at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (London, UK)
-PhD in Culturally Specific Performance Practice and British East and Southeast Asian Representation in collaboration with New Earth Theatre, funded by LAPH at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (London, UK) – Ongoing
Diana
Nomination:
-Verity Bargate at SOHO Theatre- Don’t Call Me China Doll. – shortlisted at Platinum round
-LET award- Artist/ Muse – shortlisted as finalists.
Awards:
-Silver Award as Best Actress Sur-REEL & Uncanny Film Fest for her work in “THE CONCIERGE AT THE SUNRISE INN”
-Collaborative Doctoral Award receiver from the London Arts & Humanity Partnership for her PhD research.
Vinna has been involved in the founding of two collectives. One in Malaysia and one in the UK.
Self-led projects includes:
The VSC Project (Malaysia)
– co produced, co directed and co designed “DUALITY;” an immersive show mounted in conservative Malaysia, challenging gender binaries and to raise awareness on the unsafe societal and legal climate in Malaysia for the LBTQIA+ community.
– presented in the Malaysian Institute of Architect’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.
Cognatus (UK)
– directed, designed and performed in “The Ideal Woman”
– a show combining spoken word, song and movement to embody narratives carried within women’s bodies through different cultures and generations, performed in the UK and Spain
– co produced “Monologues in my bedroom” in 2020 with RUMAH, an online theatre performance that showcases 6-8 new and inspired monologues by actors around the world.
Diana has co-funded a creative collective- WWWC (Weekly Women’s Writing Collective) A non-hierarchical creative collective of women and femmes that focuses on creating work to uplift marginalised voices.
Recent self-created projects includes:
Don’t Call Me China Doll (Edinburgh Fringe 2024 ): Written, Performed, and Procured by Diana Feng, is a one-woman show that explores the intricacies of internalised racism and self-worth, drawing from her own experience as a ESEA artist and Anna May Wong (the frist ESEA actress in Hollywood)’s lived experience.
Artist/ Muse (Edinburgh Fringe 2023)- Written, Directed and Produced by Diana Feng is an immersive life drawing class that plunges you into the chaotic world of two lost souls in NYC’s vibrant art scene circa 1992. Inspired by the story of Fernande Olivier, artist/model and muse to Picasso.
Vinna has been commissioned recently by Bow Arts, in an exhibition curated by Hidden Keileon.
The Room of Remembrance (2025) | tracing papers, 30 minute soundscape through portable speaker, aroma diffuser, bamboo fortune sticks, folder with written bookmarks
There is almost nothing in this room (2025) | lamp, voice recordings, playback recorder
Feedback:
“Both works provided a sanctuary space to the busy streets of London, holding stories of the community. It held great sensitivity to the subject matter and offered a very valuable experience to the visitors.” – Curator
“The room of remembrance was a little oasis in the vast expanse of life. Vinna’s voice and soundscape design soothes and creates a space inviting nostalgia, reflection, introspection, contemplation.” – Audience
N/A: The work of Vinna and Diana are work of performance art, therefore, this is not applicable.
Recent coverage on Don’t Call Me China Doll-
Reviews:
-The Stage — “[Feng] is a vibrant, versatile, and engaging performer”
-Theatre Weekly — “Beautifully crafted storytelling”
-The Scotsman —“Well worth seeing and savouring, for its political complexity, its wit, and its courage”
-ADVENTURES IN THEATRELAND— “ Feng’s work is not just a performance but an essential experience”
-REVIEW’S HUB— “Tantalising”
-THE LIST— “Diana Feng examines long-held attitudes towards Asian women in this piece about racism and stereotypes”
-THE INDIEPENDENT— “There is a great deal of underlying humour…packed with integrity, education and has opened up a vital conversation about representation
Press:
-EdFringeReview— ‘Don’t Call Me China Doll’: In Conversation with Diana Feng
-The Arts Dispatch —Diana Feng on Don’t Call Me China Doll / Edinburgh Fringe 2024
-TotalNtertainment— Diana Feng talks to TotalNtertainment ahead of the EdFringe
-Theatre Village— Diana Feng Brings Her Debut Show ” Dont Call Me China Doll” to Edinburgh – Theatre Village
-Funny Women Q&A: DIANA FENG, DON’T CALL ME CHINA DOLL
-Stage To Page — STAGEY CHAT WITH DIANA FENG
-Spotlight On Kulture —”Don’t Call Me China Doll” – Diana Feng at the Edinburgh Fringe
-Corr Blimey — HAVE A GANDER AT THE EDINBURGH FRINGE 2024 – WOMEN THROUGH HISTORY!
-Broadway World — DON’T CALL ME CHINA DOLL Comes to Edinburgh Fringe
-Migrant Women Press — Migrant Women Artists At The Edinburgh Fringe Festival: The Power Of Performance In Collective Care
-FringeOf Color — How Diana Feng and Sierra Sevilla are interrogating norms that define cultureCONTACT
The nature of Vinna and Diana’s work are performances.
As performers Vinna is represented by Paul Byram Associates and The Hancock Agency.
Diana is represented by Piers Nimmo Management
Vinna
C.IN.E Sineu (Centre d’investigació Escènica de Sineu) Residency (supported by Consell de Mallorca, Institut d’Estudis Baleàrics and the Island Connect network) in 2019 to develop “The Ideal Woman”
Activities include:
– facilitation of workshop for the community of local women
– showing of “The Ideal Woman” with an audience feedback session
Email: diana81922@gmail.com
Address: 1103 Douglass Tower, 9 Goodluck Hope walk, London, England, E140XE, GB
