CADENCE CHUNG
Productions
Hector
HECTOR is an original play by Cadence Chung.
The play follows just two characters - Hector Berlioz and Hector Wong - and their attempts to find some commonalities despite the centuries between them. Travelling through many scenarios and eras, the two loosely catalogue their lives, in a dialectic style reminiscent of a Platonic dialogue.
Witty, acerbic, hilarious, and deeply poetic, this play explores how we interact with historical canons in the modern era, and shares personal experiences about racism, identity, and gender roles in contemporary Aotearoa.
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HECTOR debuted at BATS Theatre in June 2024 to critical acclaim and national news coverage.
Cud-Chewing Country: New Zealand Composers and Poets in Concert
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In July 2023, Cadence Chung and Kassandra Wang organised a concert of new music set to New Zealand poetry, intended to encourage young and emerging talent as well as interdisciplinary collaboration. The concert featured new works by composers Mallory Elmo and Wynton Newman, as well as Cadence Chung and Kassandra Wang themselves. Cadence performed alongside Amelia Lin and Sarah Mileham in her song cycle 'What We Owe To Each Other', which was set to poems by Pippi Jean. Recordings of this performance are available on Youtube and BandCamp.
Photo credit: Stephen Olsen
Mad Heart: Sappho's Fragments in Song
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As a part of LitCrawl 2022, Cadence composed and performed a set of original songs for lyre and voice, inspired by the ancient Greek fragments of Sappho. She was joined by Darren Breeze on violin, Jamie Beardsley on cello, and Ossian Lynch on percussion. You can find the live recordings here.
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Photo credit: Rebecca McMillan
In Blind Faith
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In Blind Faith is an original musical, written and composed by Cadence Chung in her final year of high school. Set in the Otago Goldfields of New Zealand, the show follows the naive Edith as she sets out to make her fortune, meeting three alluring figures along the way. It features 13 all-original songs for a small band.
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The BATS Theatre production in August 2022 was run and performed entirely by young creatives, prioritising queer and Asian representation. The show received a sold-out season and national news coverage on Stuff.
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Photo credit: Ruby Perigo-Blackburn