Unsilent Mode
The third volume of Unsilent Mode connects collaborators from China, Malaysia, and the UK, and will be presented across these locations in sequence. The work explores displacement across different diasporas through inherited histories and aspirational mobility, asking how home might be made when belonging no longer settles in one place. This question also extends into the work’s participatory form through collaborator-audience co-authorship, allowing each encounter to shape the work differently. Seats for each location will be released two weeks before the respective performances.
Unsilent Mode Vol. III is presented by the University of Exeter and supported by the UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) South, West and Wales Doctoral Training Partnership (SWWDTP), the University of Bristol, Shanghai Theatre Academy College of Art Technology & Management, and Dou Houz. Poster design by Jazzie Lee Jin Jye.
Roborough Studios, University of Exeter
September 17 - 18, 2026
White Theatre, University of Bristol
October 2 - 3, 2026
United Kingdom
LIU HUIMING 刘慧明 (Collaborator, China) is a performer, choreographer, and movement trainer. She graduated from the Shanghai Theatre Academy, where she now teaches. She holds a PhD in Dance and is a 16th-generation inheritor of the Wudang Sanfeng Sect of martial arts. Her practice explores how traditional Chinese embodied languages, including Chinese opera, classical dance, and martial arts, can inform contemporary theatre and performance. Huiming's works include the dramas Rong Ji at the Flower Bridge, The Ode to Autumn, and Antigone; the physical drama film Heroic Song from Red Stone; and the martial arts performance Listen to the Tide.
LOK SHI HOONG 陆世纮 (Collaborator, Malaysia) (b. 1997) is an actor, director, and writer. He trained in London and earned a BA in Acting from Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts (UK). Since returning to Malaysia in 2020, he has continued to develop his practice across performance, directing, writing, and teaching. His original work, Seeing White (2026), explores the complexities women experience during a wedding. As an actor, his work has focused on Shakespeare, including roles such as Bassanio in The Merchant of Venice and Cassio in Othello. Shi Hoong also teaches drama to teenagers and children.
WENYAN PU 蒲文妍 (Collaborator, China/the UK) is a researcher, writer, and theatremaker. She holds a BA in English Literature from Fudan University (China), an MA in Theatre Studies from the Central Academy of Drama (China), and is currently completing her PhD at the University of Exeter (UK). Her doctoral research explores comic cross-dressing in British pantomime and Chinese traditional theatre. Her broader interests include gender, comedy, Chinoiserie elements in the British pantomime Aladdin, and contemporary productions of Shakespeare. Wenyan has acted and directed, and recently completed a training residency at Shakespeare’s Globe as part of her continuing interest in theatre practice.
JASMIN ZHANG ZHAOYU 张兆宇 (Project Coordinator and Dramaturg, China) is a dramaturg, playwright, and director. She is currently a PhD candidate at Zhejiang University (China), with an MA in Philosophy from the University of Bristol (UK) and an MA in Comparative Literature from Shanghai International Studies University (China). She has completed an internship at the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center (China) and conducted research with the World Art History Institute, supported by the University of Munich (Germany) and SISU. Her research focuses on tragedy, media, and emotion, drawing on neuroaesthetics and analytical philosophy. She has published articles on the paradox of fiction, the paradox of tragedy, and medio-translationology. Zhaoyu is also the founder of the theatre troupe P/Act, with upcoming performances of its original production, Seeds and Sands, As It Is, at Zhejiang University.
THANK YOUS
CHINA
Ling Jun (Shanghai Theatre Academy)
MALAYSIA
Liew Chee Heai (Dou Houz)
UNITED KINGDOM
Beth Bransome (Tech Manager - Bristol)
Paul Clarke (PhD Supervisor - Bristol)
Lottie Elcoate (Tech Manager - Bristol)
Jon Primrose (Tech Services Partner - Exeter)
Heike Roms (PhD Supervisor - Exeter)
Thomas Swanser (Media Technician - Exeter)
Cathy Turner (PhD Supervisor - Exeter)
Anona Williams (AHRC SWWDTP)