Andrew Tay & Stephen Thompson: Make Banana Cry @ On the Boards (Seattle – Lower Queen Anne)

Make Banana Cry is a critical and destabilizing dance performance that questions Asian stereotypes while examining the transmission of cultural identity.

In a subversive runway presentation featuring a parade of body politics, Make Banana Cry is designed to trouble the Western gaze. Attempting to shake off the weight of representation and fetishization, 6 artists critique, parody and protest against clichés of “Asian-ness”. Confronting the tension between their cultural identities and stereotypes, the work is an irreverent happening which contemplates the problematics of “universal” western popular culture while drawing on the intersectional backgrounds of each of the performers. Mixing the codes of couture and contemporary art, straddling spectacles of consumption and entertainment the piece is an impressive demonstration of physicality, an unrelenting examination of Western prejudice, and an ingenious show of humour and wit.

Each performance of Make Banana Cry will be followed by a celebratory post-show party in OtB’s Studio Theater.

Tickets ($33) here.