Between Strands ***

A woman kneels as we enter the auditorium. On stage, there is little more than a chair and glass bowl. Between Strands is a minimalist piece of physical theatre, deeply rooted in East-Asian culture and ritual.

A young woman from Taiwan is studying in the UK. She is of course far from home and this distance weighs heavily on both her and her close family. Her grandmother dies – but she is not yet ready to say goodbye.

Selina Hsung-Chih Tseng performs sensitively as both granddaughter and grandmother. Hair becomes the emotional and symbolic anchor of the piece, repeatedly combed by the grandmother in gestures of care and intimacy. This leans into Taiwanese rituals and the symbolic power of hair. As life, grief, and remembrance are passed between generations, hair becomes a thread connecting the living and the departed. Brushing hair, sharing childhood games, and recounting village stories become threads of connection.

Tseng’s theatrical performance is measured and adept, but it is in the physical aspect that she particularly shines. Her movements are fluid, subtle, suggestive but never overstated. They convey myriad emotions, including memory, love, hurt, loss and vulnerability.

Elizabeth Drake ably assists her by providing shadow play through means of a torch, credit also to support creatives Abhisikta Dasgupta and Nefeli Varouxi.

This intimate theatrical performance culminates in a touching use of hair, enabling the granddaughter to say goodbye and properly grieve, in a very moving moment.