As part of our Edinburgh Fringe 2024 coverage, we are running a series of interviews with artists and creatives who are taking part in the festival.
In this interview, we speak to Langyue “Petunia” Hu about their show Tide.
What can you tell me about your show?
Tide tells the love story of two girls named Luna and Cordelia as they explore the trauma of sexual assault and familial loss in a silent retreat. The stage is a canvas with red, blue, and yellow smeared everywhere…leading up to a tender kiss, but with paint.
Tide tells the love story of two girls named Luna and Cordelia as they explore the trauma of sexual assault and familial loss in a silent retreat. The stage is a canvas with red, blue, and yellow smeared everywhere…leading up to a tender kiss, but with paint.
How would you describe the style of the show?
Experimental and sapphic! Our ensemble is interested in how a person’s healing journey and memory of the past can be shown with abstract movements and symbolic colors. For instance, Luna and Cordelia’s process of falling in love is not represented through naturalistic dialogues, but through a childish, fun, and dynamic “paint fight”.
How do/will you prepare for the Fringe?
Lots and lots of rehearsal. Since body paint is such a big part of our concept, our focus in the rehearsal room is to explore how we can best balance creativity and practicality. We need to make sure the audience can see the color clearly while making sure the actors can carry out their choreography. I want the stage to feel like an explosion of colors by the end of the play, mirroring Luna and Cordelia's emotional journey. Besides the creative side, we also spent a fair amount of time washing the paints off our costumes and drying them last minute with hair dryer.
Other than the show, what’s something you’re looking forward to doing in Edinburgh this year?
We’re looking forward to doing all sorts of touristy stuff: taking a trip to the beach, enjoying some local food, visiting the National Museum of Scotland and botanical garden. And most importantly, see all the other wonderful shows that are on.
If your show was a biscuit, what would it be and why?
Probably milk chocolate biscuits because of the bitter-sweetness. Tide portrays the wide range of feelings we experience as we are growing up and letting go of our past. On one hand, it is hard to talk give up old perspectives, on the other hand, you still have all those old memories and potential for new connections.
Experimental and sapphic! Our ensemble is interested in how a person’s healing journey and memory of the past can be shown with abstract movements and symbolic colors. For instance, Luna and Cordelia’s process of falling in love is not represented through naturalistic dialogues, but through a childish, fun, and dynamic “paint fight”.
How do/will you prepare for the Fringe?
Lots and lots of rehearsal. Since body paint is such a big part of our concept, our focus in the rehearsal room is to explore how we can best balance creativity and practicality. We need to make sure the audience can see the color clearly while making sure the actors can carry out their choreography. I want the stage to feel like an explosion of colors by the end of the play, mirroring Luna and Cordelia's emotional journey. Besides the creative side, we also spent a fair amount of time washing the paints off our costumes and drying them last minute with hair dryer.
Other than the show, what’s something you’re looking forward to doing in Edinburgh this year?
We’re looking forward to doing all sorts of touristy stuff: taking a trip to the beach, enjoying some local food, visiting the National Museum of Scotland and botanical garden. And most importantly, see all the other wonderful shows that are on.
If your show was a biscuit, what would it be and why?
Probably milk chocolate biscuits because of the bitter-sweetness. Tide portrays the wide range of feelings we experience as we are growing up and letting go of our past. On one hand, it is hard to talk give up old perspectives, on the other hand, you still have all those old memories and potential for new connections.
It took us 16+ hours to get to Edinburgh, and somehow we managed to fit all of our prop here in extremely limited amount of baggage allowance. We’re tired, but excited!
What do you hope an audience takes away from seeing the show?
While Tide tackles heavy topics such as depression, familial loss, and sexual assault, we hope our audience can see beyond that. When writing the show, I intentionally sought inspiration from fairytales and poetry. I was trying to offer Tide a childish, healing, and hopeful side. I want the audience to be impacted by the trauma but also see the characters beyond their trauma. I wish they could smile at the end of the show as Luna and Cordelia finally find the right person they can watch the ocean with.
Where can audiences see the show?
Catch us on 10:30 AM from August 12th to 24th. We’re performing at Greenside @ George Street’s Lime Studio. Tickets are available at https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/tide
What do you hope an audience takes away from seeing the show?
While Tide tackles heavy topics such as depression, familial loss, and sexual assault, we hope our audience can see beyond that. When writing the show, I intentionally sought inspiration from fairytales and poetry. I was trying to offer Tide a childish, healing, and hopeful side. I want the audience to be impacted by the trauma but also see the characters beyond their trauma. I wish they could smile at the end of the show as Luna and Cordelia finally find the right person they can watch the ocean with.
Where can audiences see the show?
Catch us on 10:30 AM from August 12th to 24th. We’re performing at Greenside @ George Street’s Lime Studio. Tickets are available at https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/tide
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