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AWDPI Online Workshop

AWDPI Online Script Reading & Workshop

Love, Survival or Illusion? — What Are We Really Choosing?

AWDPI Workshop poster

Event Details

After the stage lights fade in London and at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the conversations around women’s lived experiences do not end — they begin. Across narratives of “independent women” and “intimate relationships,” women are often positioned as if they must choose. Yet these choices are never purely personal. They are shaped by the intersection of cultural expectations, family pressures, economic realities, and identity.

For Asian women, especially within Western discourse, these complexities are often underrepresented or oversimplified. As part of the AWDPI Empowerment Programme, we invite you to join an interactive online script reading and discussion workshop centred on The Dream of Being a Madame by playwright Qi Wang.

About the Work

The Dream of Being a Madame explores contemporary female identity through two contrasting characters: Lairs — spontaneous, pleasure-driven, living for love; and May — restrained, pragmatic, committed to independence. Through their emotional tensions and evolving relationship, the play interrogates:

  • Love vs Survival
  • Independence vs Dependency
  • Female Friendship and Emotional Boundaries
  • Identity and Responsibility in a Cross-cultural Context

Rather than offering answers, the work invites us to sit with discomfort — and question what “choice” really means.

What to Expect

This is not a traditional lecture or passive reading. It is a participatory, immersive session where you will:

  • Step into the script through live reading
  • Pause, reflect, and unpack hidden subtext
  • Engage in open dialogue on gender, identity, and cultural experience
  • Move beyond observation — and become part of the conversation

From 'Her' to 'Us'

This is not just a story about two women. It is about all of us navigating love, identity, and survival in between systems and expectations. We may not find answers in one session — but we can begin to ask better questions, together.

Join us in using art as a space to reflect, challenge, and reconnect with our own narratives.

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