Between Strands

In traditional Taiwanese culture, when someone dies, family members refrain from cutting their hair — a gesture of love and remembrance. Hair also marks beginnings: babies have their heads shaved at one month old to symbolise renewal and protection. Between Strands weaves these rituals into a meditation on memory and connection.

Inspired by real events, the piece follows a young woman in the UK navigating the loss of her grandmother in Taiwan. Across distance, small gestures — brushing hair, playing childhood games, recalling village stories — become threads between generations.

Blending physical theatre with Taiwanese and English dialogue and shadow play, movement and shadow carry what words cannot. In the final moment, the granddaughter cuts a lock of her hair — discovering that grief is not an ending, but part of a cycle that binds generations.