Centred on the metaphor of accumulating rocks—representing the crushing weight of systemic trauma—this piece traces the silent endurance of marginalised communities (Immigrants, queer individuals, labourers, etc) as they navigate unseen violence.
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Jiaming Wang @chanter5.0 is a theatre director and live artist whose work emerges visceral physicality with metaphysical inquiry, crafting performances as an archaeological dig into contemporary consciousness.
In Jiaming’s own words, ‘Great trauma’, debuted at Central St Martins campus of the University of Arts in London, is his experimental theatre work that examines resilience within oppressive systems through silent theatre, powerful imagery, and layered symbolism. Centred on the metaphor of accumulating rocks—representing the crushing weight of systemic trauma—this piece traces the silent endurance of marginalised communities (Immigrants, queer individuals, labourers, etc) as they navigate unseen violence.
After the show, I spoke to some of the performers about this show, their own motivations and what art, suffering and sorrow means individually to each of them.
Meg Bagnall (they/them) Instagram: @meg.r.b
Kerrie: Could you describe to me the kind of artist you are?
Meg: I have a background in contemporary dance. I worked as a contemporary dancer from quite a young age and then I went to study a Master of Research in Exhibition Studies. I’m working on research & curatorial practice as well. A bit of everything.
K: That’s wonderful. So, about the performance we just watched, in your own words, what is your role in it?
M: I was playing and performing the role of Lady of Sorrow. Understanding the burdens of sorrow from queer and feminine perspectives was the highlight for me.
K: That’s an interesting topic. How did you feel about connecting women’s suffering with religion, and Catholicism?
M: I had a lot of complicated feelings about that. It’s something that I thought about throughout. When bringing my own experiences and emotions to the role, understanding and navigating that was a lot more difficult than I expected.
Personally, this is my first time on stage in a long time, and it felt important than I bring everything I could to it. The politics of it I found especially interesting. How much of myself am I putting on display and who is that for? It was for other people who have had those experiences and to find a place for that to be a cathartic. Exploring anger through my performance, whether it’s very quiet or loud, was very important to me.
K: I wonder, what does sorrow mean to you?
M: In terms of this performance, it’s about where that weight sits on the body, where we carry it, how we display it when there are other people around. Sorrow, I think, is so closely related to grief - to anger, relief, upset and hurt – those things are so entangled. It comes from so far inside of you.
K: That was very insightful and leads to my other question. What was the emotional cost and how do you remain sane after putting your grief and sorrow on stage? How do you go back to your day-to-day life after that?
M: I think this is such a great question. So many of us deal with it so differently and working with such a diverse team has been fascinating, to see how each of us shakes that off. For me, it’s about the body. I would jump up and down, flap my arms around and push it out physically. Just moving helps me so much. We all come with different experiences, navigating whether we leave that at the door or not is not always a choice we can fully commit to individually. Moving and shaking it out is a way that I create a barrier between what’s happening in the performance, rehearsal and my real life.
K: What would you say you have gained from this performance?
M: On a material and emotional one, I’ve gained many friends. I have found things in myself that I didn’t think would or couldn’t come out. I had a moment last time where I took a breath and thought, “I’m actually very proud of myself.” Coming back to performance after so long, and the fact that I just said “Whatever happens, happens. You’re just going to say yes.” That’s a level of confidence that I haven’t accessed in a very long time. In terms of the piece itself, I’ve learned that there is so much shame in carrying sorrow and I understand my own shame around that. I’ve found it so interesting to see how people around me have carried that.
K: What were you fearful of when you took on this performance?
M: Initially, the nudity and feeling that naked was scary. I’m glad that I did that. It has taught me a lot about myself. I also had a lot of fears around the scene on the rock, which we named the altar, when my co-performers are around my feet, they come and break the body armour that I’m wearing. That was honestly a bit terrifying. I took a long time figuring out whether I wanted to do that and who it was for. But I am glad I did it. It was extremely cathartic for me to do that in front of a lot of people.
Pablo San Miguel
K: Describe the type of artist you are and the works you like to perform in.
P: I am an eccentric performance artist that likes to use the realness of the body, the soul, the glance and the words to shout out at the world the things that I feel, and people might also feel connected with.
K: What were you hoping people would get out of this performance and what does it mean to you?
P: We have so many rules in our household, our society that causes what we call traumas, in which we don’t have control over. We are innocents. I want people to understand that we are all vulnerable and at any time, we can become the bullets or the person who has been shot. Within that, trauma is created. Trauma is created by a higher power that exists within humans, I think. It is a structure that becomes painful. I hope people can really see those things.
K: The title of the performance is called ‘Great Trauma.” How did it impact you to be in a performance with a name like that?
P: To accept my own shit, when I am shit, when to handle and acknowledge it. To see that it is a part of myself and be okay with it. To find a way of building community within myself.
K: Was there anything you were afraid of going into this performance, especially in terms of the vulnerability you are showing?
P: I was afraid of going through a bad experience, touching something without care. That would make me feel afraid of going too far to the point where I get lost and feel like I’m in a hole. Rather than like I’m in a healing space.
K: Lastly, what are you most looking forward to in your future?
P: Finding a niche and focus in my performing and art direction. I want to keep exploring at the same time as I am building the foundations of becoming a great artist.
K: What is a great artist to you?
P: Someone that can transform reality multiple times to share the complexity of human beauty.
Jerome Godfrey
K: How would you describe yourself as an artist or performer?
J: I started off as a traditional film actor. I’ve done some roles in films, including a feature film called Women Do Cry, which premiered at Cannes film festival. I had the choice of carrying on as a film actor, but I wanted to explore something different. When I came to Central St Martins, I thought, it’s a different world. It’s been very eye-opening. While I'm still an actor, I’m now exploring what it means to be a theatre actor. It’s very different. It’s a lot less subtle.
K: What made you want to take on this performance?
J: Probably the fact that it’s a real tangible performance. On my course here, we are supported a lot by our teachers, and we have performances we do. But this is Jiaming’s performance for his course. We were treated like real professional actors. We rehearsed a lot. It was a real pleasure.
K: Was there anything you were fearful of when taking on the project?
J: Definitely. Taking my clothes off, I hadn’t done in that way. I’m interesting to see what the tutors make of it. As nudity, I’ve heard, is a recurring thing in our performances. I’ve heard them say it is sometimes unjustified. But the feedback today that I've gotten from the audience was very good, as this is my first performance in this way.
K: Who is your character and what’s their significance?
J: The God Eros, symbolising the divine and juvenile inside a very sorrowful world. Through my character, the audience sees the childish and those less experienced with life. Also, I play at the end Lucifer, the devil, representing that people have two sides.
K: What would you say are the costs on your emotions when taking on a performance like this where you are showing a lot of yourself?
J: I guess, it’s important to keep yourself distracted. All of us have many things going on in our lives. What really helped me was that there are many projects I have going on alongside this. Ultimately, even though this is a heavy project, I didn’t really feel the need that I had to distract myself from it. This is why I am a performer, because I enjoy being in the character.
K: What do you hope the audience takes from the performance?
J: The aim is for the audience to think, which is why this performance really pushes you and there are questionable scenes like stripping or pissing on stage. The scene when Meg is crying while we strip off her clothes is very difficult to watch. But Michael Haneke (film director and screenwriter of Funny Games and The Piano Teacher) said that a scene should be so gruesome that it is difficult to watch. I think that’s what we were aiming for. To make the audience think of the pain women go through, childbirth and suicide.
@obscurae