Grand Gay Wedding

Grand Gay Wedding is a ceremony of pretence and burning truths. Somewhere between satire and celebration, Yumo and Ziwei turn marriage – sometimes an unattainable institution, sometimes an inescapable one – on its head to expose its contradictions: on the one hand, a privilege necessary for the survival of some, allowing access to visas and administrative security; on the other, a ban on dissident identities, kept on the margins by oppressive legal systems.

Through rituals, stories and role-play, the performance explores what it means to love under legal constraint, to exist in codified bodies and to negotiate one’s own right to intimacy. Here, Chinese fantasy and the parody of heteronormative marriage become weapons of resistance, where a spicy banquet, Szechuan chilli oil and strange erotic games replace the white dress and the golden ring: a party, a fight, a masquerade where every gesture raises a question: who benefits from marriage? Who is excluded? And what’s left to celebrate when love collides with borders?

Yumo Cheng (she/her/they/them) is a filmmaker, theatre maker and artist currently living in Berlin. She dedicated herself to storytelling and performing after graduating in literary studies from the University of Zurich. Yumo’s work focuses on the intersectional experiences of queer feminist, Asian immigrants, and trauma survivors. Her art practice is not only a survival methodology but also the armor in the fierce battle against the Great censorship and social norms. Her works have been selected by numerous international film festivals, and her performances have been showcased in China, Switzerland, Finland, France, Germany, Kenya and Rwanda.

Ziwei Huang (he/she/they), is a Zürich based visual artist working with writing, photography, book-making, and art historical research. Ziwei uses a wide array of mediums to share his experience that draws inspiration from Chinese queer history, popular culture, and Ballroom culture.