With revolutionary war looming and colonial opulence fading at its fringes, a young girl watches from the prow of a Hong Kong-bound ship as her home and family fade in the distance. In Lost in Shanghai, the acclaimed journalist Jane Hutcheon steps back through time to meet that little girl – her own mother, Bea.

Bea wasn’t one to dwell on the past and rarely spoke of her unhappy childhood. But in 2018, with her mother aged 99, Hutcheon decided to fill in the gaps. Together they returned to Bea’s childhood, where an extraordinary Eurasian family both put down roots and lost their way. As Hutcheon dives further into her family history, from pre-Communist Shanghai to Bea’s own stint as a reporter at the South China Morning Post in the 1950s, she finds echoes of her mother’s life in her own.

A Q&A with Jane Hutcheon and Terumi Narushima (musician) will be held directly after each performance with the topics discussed listed below.

Fri 15 Mar (after the 7.30pm show)
Jane Hutcheon, The Art of Asking Questions

Sat 16 Mar (after the 2pm show)
Terumi Narushima, The Sound World of Lost in Shanghai.

Sat 16 Mar (after the 7.30pm show)
Jane Hutcheon, Finding Family Stories

These Q&As are free for those who have purchased a ticket to that particular performance.  

Performer and Writer Jane Hutcheon
Co-director William Yang
Co-director and Dramaturg Tasnim Hossain
Composer and Musician Terumi Narushima


A tantalising insight into the breadth and bravery she displayed across her career.
The Age/Sydney Morning Herald