EdFringe Talk: Ah-Ma

Posted in *EdFestivals 2025, *Written Interviews by

“True inclusivity isn’t about ticking boxes; it’s about creating a culture where everyone belongs, and where all stories are given equal value.”

WHO: Cathy Lam

WHAT: “Ah-Ma – Fujianese for grandmother. Ten years ago, Ah-ma was diagnosed with dementia, struggling each day to remember the names of her loved ones. ‘Ah-ma, if one day you forget everything, please try not to forget love’. Fringe First award (2023) and Hong Kong Young Artist award (2024) winner returns with a hauntingly beautiful new play, weaving together natural and social disasters, bodily deterioration and family sorrow. A lyrical, poignant tale of resilience, faith and humanity. A story of memories slipping away – only to be gently reclaimed.”

WHERE: Studio at theSpace @ Niddry St (Venue 9) 

WHEN: 11:00 (40 min)

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Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is not my first time in Edinburgh. What keeps drawing me back to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the unique sense of possibility it offers—both as an artist and as a producer. The diversity of shows, the openness of the city, and the people it gathers make August in Edinburgh unlike anywhere else. It’s a place where connections are sparked across borders and disciplines. Some of my most meaningful artistic collaborations and lifelong friendships began here. Each visit sends me home with fresh inspiration and a renewed vision for my own work, including the development of festivals in Asia that bridge East and West.

To me, a great festival is defined by its openness—a space that embraces difference not just in programming, but in people. It should be a place where artists from all backgrounds feel seen and heard, and where audiences are invited to engage with a rich range of perspectives. True inclusivity isn’t about ticking boxes; it’s about creating a culture where everyone belongs, and where all stories are given equal value.

EdFringe has consistently offered that space for me. That’s why I continue to return—not only to present work, but to keep learning, connecting, and contributing to a global creative conversation.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2024 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

I made many new friends during EdFringe 2023, and it was also the year I received the Fringe First Award. It was a huge encouragement—but I’ve never seen the award as something for me alone. To me, it simply means more people came, sat down, and listened to our story. That’s a gift, but also a responsibility. It makes me ask: What story will I tell next? Why does it matter? And why should anyone listen?

Since then, I’ve been thinking a lot about chaos—how fragile things are in the world. In early 2025, I experienced the Eaton fire. Our home was spared, but the destruction, the displacement—it shook something in me. The world often feels like it’s burning, whether through disaster, war, or deep division. And yet, I still believe in the power of story—not to fix the world, but to help us see it. To remember. To feel. To imagine something different.

I keep reminding myself to stay humble in the work. Not to chase success, but to keep asking: What do I truly care about? What is my personal reflection? And how can art carry that reflection—not just for myself, but for others who might see themselves in it?

Tell us about your show.

The show is called Ah-Ma. I wrote, directed, and produced it myself, drawing deeply from my personal story and family history. Although the core creative team is spread across Hong Kong the US, many of us have worked together for years, united by a shared commitment to creating work that is tender, urgent, and honest.

At the end of last year, I felt compelled to write a story about my grandma. After witnessing the devastation caused by the Los Angeles wildfires, I spent a long time reflecting on what remains when we face disasters beyond our control. That question became the heart of this play — a response to my grandma’s life, told through my own experience of grief, love, and memory.

My grandma was diagnosed with dementia over a decade ago. I was her favourite — everyone said so. My uncles used to joke, “If she ever forgets Cathy, it’s serious.” Before and during my recent trip home to Hong Kong, I asked my dad and grandpa to share stories about her. I wove their memories together with my own to create Ah-Ma.

Through this process, I came to understand something I hadn’t fully grasped before: the older generation endured hardship not because they were stronger than us, but because they had no choice. Survival was a quiet resilience — like a sprout pushing through burnt earth. That resilience shaped the structure of the play. It’s about remembering, yes, but also about how we carry on — how we rebuild, both after fire and through the slow forgetting of someone we love.

Ah-Ma has not yet premiered. Edinburgh will be its first major presentation, marking a new beginning for this work. After Fringe, I plan to tour the show across Asia and North America. But beyond touring, this work is about creating space — for conversation, healing, and remembrance.

What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?

After seeing AH-MA, I hope audiences continue to seek out stories that speak to resilience, memory, and renewal — because this play is really about how, even after loss or devastation, life begins again. It’s about the quiet strength we carry through grief, and how storytelling helps us remember, rebuild, and keep going.

There are so many shows this year that echo those themes in beautiful and powerful ways. DOTS is a stunning solo show about what it means to function while quietly falling apart — it’s gentle, raw, and deeply human. Dance Dance Involution brings sharp energy and wit to the conversation around burnout, hustle culture, and collective exhaustion — it’s playful but hits hard in all the right places.

Almost Famous is a poetic and gutsy piece about girlhood, identity, and rage — full of questions many of us are still learning how to ask. And Dazed and Confused (from Taiwan Season) is a dreamlike exploration of memory, disorientation, and what it means to grow up between worlds.

These shows, in their own ways, reflect what I believe AH-MA holds at its core — the ache and the beauty of carrying on. So please keep watching, keep feeling, and keep showing up for the stories that help us make sense of who we are. That’s where life begins again.

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