A blind date is equal parts trepidation and anticipation. In the unknowing lie wariness, possibility and the hope of making a genuine connection. For multidisciplinary artist Vivian Chong, her new solo show Blind Dates evokes all of these meanings and more – because she herself is blind. For Chong, a date is not simply a vehicle for romance: it’s a gauntlet for navigating relationships, connection, and vulnerability in a world that often underestimates her perspective.
Chong lost her sight due to a rare adverse reaction to ibuprofen, which triggered a severe skin disorder called Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN). After the condition caused extensive scarring and significant vision loss, an initial corneal surgery temporarily improved her sight. And though her vision progressively deteriorated over time, her artistic vision never dimmed. “I’ve been pursuing my career as an artist since I was drawing at the age of four or five years old,” she recalls. And “that quality of mind – envisioning a world, envisioning things happening – it didn’t go away. I’m still a very visual person, and I love creative things. I love colour. I love forms.” And her condition “just adds to it. Now I love the nuances between connection, humanity, and the things that are important to people.”
And with Blind Dates, Chong is offering audiences an intimate, humorous, and moving experience that transcends sight to focus on the essence of connection. The show, written and performed by the Dora Award-nominated Chong and directed by Marjorie Chan 陳以珏, is on stage at Theatre Passe Muraille from February 13 to March 9, 2025. Blind Dates blends comedy, music, and storytelling to bring Chong’s personal experiences to life. Through her unique lens, Chong explores love’s highs and lows, unveiling tender, funny, and often surprising stories interwoven with her original musical compositions.
Connection and accessibility
In its multitude of possible forms, the idea of “connection inspired the creation of Blind Dates,” Chong explains. “Connection could be short or long. It could be heartfelt, or it could be short-lived. It could be coming with baggage from others, or from my past. It could be light and fluffy – but there’s no one way. This is what is so fascinating for me to capture in Blind Dates.”
Chong describes Blind Dates as a dynamic piece of art whose evolution “is still happening now.” In development and rehearsal, she and her team are discovering some shift in the work every day. “That’s what’s so fascinating….The connection is still developing. Live theatre is not just live: it’s a living thing, as I’m creating it.”
This process of creation has brought revelations and challenges. One of Chong’s most profound discoveries has been the role of accessibility in her work. “Accessibility is part of my life, even if I don’t want to look at it,” she shares. “Accessibility would affect my work if I didn’t speak up, advocate, make sure my team understood my position, fill in the gaps between the non-sighted and sighted world. It’s part of the work that I need to do to access my best work. That is a big challenge and ongoing discovery for me.”
Seeing and being seen
As a multidisciplinary artist, Chong seamlessly blends theatre, music, visual arts, and literature in a unique melange shot through with humour and vulnerability. This idiosyncratic approach allows her to pull together themes of dating, romance, and personal growth in ways that are immersive, engaging and relatable. “I’m so fortunate to work with Theatre Passe Muraille”, she smiles. “They have been important in allowing my creativity to come to fruition. Every day I am creative. Every day I am writing my comedy to wow people with my poetry and my anecdotes – capturing my life from paper. But now I’m lifting it into live theatre, and combining all the parts of the artistic world that I have discovered: the music, the song, even the light. I have light perception, so even the light is artistic. Every part of the arts must merge with the audience.”
At its core, Blind Dates is not only about dating: it’s about seeing and being seen. So this interplay of artistic elements not only enriches Chong’s storytelling, but invites the audience into a dynamic, co-creative process of self-scrutiny:. “Blind Dates is about people. And we live in a society full of people,” Chong notes. “The play asks, ‘how does one connect with another?’ It’s up to you. But it’s also up to the inner you, whether you can represent yourself and express yourself adequately to work alongside, live alongside, and love alongside your peers.”
And the collaborative journey that underpins all theatre proves Chong’s point: “It’s a really moving experience for me. And how does it come together? It relies on the audience’s energy. And as I output my energy, I also rely on my audience to give their focus and to listen, and to experience that with me together. Together, we create.”
Advocacy and art
Beyond its abundant entertainment value, Chong’s work challenges perceptions of blindness and champions accessibility in the arts. Balancing her artistic vision with advocacy is “an everyday task” that sparks reflection: “What is a work-life balance?” she asks. “How do I adequately represent myself as a performer, as a playwright, as a person living in a blind community, as an advocate speaking on behalf of my people, as a peer among my work buddies who are in the sighted world and non-sighted world?” Even more pointedly, “How do I say yes, and when do I say no?” She pauses. “It’s very delicate, and I’m moving through it as we speak.”
In addition to her work in theatre, Chong has said “yes” to diverse artistic outlets. She is the author of the acclaimed graphic memoir Dancing After Ten, which chronicles her terrible experience with TEN and the process of adapting to vision loss. She has also worked as an audio description consultant for theatre, graphic novels and children’s picture books. And her first commissioned film project Strong Woman was featured on the Common Boot Theatre digital platform in 2024.
With Blind Dates, Chong invites audiences into her world – to watch, to engage, to feel, and above all to connect. Her unique perspective and artistic prowess promise an experience as heartwarming as it is thought-provoking.
A blind date may be equal parts trepidation and anticipation, but the prospect of Blind Dates is all anticipation.
Blind Dates is on stage at Theatre Passe Muraille from February 13 to March 9, 2025. Tickets can be reserved on passemuraille.ca and include pay-what-you-can options. The entire run is blind friendly, live captioned, and presented in a relaxed environment.
© Arpita Ghosal, Sesaya Arts Magazine 2025
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