AustLit

'Of all the stories Jane Hutcheon has encountered as an ABC journalist, China correspondent, war zone reporter and author, one has intrigued her more than any other: that of her mother Beatrice’s turbulent childhood in pre-Communist Shanghai.

'Visiting Shanghai in 2018, Jane began to search for the truth of her mother’s difficult beginnings. Lost in Shanghai is the result, a story of an ordinary Eurasian family in extraordinary times, set against a backdrop of fading colonial opulence, civil war and revolution.

'Using projected images from the family archive curated by photographer-storyteller William Yang, and music composed and performed by Dr Terumi Narushima, Jane narrates this moving true story in her own words.'

Source: Sydney Festival.

'Nakkiah Lui grew up in a close-knit Aboriginal family, fiercely proud of her heritage but uncertain of her place in the world. She's now forging a path as a playwright, actor and comedian - and isn't scared to speak out about injustice.' (Production abstract)

'Every orphan comes with a story. Every journalist has a story that stays with them. And everyone has the power to make a difference. From rural Queensland to rural China, China Baby Love is the story of moving mountains, one shovel at a time. Former foreign correspondent and host of ABC TV's ‘One Plus One', Jane Hutcheon introduces us to Linda Shum, a not-so-ordinary grandmother and widow from Gympie whose compassion for China's forgotten children inspired her to create an unlikely empire. The story of COAT (Chinese Orphans Assistance Team) and Linda's quest to help orphans, many with multiple disabilities, reveals the hidden human aftermath of the One-Child Policy. A tentative visit to an orphanage in a small Chinese city turned into many over a period of twenty years. Linda's curiosity transformed into sheer determination to battle superstition, bureaucracy and a constant lack of funds, to found foster homes and a special needs school that has transformed hundreds of lives, including her own. What Jane intended as a five-minute ‘human interest' segment in a news broadcast inspired an unexpected friendship and the writing of a book that would take Jane back to China. Through the story of Linda Shum's life and work, Jane gets to the heart of some painful truths behind modern Chinese families living in a one-party state.' (Publication summary)