
Support Materials
For the Creative Australia application - Arts Projects for Individuals and Groups
女子無才便是德?
Women Should Have No Talent?
by Angel Xiao and Lansy Feng
How much of our destiny is shaped by tradition? How far will we go to break free?
Inspired by real experiences, Women Should Have No Talent? is a bold and thought-provoking theatre work that challenges deep-rooted cultural norms and gender expectations. The play follows two sisters who, after moving to Melbourne, find themselves torn between chasing their dreams and conforming to the traditional ideals of what it means to be a ‘good’ woman. Raised by a mother bound by Confucian values, they must navigate the weight of generational expectations, the clash between Eastern and Western ideals, and the struggle for self-identity.
Through powerful storytelling and music, this production amplifies the voices of women, reminding us that we don’t need to be perfect—we need the courage to stand up, speak out, and define our own paths.
Creatives

Lansy Feng is a Taiwanese-Australian actor, singer, writer, theatre-maker and filmmaker, living and working in Melbourne. Lansy was trained at National Theatre Drama School and Howard Fine Acting Studio full time program.
In 2018, Lansy created the highly reviewed one-woman cabaret How I Met My Dead Husband and performed it at The Butterfly Club and Gasworks Arts Park as part of Melbourne Fringe Festival. The same work was later redeveloped with Wit Incorporated in 2019 for Maribyrnong and Brimbank audiences at the Bluestone Church Arts Space and The Bowery Theatre to community and critical acclaim. The work tells the reincarnating love story of Chuen Jiao falling in love with her soulmate Yueh across four lives. Told in three languages – English, Mandarin and French – the work includes two original songs as well as numerous diverse covers.
Outside of original work, in 2018 Lansy performed in several productions including musicals On My Way (Western Arts Theatre) and Fanciful Imaginings (Musicworx), theatre production Ophelia Thinks Harder (Wit Incorporated) and short film Origin. She has worked with Two Door Pictures and Talk EZ for web-ads, and Flying Art Films for a music video. In 2019, she co-produced and performed in Westerly at The Butterfly Club. In the same year, she also took on lead roles in the short film The Purpose and Altura Learning’s educational film. In the following year, Lansy took on the lead role of a short play Under A Rock in The City Parks Play production (Melbourne Writers Theatre). Lansy has also performed across Taiwan as a percussionist with Phonon Music when she was living overseas.
In 2020, Lansy co-created Bits of Wit, a web series of original work, as well as numerous independent video works. Her short film Of Course I Speak French was awarded the Judge’s choice award at the Cinespace Inc. 123 short film competition, made finalist and semi-finalist in several international awards, and has been officially selected in the San Diego International Mobile Film Festival. The same year, Lansy took on the role of Artistic Director of the independent theatre company Wit Incorporated.
In 2021, she performed in the production Every Second (Wit Incorporated) and was invited by Maribyrnong City Council to perform at Amplify: Unsung for International Women’s Day. In 2022, she toured her original play Dear Mama, There’s Something Maybe I Should Tell You across three venues across Melbourne and ended on a high note at the Bowery Theatre. The play was well-received with wonderful feedback from the audience. She also performed in the VCA master theatre production Bull and plays the lead of a SAE short film String Theory.
In 2023, Lansy has filmed a few projects including the web series Til You Make It, short film The Usual Please and Half Sisters, and theatre projects including #BacchaeToo with Peridot Theatre Inc., Bleached and I Me She Him 你和我和她和她 with Wit Incorporated. In the following year, she also performed in the play which is based on the Chinese historical female hero, Farewell Lady Autumn with WHAM theatre company.
Lansy has recently been nominated for the Green Room Award ‘Outstand Artists - Leading Role’ in the Musical theatre -Independent/Fringe category for performing in the highly reviewed Mandarin musical Hidden Tunes 弦外之音 produced by Small Ripple Theatre. As her own artistic practice, Lansy is dedicated to bringing more work from her own heritage on the Australia stage.
Find out more https://www.lansyfeng.com/)
Writer
performer

Anqi (Angel) Xiao is a Chinese-born actor, writer, and musician based in Melbourne. She was trained at 16th Street Actors' Studio from 2019 to 2020.
She has performed on stage in China and Australia in productions such as Hidden Tunes, Black Comedy in 1988, I Me She Him, Endgame, A Long Way Down, Love Letters and New Youth. She has also performed in award-winning immersive productions like The Smile Off Your Face and A Game of You. Additionally, her experience includes physical and children’s theatre including Little Pillow, Bobo can’t Fly and Hey Look at Me, along with short films such as Swallow and Magpie.
As a musician, she plays various instruments, including the piano, percussion, guitar, and the traditional Chinese instrument Pipa. Angel also has had theatre production experience with Shanghai Xiaoguo Culture Media and SMGLive in China.
As an emerging artist and writer with a bilingual background, she is interested in exploring themes of feminism across different cultures.
(Find out more https://angelxiao.my.canva.site/)
Writer
performer
Lansy Feng's past work
Original works

How I Met My Dead Husband
我和老公的前世今生
How I Met My Dead Husband is a highly reviewed one-woman cabaret created by Lansy in 2018 and is performed at The Butterfly Club and Gasworks Arts Park as part of Melbourne Fringe Festival. The same work was later redeveloped with Wit Incorporated in 2019 for Maribyrnong and Brimbank audiences at the Bluestone Church Arts Space and The Bowery Theatre to community and critical acclaim. The work tells the reincarnating love story of Chuen Jiao falling in love with her soulmate Yueh across four lives. Told in three languages –English, Mandarin and French – the work includes two original songs as well as numerous diverse covers.
Video extracts of How I Met My Dead Husband (2019)

Dear Mama, There's Something
Maybe I should tell you...
親愛的媽媽,有些事我有許應該要告訴你...
‘Dear Mama' is a new work of theatre that explores the experience, excitement and tension of discovering new cultures in a new country. Set in contemporary Melbourne, this cross-cultural love story slash comedy of errors follows the story of Taiwanese transplant Li-Ting as she rejects the future her mother has planned out, follows her heart to Australia, finds a new community, and toes a complex balance between her traditional Taiwanese family and the different morals and culture of her new home. It's a wild ride complete with a big sharehouse full of new mates, new loves, VB, BBQs, karaoke, jilted lovers, Britney Spears and more.
The making process of the show (2021)
Trailer of Dear Mama, There's Something Maybe I Should Tell You (2022)
past performing works
Theatre footages - Lansy Feng

你和我和她和她 I Me She Him (2023)

Ophelia Thinks Harder (2018)



Every Second (2021)
Farewell Lady Autumn (2024)
Bleached (2023)

Bleached (2023)

Farewell Lady Autumn (2024)

Season Launch Cabaret (2022)

弦外之影 (2024) Green Room Award Nomination -Leading role

親愛的媽媽,有些事我也許應該要告訴你...(2022)