Shedwood
Physical Theatre

London, UK

August 2025

Written & Directed by: Yuchen Zhou

Set & Costume Design / Producer: Kailin Xu
Lighting Design & Technician: Sheron Luo
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Shedwood is a short and striking piece of physical theatre inspired by Han Kang’s The Vegetarian，it explored feminism, transformation, and the aching relationship between body and constraint.
Design Concept & Execution
From the beginning, the piece felt raw and honest. Watching the choreography and listening to the music, I was deeply moved. I wanted the lighting to reflect this intensity while leaving space for the performance to breathe.
At the opening, where the stage evoked a strange medical-lab atmosphere, I kept the light subtle, controlled, almost clinical. But as the piece built to its climax — when the performer shed all bodily constraints and danced wildly — I designed the transition in three steps, each pushing the feeling of freedom further. By carefully controlling colour temperature and brightness, I shaped the progression until she seemed to be dancing in a world of her own — a beautiful sunset giving way to a rainy night street, with sunlight and street lamps cheering for her.
But maybe this was all just a dream.
Outcome & Reflection
Reviewers observed that the lighting helped to “mark out the structure” of the piece, supporting its rhythm of dream, emergence, and transformation. For me, though, the experience was more personal: Shedwood reminded me of how light can accompany a body through struggle into release, not by explaining but by celebrating.
I enjoyed it deeply — watching the performer dance free in a space where my light could become sunset, rain, and streetlamp all at once. In that moment, light didn’t just frame the performance, it joined in cheering for her.
