Josephine Tsui

I have only known Josephine a short while. I met her when she came to audition for the play I’m currently directing, The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler. Immediately, I knew I wanted to cast her. Josephine’s enthusiasm for what Ensler might call the “right kind of feminism” made it clear that she would be the ideal choice for one of the more challenging monologues in the show, called “Reclaiming Cunt.” Sure enough, as soon as I had cast her, Josephine started to surprise me with her startlingly original interpretation of the monologue.

As we got to know each other, Josephine and I discovered we shared many stories from our pasts, having both grown up Asian-American. Currently, we are working together on an publishing an anthology of Asian-American women’s stories, in the hope that publishing these voices will comfort other Asian-American women who are in the midst of walking the incredibly thin tightrope that connects the world of our parents to that of our peers. Josephine has been an inspiration to me in this endeavor, and her creativity and ability to put emotion into words is enthralling. This is a partnership I hope to keep for a long time.

Piyali Bhattacharya
Director, The Vagina Monologues
SOAS, University of London

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