Red Snow Collective’s Comfort – Written by Diana Tso. Direction, Music Direction, Movement and Scenic Design by William Yong. Music by Constantine Caravassillis. Live musicians: Patty Chan, Cathy Nosaty, Brandon Valdivia. Lighting by Rebecca Picherack. Costume by Erika Chong. Set Construction by James Kendal. Photos by Dahlia Katz.

Comfort: A love story about two teenagers in Nanjing China who find joy and friendship in their shared passion for opera, which later become precious in their survival through the war and imprisonment in a “comfort house” in Shanghai. Over 200,000 girls and women across Asia were forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army during WWII but yet their stories are ones that are often forgotten in their journey towards reconciliation and social justice.

As one of the musicians, it has been a challenging journey for me, delving so deeply into the emotions of fear, sadness, and helplessness with each performance. I have learned so much about the atrocities that the comfort women had gone through, and can also see how relevant their stories are even today. For me, every show has brought tears and a heavy heart. Very exhausting! What gives me hope is that art can move hearts, make us think, and motivate us to be better and to do better.