AH-MA: Award-Winning Hong Kong Company Back at Edinburgh Fringe

AH-MA – Fujianese for grandmother. Ten years ago, Ah-Ma was diagnosed with dementia, struggling each day to remember the names of her loved ones. 'Ah-Ma, if one day you forget everything, please try not to forget love'.

In the face of loss, what remains? After being displaced by the Los Angeles Eaton Fire, this question echoed in Cathy—not just about the destruction of homes, but about memory, identity, and what it means to be human. Ten years ago, her Ah-Ma was diagnosed with dementia. As her body and mind slowly faded, Cathy began to rediscover who her Ah-Ma was: a girl who never had the chance to go to school but taught herself to write her own name; a woman who raised her nephew as her own after witnessing her brother’s suicide. Her life was marked by pain, duty, and remarkable strength. This story is not only a tribute to her, but also a reflection on survival—of memory, of love, of what carries us through.

The Scotsman Fringe First Award (2023) and Hong Kong Young Artist Award (2024) winner returns with a hauntingly beautiful new play, weaving together natural and social disasters, bodily deterioration and family sorrow. A lyrical, poignant tale of resilience, faith and humanity. A story of memories slipping away – only to be gently reclaimed.

“Cathy Lam is a theatre-maker who walks the tightrope between wisdom and wonder, revealing the fragile brilliance of our shared humanity.”
— Jason Yip, judge of the Hong Kong Theatre Libre

Previous Work - A Funeral for my Friend who is Still Alive

(The Scotsman Fringe First Winner 2023, Playbill Pick 2023, Top Show of the Fringe by Euronews Culture)

★★★★★ - Jason Yip
★★★★★ - LBTAF Taiwan 2024
★★★★- The Scotsman
★★★★ - Theater Weekly
★★★★- The Indiependent

This show runs from 1st to 19th August 2025 (excluding the 10th), from 11:00 to 11:40 at theSpace @ Niddry Street, Studio Theatre. Tickets start from £10. For more information, please visit: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/ah-ma

Creative Team

Written & Directed by: Cathy Lam
Performed by: Kasen Tsui

About the Artists

Cathy Lam is the founder of Cathy Lam Arts Collective, the Hong Kong New Ideation Arts Festival, and ThreeWoods Playwright. She was awarded the 2024 Young Artist Award (Drama) by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council.

Kasen Tsui, a former journalist, is now a dancer, storyteller, and theatre-maker. A long-time collaborator with Cathy, she brings physical precision and emotional nuance to their devised works.