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Re-envisioning Shakespeare's plays in different locales has been de rigueur for some time in the theatre world. At this point, seeing the Capulets and Montagues battle it out on the spaceship Verona seems just as apt as laying the scene in the "fair Verona" of Renaissance Italy. The brooding prince Hamlet might contemplate the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" on the sandy shores of Thailand as easily as on the somber coasts of Denmark. And in like fashion, the current Shanghai Repertory Theatre (SRT) production of the Bard's Much Ado About Nothing transports the action from Sicilian Messina to Xiamen's Gulangyu circa 1900. "Ladies sigh no more..." is sung as a ragtime ditty. The ladies trail across the stage in Victorian dresses with high waists. The boys back from battle strut across the stage in the attire of 19th century dragoons. Traditional Italian dances (somewhat incongruously) pop up as well. For their works, choreographer Natalie Jeon, composer Ruth Chan and costumers Sky Chao & Natasha Portwood are all worthy of mention.

 But let's face it. For all of SRT's and countless other theatre companies' reimaginings, the thing that keeps us coming back to Shakespeare is Shakespeare himself. When good, capable actors get themselves around the words it's magic, regardless of whether they are in turbans or tutus. And on this most important front, SRT delivers.

 Of particular note are Arran Hawkins as Benedick and Laurie Padgett Fralick as Beatrice. Playing one of Shakespeare's most fiery couples, the duo is meant to carry the show and both actors do so with grace, making each repartee between them a pleasure to watch. Not to diminish their efforts, the rest of the cast provide ample backdrop to these lighthearted quarrels: from Alexander Lyndon's saccharine Claudio and J.P. Lopez's engaged and kindhearted Don Pedro to Patrick McQuillan's passionate Leonato and Natasha Portwood's confoundingly cockney Dogberry. Fans of the Bard will find themselves well entertained and those witnessing the spectacle for the first time should see what all the "ado" is about.

Shanghai Repertory Theater Presents Much Ado About Nothing

Wednesday 14 March - Satruday 17 March, 8pm; Sunday 18 March, 3pm

RMB 200

Ke Center, 613-B Kaixuan Lu, near Yan'an Xi Lu, 136 4170 1170

With the holidays in our taillights, it's that time of year to cash in on seasonal sales. The Villa, one of our favourite boutiques in town, is offering 40 per cent off everything in their store - from runway looks by Jason Wu to celebrity favourites from Alice + Olivia. Back in January, The Villa also added Crush Cashmeres to their growing list of designers (over 20 now) they showcase. The sale started on 1 February and will run for the whole month, so clean out a big ol' space in your wardrobe. It's time to restock with designs straight from the runways.

1 Taojiang Lu, near Dongping Lu. Tel: 6466 9322. Web: www.shopthevilla.com

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By Leah Stickley

The boxes have been unpacked, and the house is beginning to feel familiar. The shops have been located as well as the pub. Next on the list are all the administrative tasks that go hand in hand with settling in a new place. The first couple of weeks of being in the UK have been focused on getting a landline and a mobile, getting internet at home, TV installed, notifying a change of address and getting on the electoral register.

Where to start with all these is a personal matter. For me, it makes sense to let people know you’ve changed address and then the others follow. What I’ve quickly learnt is that every company and government office needs a postcode and a house number. In the UK, this is easy to find online.

Clearly changing your address can be done before departure if you know where you are going to be living, and most of it can be done online. Whether this is done pre- or post-departure, it’s the same process, and it’s best to make all the changes in one session with a cup of tea and some biscuits as it’ll take some time. (Other libations work the same.) I pulled out my file of personal papers and just started at the top – bank, offshore savings fund, life policy, medical insurance, subscriptions and reward cards. Put on your favourite music and just do it!

Most of the changes were easy. The medical insurance company even asked me, online, if I wanted to switch to UK coverage and save some money – which I did. With the banks, I received a follow-up call to confirm that it was actually me who had made the request. The offshore investment company has taken much longer as I had to print a letter, sign it and then send a scanned copy of the signed letter back to my broker. In Shanghai, I had an office with scanners. I even had one at home. Here, no one in my immediate circle has a scanner at home. I searched the high street and asked at the Post Office. There’s no neighbourhood printer in Malvern within walking distance, and I haven’t sussed out the buses yet to go further afield. Finally, I asked my friend if he could scan it at work and send me an email. It would have been quicker to mail the letter to Shanghai!

Next up was getting connected to the world with phones, internet and TV. As I’m living in someone else’s house, he’s dealt with these matters. From his account, it was relatively easy to get these services set up; all he needed was… his postcode. What has shocked us both is the length of time we have to wait before getting these three basic services. It’s taken two weeks to get the TV set up. But wait for this… we have to wait a month to get broadband and a landline installed. UH? A far cry from the speediness of Shanghai. I’m currently using something called a pay as you go dongle to get online.

Next on my list was choosing a phone provider. Previously, I had only used pay as you go in Shanghai and the UK. Now, it was possible to get a ‘free’ phone with a 24-month agreement. Sounded good but what was the catch? Credit approval. It’s very strange being told I don’t exist in the system, and I’m learning that if I want to do anything here related to money, I have got to get myself on the electoral register. In the UK, the electoral register is the first port of call for any company offering payment deals to new customers. It’s easy to get on it by simply completing the form online, printing it out and then mailing it to the local office.

Because eventually I’d like to purchase a house somewhere (maybe the UK or maybe overseas), this experience of being persona non grata for credit has made me realise I’ve got to create a history of credit. It’s driven me to set up a regular savings account, convert my medical insurance from yearly to monthly payments and get on a monthly payment plan for the phone, even if I had to put down a refundable deposit. I’ve also applied for a store card at my favourite food shop and loyalty cards with my favourite chemist and local shop. All this is to create a history of being able to make regular payments and thus increase my credit rating. Luckily, I kept a credit card active over the past 20 years so I do have a little bit of history in my favour. Ideally, I should take out a loan to show I can repay debt. That’s an interesting idea. What do I buy?.

Filling in the form for the store card was interesting as there were some moments of ‘it depends’ when it came to answers. Am I working, unemployed or self-employed? As a self-starting kind of person, I don’t ever consider myself employed or not employed. At the moment, I’m not actively engaged in activities which generate money, so I’m not working, but I’m not unemployed either. Where’s the box that says ‘Other’? The other question which is proving difficult is ‘permanent address’. For the time being, it’s with my parents as that’s where I’ve registered for the electoral register. I’m struggling to fit myself into these boxes. Where’s the box for ‘returning British citizen with no fixed plan’?

This permanent address question leads to another matter which quite honestly I’d rather just went away: tax and tax status. The situation in China was so simple for me; I earned a salary, paid tax on that and the finance department made suggestions on how to reduce my taxes by collecting as many taxi and mobile top-up receipts as possible. There were clear guidelines on the offset limits from the tax bureau. Simple. Now, I have to decide whether I am domiciled, resident or ordinarily resident in the UK. Frankly, after living abroad for almost 20 years and paying taxes in other countries, I’m not sure anymore where my ‘home’ is. I know that I want to settle, but I don’t know where that place is geographically. Maybe my home is an airport - in between countries.

What I’m learning from these administrative experiences is that I don’t yet fit neatly into UK boxes, and it has created a slight sense of uncertainty about who I am. I know that I’m trustworthy and reliable, but none of the companies I’ve interacted with know this. Their due diligence system flashes red when my data is entered. For those of you thinking of returning to your country of origin, I strongly suggest you start getting yourself on the radar as someone who can pay back a loan and make regular payments. It’ll make life a lot smoother for when you return and want to buy a house or take out a loan.

Leah Stickley aka The Onion Peeler has made a name for herself in the learning and development industry over the last 11 years in Shanghai. Her brand – the Onion Peelers – is recognised for fun and innovative solutions to cross cultural training, team building and train the trainer programmes. Recently ICF ACTP certified as a professional coach, Leah is embarking on a new career – coaching for international assignment – including assessment, selection, expatriation and finally repatriation in one piece. For the rest of her journey home after living abroad for 20 years, click here.

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By Leah Stickley

Holiday over. Reality sinking in. Not going to the annual Robert Burns' supper. Not getting ready for Chinese New Year. Not hibernating during January because it’s so miserably cold outside. Not having a 2012 work plan. At the moment, I feel the need to be certain that I’ve made the right choice of packing up my life and moving back to the UK.

I’m heading for the Valley of Despair. Imagine a U with one side taller than the other.  I’m on the shorter side, and I’m watching myself slide down to the bottom – The Valley of Despair or in my case, ‘What the - have I done?’ The idea is though that I will climb out of the valley on the higher side to a better place or higher level than where I started. The trick is to have a clear view of the top of this side and to maintain the vision.

This is what I learnt from my recent coaching session. Louise, my coach, is based in Portugal. I found her through LinkedIn, and we’ve been working together since October. She’s been through the expatriation and repatriation process before so understands where I’m coming from. Best of all, she’s patient, supportive and a great listener.

In the recent session, I asked her to ‘explain’ the change process, and she described the ‘U’ I have just discussed. Change involves unlearning and then learning or perhaps relearning different ways of being and doing. The end result though of any change ideally is better or more fulfilling than the current situation. The process will invariably involve emotional ups and downs as by nature, humans generally prefer a stable environment. Having a vision of the desired outcome of the change helps us ride the emotional roller coaster.

Maintaining the vision therefore is so important for maintaining levels of self-efficacy and certainty. By working with Louise I can reaffirm and clarify the vision or reasons and purpose of moving to the UK which in turn will help me see what needs to be done to climb up the high side of the U. Knowing what needs to be done and setting small achievable action steps increases my sense of self-efficacy and confidence.

Sounds easy, right?

Any change has its challenges. For example, my digestive system reacted to the change in water – nothing emotional or cognitive about it; it just reacted and adjusted itself. My body clock is still struggling with the dark mornings which are resulting in my sleeping later than I usually would or waking up at 5am (like today). Again nothing emotional or psychological about this. It just is. Knowing that my body needs time to adjust to the environment means that I’m not worried about my sleep pattern or digestion. It’s a normal part of the change process.

What is also normal but harder to accept are the emotional and psychological challenges. In the beginning, it’s normal to feel elated and euphoric about the familiarity of ‘home.’ I’m delighting in sights and sounds I haven’t seen for a long time. Yesterday, I was wandering around the garden, and I saw daffodils! I haven’t seen daffodils for … can’t remember how long. I saw a robin redbreast and heard a most beautiful dawn chorus. Today I saw a milk float!!

But little ‘shocks’ are starting to happen as I interact with the good people of ‘home’. How do I cope with a different world view? Here’s an example of what I mean. I took a taxi (RMB 80 to go six km!!) and chatted to the driver. I mentioned that I’d just come back from China and described the taxis to him mentioning, of course, the price difference. His reply? ‘Well what do you expect? It’s all slave labour over there.’ I had to catch myself from correcting him as I realised that that’s his world view, and he believes it. Plus I didn’t want to spend the next ten minutes in an enclosed space with someone defending his point whilst driving. Best to keep quiet.

Working with a coach helps me be aware of my reactions to my new environment. Self-awareness is crucial because I can choose my response to the challenges of coming weeks and months as I slide into the Valley and grope around for footholds to lift myself up to the place where I want to be.

Leah Stickley aka The Onion Peeler has made a name for herself in the learning and development industry over the last 11 years in Shanghai. Her brand – the Onion Peelers – is recognised for fun and innovative solutions to cross cultural training, team building and train the trainer programmes. Recently ICF ACTP certified as a professional coach, Leah is embarking on a new career – coaching for international assignment – including assessment, selection, expatriation and finally repatriation in one piece. For the rest of her journey home after living abroad for 20 years, click here.

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