One accident. Two stories. Based on writer and performer Aaron Pang’s own experience, Falling: A Disabled Love Story is a bold and provocative solo show that unravels the complexities of love, lies and life after disability. In this uncomfortably sexy and hilariously vulnerable performance, Pang tells a story heard a thousand times—and one never heard before.
Consistently faced with the question “What happened?”, Pang begins with the comforting lie people want to hear—a feel-good tale of overcoming adversity and finding love. But the true story lies within the messier, morally grey tale. Falling challenges the disabled narrative, offering an unflinching exploration of online dating, paying for sex, and navigating intimacy when faced with an unfamiliar disabled body following a spinal cord injury.
Audiences are taken on a rollercoaster of awkward encounters, tedious physical therapy, and the harsh realities of a world that craves “happy endings.” Playing on society’s preconceptions and the persistent tropes of “inspiration porn,” Pang leads the audience through moments of physical and narrative misdirection, forcing them to confront their own biases.
Through sharp humour, raw honesty and varied participation, Falling playfully manipulates expectations to expose how society reduces disabled lives to simple, palatable stories. It is about the truth of falling in love, falling with a disability, and falling for the lies we wanted to hear.
Aaron Pang shares, “Because I walk with a cane, I can get anyone to help me. I just need to look sad and pathetic, and people will trip over themselves to carry my bag, open the door, or just hover uncomfortably around me. It is this power that I wield as a disabled performer that first inspired the writing of Falling. I wanted to show and undermine the idea that I am always in need of ‘help’.”
As a disabled storyteller, Pang uses this autobiographical show to break away from the limitations of how disabled stories are told and received, shining a light on the pivotal chapters often left out. With previous praise describing his work as “a strange concoction of comedy, visual performance and full-throttle storytelling,” Falling promises to be a deeply intelligent and provocative addition to the Fringe.
