YOU know the old adage/cliché, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”? Here’s a prime example. In June, I joined a touring group of theatre performers from Perth, Australia to the Temple of Fine Arts in Johor Baru (JB), where we put on a show. Having been to the Temple of Fine Arts in Kuala […]
musicals
A pig-headed perspective
By Nick Choo(Pic by theodore99 / sxc.hu) JUST recently, pigs’ heads were left in mosques, after previous arson and vandalism attacks on churches, a Catholic school, a Sikh gurdwara and two surau. These attacks on places of worship are apparently related to the ongoing tussle over the “Allah” issue. In the last edition of Merely Playing, I […]
Musicals for mental health
By Nick ChooTHIS edition of Merely Playing belatedly commemorates World Mental Health Day, which falls annually on 10 Oct. According to an article in theSun, an estimated 450 million people around the world suffer from mental illnesses such as depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. It added that in Malaysia, some 400,227 patients sought psychiatric help in government […]
Malaysian musicals rock
By Marina MahathirWHATEVER anyone wants to say about the Malaysian theatre scene, when it comes to musical theatre, I think we are getting somewhere. PGL the Musical promotional picture (source: pglthemusical.com.my) I have seen three different musicals at Istana Budaya — P Ramlee the Musical, Puteri Gunung Ledang (PGL) the Musical and lately, Cuci the Musical — […]
The critic’s critic
By Nick Choo“Criticism, positive or negative, should be substantiated … Often a theatre production’s worth rests upon critical feedback. Future projects are sometimes at stake because of ‘bad feelings’ as a result of negative reviews … The worst thing is when the reviewer knows nothing about theatre.” – Jerome Kugan PEOPLE tend to observe something and make […]
Musicals 101: When is it religious?
By Nick ChooIN 2005, as part of my postgraduate thesis, I decided to put on a musical, not realising the amount of work a production actually needs. With my vision of making it a large-scale song-and-dance spectacle the likes of a Great White Way or London West End production, it was an exercise in overambition. Still, it […]
