(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 […]
theatre
How rude!
By Nick Choo(Pic by LinusB4 / sxc.hu) RECENTLY, during a visit to the cinema, I encountered the infamous subset of Malaysians who seem to enjoy ruining the viewing experiences of others by being inconsiderate. You know the kind: those who let their mobile phone ring during the movie, or check their SMSes and distract you with the […]
Wayang ways
By Nick ChooWayang Rakyat at The Curve, 2007 (© Khoo Eng Yow) THE Malay word for “theatre” is “wayang”. But say the word “wayang” and the first thing many of us would associate it with is “kulit”. Small-scale, community-focused, traditional; of yellow lights and opaque screens; tinny voices, dalang and gamelan. Funny how the multifaceted nature of […]
Embracing different cultures
By Nick ChooJOANNA Bessey first stepped into the Malaysian limelight when she joined the hit comedy series Kopitiam, which ran for seven seasons from 1997. She has since become one of Malaysia’s most recognised entertainment personalities, having been in more than 200 television episodes as well as TV movies, feature films, commercials and plays. Recently, she hosted […]
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 — […]
Cultivating a theatre of Malaysian stories
By Nick ChooPLAYWRIGHT and performer Leow Puay Tin has been involved in the theatre scene for more than 20 years. Working alongside the late, renowned Malaysian director Krishen Jit, she devised Tikam-Tikam: And Her Grandmother Said in 1983, and later wrote acclaimed plays, Three Children (1984), Ang Tau Mui (1993) and Family (1995). A common thread running […]
Historical threesomes
By Nick ChooPatrick Teoh as US President Franklin D Roosevelt during the script reading of The Yalta ConferenceLAST Tuesday, on 19 Oct 2009, I attended a script reading of The Yalta Conference at the Instant Café House of Arts and Ideas (Chai). It was Japanese playwright Hirata Oriza‘s fictitious account of the wartime meeting held in February […]
A story about life’s purpose
Compiled by Nick Choo
CHORAL group The Canticle Singers presents a fresh restaging of Two From Galilee, a musical written by Robert Sterling and Karla Worley, in Kuala Lumpur from today, 23 Oct to 1 Nov 2009. Two From Galilee is the fictitious account of the Biblical characters Mary and Joseph, a young couple in love who are forced […]
“100% Malaysian”
By Nick ChooCOLIN Kirton is a multitalented artist who, among others things, acts, directs, sings, plays the piano and provides training in theatre. He studied at Rosebud School of the Arts in Alberta, Canada from 1996 to 1998. Since returning to Malaysia, he has worked with the likes of the Instant Café Theatre Company, Enfiniti Productions, Dama […]
“Lahirkan kesakitan dengan berkarya”
By Shanon ShahPERLIS-born Nam Ron has been called “one of the freshest voices declaiming in contemporary Malaysian theatre”. The talented playwright won Best Original Malay Script at the Boh Cameronian Arts Awards for his Perlis gangster history, matderihkolaperlih, in 2004. He has since been multiply-nominated for his plays Lembu (2005), Laut Lebih Indah Dari Bulan and WIP […]
