The Play's The Thing...

As you probably know, I am a stalwart fan of the usual bitching about Singapore. Being Malaysian, it is almost a pre-requisite of sorts. Having said that, I am not blind to the many benefits Singapore has provided me; my education, the wonderful independent life I lead, the safe environment that allows me to go clubbing all night and walk on the street any goddamn time I please but most of all I am truly grateful for the wonderful artistic "expressions" it manages to entice over. Yes I know KL-ites will cite it as the cultural hub of SEA and in many ways I can't disagree. For sheer originality and creativity, you can't even compare the arts scene here to KL. But seriously is it worth braving KL traffic for?
The solution? Ahhhh It is de very simple. You just de bringing the Malaysian play and putting it in Singapore! I kid you not. Some of the best plays I have seen in Singapore are Malaysian plays. Somehow the other plays (and am not just talking about the Singaporean ones) just fade over time but the few Malaysian plays I have seen really remain etched in one's memory. Maybe it's a cultural connection thing. I can relate to it so I remember it? I don't pretend to know. But in my (and Malaysian plays') defence have asked around and those particular plays are usually lauded by all those who have seen it (Malaysian or not).

The two that come to mind are Spilt Gravy On Rice (Jit Murad) and Atomic Jaya (Huzir Sulaiman). If you ever get a chance to see either. Please do. I have had a crush on Jit Murad since high school which started of as his being the only Malay actor acting in the English medium that I could countenance. So was pleasantly surprised to hear he had written a play and actually went to Gravy under the mistaken notion that he would be acting in it. Even though my disappointment was painfully acute (never seen Jit in person you see and was all prepared to accidentally fall into his lap/into a heap by him etc), I thoroughly enjoyed the play. It twanged strings within my being that I had completely forgotten existed or for that matter even knew of. It's hard of course to summarise any play but this play with its various themes and elements is a complete bitch to nutshell. So I won't. For interested parties, a review (of the Malaysian production, not the one I saw) and summary can be found here http://www.kakiseni.com/articles/reviews/MDIzNQ.html. Would just like to sketch a few unforgettable moments though. I really adored the way they tackled drinking alcohol onstage (Malaysia is a muslim country and Malays drinking alcohol is a very big NO-NO) :

-Hey we are Muslims, should we be drinking alcohol?

-Aiyah! it's oklah we are only fictional characters after all.

Seems the then Malaysian PM (Dr. Mahathir) who was in the audience, thought it was very ingenous and laughed himself silly. Then there was the whole Malaikat Lalu business. You know how sometimes you are talking so animatedly, either to a friend or in a group and then suddenly silence just descends. You have nothing to say. Its not an awkward silence per se, just a hush of sorts. Well, in Malay culture and in Malaysia for that matter we believe that a quietness descends because an angel is passing by (a malaikat is lalu-ing). In the play, an angel (the radiant Lum May Yee) would actually pass by!

As for Atomic Jaya. Oh My God. So absolutely gorgeous. It was just hilarious. Check it out at http://www.kakiseni.com/articles/reviews/MDM3OQ.html. (Basic premise : Malaysia wants to build the atomic bomb but is strenuously denying doing so to the international community). There are a total of about 30 characters in the play and only 3 actors. Utter coolness watching them switch from role to role to role! To pique your interest and ensure you check out the site, here are some tasty lines :

Thumb-twiddling malapropic minister (to be said with classic Malay accent) :-
“Why should we import the highly enriched Iranian? We already buy the Persian carpet and the Persian cat from the Iranian so they become highly enriched at our expense.”

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright:-
“We have the might, and we have the right, and we will not hesitate to fight for the right to our might, and our might alone. Ask not what your country can do for you; rather, ask what our country can do to your country.”

Dr Ramachandran (the indian imported to help out in bomb-making)
“If you vant to take yumbrage, make sure this taking of yumbrage is correct and prahper. Yumbrage simply cannot be taken at vhim or vhimsy. You vill vaste the yumbrage.”

Thrown in for good measure was the ubiquitous Malaysian Song. You know how in Malaysia (hey Singapore does it too!), everything is made into a song to be sung on tv to galvanise the nation. Thus we have a song about Information Technology, Vision 2020, the National Car...etc In the play there is the Song of Songs : "We have the Atomic Bomb, Malaysia has the Atomic Bomb..."

Eh. Actually, I had no intention to talk about those plays at all. Gosh after all these years they are still in my head. Argh. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing... OK the real purpose of this post was to rave about the Second Link (http://www.wildrice.com.sg/pro2005_2link.html).
Saw it last week some time with Archana and Sher. It is a collaboration between Malaysia and Singapore to mark Singapore's 40th. The idea was that Malaysia would "curate" (hey not MY word choice) a bunch of Malaysian material to be performed by Singaporean actors and vice versa. The Singaporean "curation" (OK my word choice, but what else can I call it?) was called Riding The Nice Bus (which is actually the name of the bus that trundles between Singapore and KL) and was ably performed by 5 great names in Malaysian theatre circles. The Singaporean actors meanwhile played Malaysian Roulette (tikam-tikam) with the Malaysian pieces and asked the audience to pick the order in which the pieces would be performed. Yours truly picked "No Strings Attached" a bittersweet piece on the dying art of wayang kulit (shadow theatre).

While the Nice Bus was fine and all that, tikam-tikam was out of this world. I cannot gush enough. The guy behind me was as weak as I was by the end of it. Almost on the floor we were. Archana and Sher, the two coolest cats on the block were just open-mouthed (correct me if I am wrong). I know, good Singaporean actors you say. I say... Bollocks! Its the material I tell you!. While the Singaporean text was able and polished, it just lacked the sheer chutzpah of tikam-tikam. There was our old friend Atomic Jaya (with its classic take on Malaysian race relations: "The chinese to do the work, the malay to take the credit and the indian to get the blame!"), there was a Sang Kanchil story (all Malaysian kids are familiar with the smart, wee mousedeer), there was even an excerpt from "An Introduction to the Malaysian Constitution" . Do check out (http://www.wildrice.com.sg/ebuzz/2link/0508052linkweb.html) for a better take on the "slyly, sexy" Malaysian texts.

So to put it mildly, I guess chaos and disorganisation is needed to generate the sincerity and angst that is needed to create art (or at least excellent plays). In other words: Malaysia Rockslah!

P.S. : Was also supposed to ruminate on the Shabana Azmi vehicle : Betrayal. While I thoroughly enjoyed it, it has already more or less left my alzheimer-like memory. I guess it did not creat a deep enough impression or was overshadowed by the Second Link. What did stay? Shabana Azmi is damn hot.