Jo Kukathas: 'Everyone assumed I’d be a journalist like my dad'

‘A lot of people are doing political comedy in KL, so I feel that need is being met. Before, we (Instant Cafe Theatre) did it because no one else was doing it. There are so many great satirical websites in KL now. I don’t feel the compulsion I once felt to do it,’ says Jo Kukathas, who is focusing on other genres in theatre. — Faizal Mustafa

Jo Kukathas has her hands around a steaming mug of green tea, trying her hardest not to cough. The flu-ridden actress-director, 52, has just touched down in Singapore for the opening of the Wild Rice theatre production, Another Country, which she is co-directing with Ivan Heng, one of Singapore's foremost theatre directors and founder of Wild Rice.

“Is that for me?” she croaks, a lime green scarf thrown around her neck, as she gladly accepts a lozenge. However, once she gets into the groove of answering questions, she transforms. She is lively, animated, speaking rapidly and at length about her life in the theatre.