Kopisusu Re-Cham rolls back old Malaya through beloved songs

A vibrant and colourful time in Malaya’s history is recaptured through concert play Kopisusu Re-Cham.

THE 1950s were fabulous in Malaya, so it was said, although life was harder.

“Life then was simple and people had to work hard to survive. But it was the golden era for the region’s entertainment world and that provided people not only a means of escape, but alsoa hope for a better future,” singer Yudi Yap reminisces.

At a time when Hong Kong’s Shaw Brothers spun dreams in the region with their movie-making factory, the island city was also the center for pop music (called Shi dai qui, or golden oldies which originated from Shanghai, China).

This music became so popular that it captured the attention of the English-language industry, infusing the songs with Hollywood sound and jazz music. When it came to the region, then tagged as Nanyang, the Shi dai qui numbers fused with Malay classics to become cabaret hits. Even our national songbird treasure, Saloma, had covered a few of these Shi dai qui fusion hits.

“In the 1950s, your race and religion did not matter, people mixed freely like kopi susu. We were about to get our Merdeka, so everyone had hope and dreams for a new beginning and a better future. The optimism and idealism continued into the 1960s, making it a lively and exciting era,” says Yudi.

It is this sentimental nostalgia of a vibrant and colourful time that Udiyap Music’s concert play Kopisusu Re-Cham wants to invoke with its restaging at Damansara Performing Arts Centre in Petaling Jaya, Selangor from this Thursday to Sunday.

Guest artist Li Qiang and saxophonist Julian Chan will join Yudi, who will take centrestage to create the old charm of a new Malaya. There will be subtitles for non-Chinese speakers so that they can enjoy the music, too.

“This time round, we are going for a more theatrical spectacle, and director James Lee and I have developed the script further to strengthen the storyline and my character Maria,” says Yudi, who has been working with renowned theatre actress Pearlly Chua to sharpen her acting chops.

The story loosely tells of a few Chinese singers who dream of becoming stars.

“But don’t worry, it is still all about the music,” she quickly assures.

Kopisusu Re-Cham will bring back more than 20 of the best-loved songs of the Nanyang period including Saloma’s Kopi Susu and Indonesian classic Bengawan Solo.

But Yudi strongly believes that life has to be experienced, and this includes the romantic Malaya in the 1950s and 1960s.

So, the experience of attending the Kopisusu Re-cham concert play will begin even before the curtain rises, she shares.

“We want to appeal to people’s all five senses including taste, smell and touch by recreating the period even in the foyer of DPAC so that they can experience how it was back then before watching the concert play,” she says.

Collaborating with the Han Culture Centre, Above n Beyond, K3K kopitiam outlet and Melody FM, Kopisusu will create an interactive Great World “entertainment centre” with an exhibition, real stories from the era, games like tikam tikam and of course, 1950s snacks and drinks (free) for audience to immerse themselves in the period.

Tells Yudi, in many cities of the region at that time – from Penang to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore – Hong Kong’s Great World entertainment centre concept caught on and they had one-stop entertainment centres with open air cinemas, live performances and concerts including the Bangsawan, strip shows, bumper cars, games, merry-go-round rides, bumper cars, and of course lots of stalls selling food and drinks. Couples, families and lonely migrant workers flocked to the Great World for leisure and fun.

“This is our collective memory – some sort of a cultural history of a bygone era that we all share as Malaysians. Maybe you know nothing about it, or maybe you have heard about it from your great-grandparents, grandparents or parents. But they should remind us of the many good memories we have as a country,” says Yudi.

We have a trove of stories of this “raw era”, adds the Pahang-born singer, and before they are lost forever, she wants to capture them through music and images.

KopiSusu Re-Cham 2014 runs from Nov 27 to 30 at 8.30pm (with matinees at 3pm on Saturday and Sunday, Nov 29 & 30), at Damansara Performing Arts Centre (DPAC), Empire Damansara, Damansara Perdana, Petaling Jaya in Selangor. Tickets are RM68 and RM88, available at DPAC Box Office and www.dpac.com.my. For enquiries, call 03-2054 0960 / 03 4065 0001/ 016-643 6809 or email [e-mail].