2019 in review: 5 top stories in Malaysian theatre and performing arts

Taiwan’s Cloud Gate Dance Theatre’s epic show 'Formosa', which played at Istana Budaya in KL in March, proved that there is an audience in Malaysia for highly-acclaimed works that don’t pander to mainstream tastes. Photo: The Star/Low Boon Tat

As far as local theatre companies go, none has been busier (arguably), than the Selangor-based company, Theatresauce. For its 2019 season, Theatresauce produced six productions of varying scales: three new creations by Esther Liew, Arief Hamizan and artistic director Kelvin Wong, and three showcases from the 2019 Emerging Directors Lab.

Out of the six shows, five were original works, playing to a total of 1,750 audiences over 44 performances. Theatresauce was bold in its approach to theatre, producing very Malaysian stories but in a non-mainstream manner in terms of staging and storytelling. The bravest show was Wong’s Brohemia! which dealt with issues of sexuality and gender.