Veteran theatre director and producer Datuk Faridah Merican could not be any happier and busier this month.
It's back to business with cast rehearsals and meetings at Kuala Lumpur Performing Art Centre's (KLPac).
KLPac's directors, producers and creative teams have gradually regrouped on-site since the Malaysian performing arts sector was allowed to reopen – with restrictions – on Sept 9.
Faridah is looking forward to directing two shows this month, with Life Sdn Bhd: Differences’ run at KLPac’s Pentas 2 starting on Oct 7. Her other show titled Experiencing Usman Awang, a retrospective tribute show to the late National Laureate, takes place on Oct 21-24.
Both performances are set to mark KLPac's return to live shows this month (to a fully vaccinated live audience).This is arguably the best birthday present the KLPac co-founder could have asked for. Faridah turns 82 on Oct 25.
“We are all set to welcome fully-vaccinated audiences back for our first live show. There is something incredibly healing about listening to stories and I believe it is just what people need now. Come, fill our houses once again,” says Faridah.
Life Sdn Bhd: Differences features eight storytellers (aged 16-49).
“Malaysia is made up of very different people. Until I embarked on this topic, I didn't realise how different or what kind of problems our people endured. One after another, they revealed the issues they were facing because they felt, behaved or were just different from others,” she elaborates about this unique show series.
Later this month, Experiencing Usman Awang will explore some of the legendary author's most loved works such as Sahabatku, Scattered Bones and Merpati Putih in various languages and forms.
“We truly hope that the worst is behind us and that we can finally begin this process of healing and rebuilding. Many of our regulars are delighted and cannot wait to be back at KLPac.
“Of course, it is great to start hiring again – lighting designers, sound engineers, stage managers, actors and more. Everyone is truly upbeat about pushing ahead and picking up the pieces,” says Joe Hasham, KLPac’s co-founder.
At a glance, KLPac has a packed live programme until the end of the year.
In November, arts lovers can catch the twice-postponed Balinese contemporary dance fusion pragina: EMOSI (Nov 4-7) and the Short + Sweet Festival (Nov 10-21).
December is an even busier month for KLPac with seven shows listed. Some of the shows include comedy revue Indicinelive! (Dec 1-5), Bangsawan Hikayat Si Miskin Menjadi Raja (Dec 17-19) and T4YP Mid-Term Showcase (Dec 16-19).
Kuala Lumpur is now in Phase 3 of the National Recovery Plan, which means KLPac is allowed a 70% audience capacity. But KLPac will still maintain its current 50% seating capacity – 85 people in Pentas 2 and 250 people in Pentas 1 – to ensure the safety of its patrons.
“We have also partnered with CloudRevive (under CloudTheatre) so that our recorded performances are available online on-demand, anytime, anywhere via their platform.
“Should performances be restricted once again, which we hope it will not be, theatregoers will be able to stream our shows,” says Ang Yue May, KLPac’s head of marketing communications.
Back on stage
The Petaling Jaya Performing Arts Centre (PJPac) also will be opening its doors to a fully vaccinated audience with LOL Asia’s Kembali Ketawa Malaysia, a Bahasa Malaysia stand-up comedy event happening on Oct 9 at Stage 1 Theatre.
This will be PJPac’s first live show since the lockdown halted live performances in May.
Brian Kwan, PJPac’s theatre manager, says plans are still underway to put together a complete programme till December.
"The team are working with numerous organisers to select dates and performances to be held at PJPac,” says Kwan.
At press time, only on-site events in October have been confirmed, which includes a photo exhibition by Kim Teoh called Whispers In The Wilderness (ending Oct 17), experimental film/arts event KLEX Double Bill (Oct 30), a film screening and live music performance, and a series of concerts by indie rock band Hujan, starting Oct 20.
“We are grateful for what allowance that has been granted and continue to work cautiously with organisers to adhere to the SOP.
“We want our patrons to feel safe when visiting PJPac for performances. Our staff are fully vaccinated and we sanitise our venues regularly. We have also made sure organisers are SOP compliant before they can put on a show at PJPac. Hopefully with such safety measures in place, patrons would be confident to attend shows at PJPac,” says Kwan.
On Oct 15-17, PJPac is also hosting an Open Day series for the public, with pre-bookings through its Facebook page.
Theatre collective Theatresauce is also ready to finally put up its new season, which will now start in 2022.
Theatresauce’s new season will include three emerging directors lab (EDL) showcases next February, March and May and two devised shows in February and April across various theatre venues in the Klang Valley.
“We’re picking up where we left off with the third term of the EDL this month, before we begin rehearsals for our showcases in December. We’ve decided to scale down on our new devised projects,” shares Kelvin Wong, Theatresauce’s founder.
Wong stresses that it’s important to take precautionary measures to ensure the safety of the cast, crew and audiences.
“Now that we can rehearse in person and present our works live in front of an audience again, we can only cross our fingers that we don’t regress to another halt.
“That also means returning to our work carefully and responsibly – with our team, our stakeholders, and eventually our audiences,” offers Wong.
Theatrethreesixty’s co-founder and artistic director Christopher Ling shares that his theatre company has a brand new live Yuletide-themed production planned for early December.
Before that, Theatrethreesixty will be participating in Manifestasi Mono Teater 2021 happening Nov 10-14, with Aku Bukan Parewa, a monologue written by Penang-based playwright Yusof Bakar. This online event is presented by Persatuan Teater Malaysia.
Ling’s Orang Bulan, also written by Yusof Bakar, was Theatrethreesixty’s only live show this year, staged at the new PJPac in May.
For an early 2022 production, Ling says a new one-woman show is currently in development. It explores the effects of the pandemic on our intrinsic human instincts.
Maintaining a presence
Anomalist Production’s (Anomalist) co-founder Khairi Anwar says the theatre company is not rushing to stage live shows.
“We are observing the trend of cases here in Malaysia. If we see another spike or any other signs that it’s not safe for us to stage the shows, we will pull the brake as early as we can,” says Khairi.
Anomalist’s 2020 season was cut short after the first MCO was enforced last year. The plan now is to stage the remainder of that disrupted season, which includes original plays like Amma Chellam, Bangsa: Anak Kecil Main Api and Saving Ismat, early next year, with March being a tentative date.
“The other strategy is to bring our shows to smaller and intimate spaces, so that we can manage our finances better in terms of rental.
“Smaller spaces also allow us to have better control over the audience, therefore we can manage the SOPs laid out by the Government better,” he adds.
Anomalist will also be organising limited audience screenings for its pandemic-era feature film Mentega Terbang at the GMBB mall in KL, starting on Oct 16.
Staging virtual shows is also not part of Anomalist's restarting strategy, shares Khairi.
“We have watched countless online shows, and as good as the shows were, we feel disconnected from the performance. We want to stage our shows to a live audience, so we will plan for that to happen again soon,” he says.The Cultural Economy Development Agency's (Cendana) Art In The City series will also continue with its Panggung Rakyat showcases online for the moment. This traditional arts programme, organised by Cendana and DBKL, used to be held in the heart of the city during the pre-pandemic days.
Panggung Rakyat might return on-site early next year, or when interstate travel restrictions are loosened to allow cultural groups from across the nation to perform in Kuala Lumpur.
This Saturday's online edition of Panggung Rakyat in collaboration with Pusaka sees the traditional art form of "kompang jidor" in the spotlight. Performed by a group of kompang players and a player who strikes the jidor (a large double-headed barrel drum), this intricate percussive art form offers viewers a feasts of beats.
The kompang jidor online performance – done remotely from Johor – will be shown on Cendana's Facebook page on Oct 9 at 8.30pm.
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