Hop on board Orang Orang Drum Theatre's last artful train ride experience

Orang Orang Drum Theatre’s "In Transit-ion: A Poetic MRT Journey” public performing arts project has completed a total of seven performances in eight months. The project will hold its final public performance on Nov 13 at selected MRT stops in the Klang Valley. Photo: Orang Orang Drum Theatre

The melodic percussive plucking sound of a thumb piano rings out in the middle of an MRT train ride, then a masked folk figure - in a long flowing green robe - leaps from his seat, swaying to the gentle rhythms. At the train station platform, two "ghostly maidens" are busy greeting commuters as they rush off to their respective platforms. Meanwhile, a mini xylophone-led orchestra is tuning up nearby, giving the mundane day at this KL train stop a symphonic twist.

The past few days of open rehearsals at the Pasar Seni MRT station have been eventful for the musicians and dancers from arts outfit Orang Orang Drum Theatre, which is readying up its last ride for its public performing arts project "In Transit-ion: A Poetic MRT Journey”. TikTok videos of "ghosts" roaming an MRT station floor have given this project added online buzz.

Since March this year, Orang Orang Drum Theatre has gathered more than 20 local artistes from different backgrounds for this pandemic project, which was disrupted for a few months because of MCO 3.0.

After eight months and perseverance, they have finally completed seven public performances. On Nov 13, “In Transit-ion: A Poetic MRT Journey” will usher in the final performance "The Terminal" from Orang Orang Drum Theatre.

Damien Leow, one of the curators of this project, said: “When this project was created, everyone’s understanding of the virus was still vague, and the shock that it had on life as we knew it was substantial. Today, although contradictions still exist, the production team and all our performing artistes have been discussing and reflecting. The creative process has been evolving with the pandemic, going through a treacherous yet insightful journey."

To explore the possibilities and value of performing in public spaces, this project has brought together artists from different professional fields, including theatre director Yeo Lyle, dancers Dalila Samad, Syamil, Lee Kien Fei (Faye), Lee Choy Wan; percussionists Jian Ru, Cheah Her, Wai Kei, Tai Chun Wai, Amanda Yim; musicians Gideon Alu8khan Chen, Rosemary J and others.

A series of documentaries are also being produced by Orang Orang Drum Theatre surrounding this public art performance project, with production team interviews, public responses and behind-the-scenes footage also filmed. Photo: Orang Orang Drum Theatre

"This last show will be very different. The first four shows were the beginning of our experimentation. Our knowledge about living with Covid has grown with each performance. During the early shows, all the artists mainly fixed the themes for themselves, mostly relating to their feelings during the long MCO, about death and life... the artists worked independently with three different themes. For this last show, all the artists will come together under the co-direction of Yeo Lyle, with each of them to doing a full-length performance," said Leow.

A series of documentaries are also being produced by Orang Orang Drum Theatre surrounding this public art performance project, with production team interviews, public responses and behind-the-scenes footage also filmed.

"In the post-pandemic era, we now have a different understanding of life. The creative artists express themselves through performing arts, in attempts to probe heavy topics of existence. Coming to the final 'stop' of this project, we hope to use different lenses to examine our current state of life, with the theme "Life as Celebration, Celebration of Life", to toast that we are alive. MRT is like a train of life full of imaginary possibilities. We create unpredictable encounters for the predictable train journey," said Yeo Lyle, co-director.

This project is fully supported by the Cultural Economy Development Agency (Cendana), Program Penjana Malaysia and MyCreative Ventures. It is also supported by MRT Corp as a venue sponsor.

The final performance of "In Transit-ion: A Poetic MRT Journey" will be held on Nov 13 at 7pm, taking place across several MRT stations and MRT carriages in the Klang Valley (from Pasar Seni to Taman Mutiara). This event is free for audience members, with a limit of 30 pax. For registration, click here.

More info here.