Jit Murad: an irrepressible storyteller, who engaged our hearts and minds

Jit Murad (1960-2022) during a rehearsal for Instant Cafe Theatre’s first full-length play, featuring Eugene Ionesco’s 'The Lesson' and Peter Shaffer’s 'Black Comedy', in Kuala Lumpur in October 1990. Photo: The Star/Filepic

Growing up as an aspiring writer, I wanted to be just like Jit Murad. Much has been said over the years about his talent – as an actor, he was charming and charismatic, and as a comedian, he was witty and intelligent. What I loved the most, however, was Jit the writer. There was magic in the way he would craft his words, masterfully making anyone who encountered them believe that his stories were truly worth telling.

My first encounter with Jit was when he played the titular character in The Storyteller, his acclaimed musical staged in 1996. I often credit that show as being responsible for me catching the theatre bug, and it really was his effective storytelling – both in his performance and the script – that got me hooked.