Joe Hasham breaks new ground with Mandarin version of Tennessee Williams classic

The Mandarin version of 'A Streetcar Named Desire' at KLPac, starting March 19, stars (from left) John Tan, Aki Chan, Ruby Faye and Tan Li Yang. Photo: Dev Lee

To say that theatre director Joe Hasham gets lost in translation during rehearsals for his upcoming play A Streetcar Named Desire (Streetcar) at KLPac next month is an understatement.

With a largely Mandarin-speaking cast, you can understand why.

“Some of the cast could be having intense conversations during rehearsals and although I don’t understand a word of what they are saying I am drawn by their passion... only to discover that they have been discussing their latest favourite eating place or drinking hole!” says Hasham, 74, with a laugh.

The theatre veteran, who previously directed this Pulitzer-winning Tennessee Williams play twice – in 2014, he gave it a dance-drama interpretation (which starred two Japanese prima ballerinas) – is resurrecting the show with a Mandarin twist.

Fortunately, says Hasham, he has Amelia Tan, a Chinese theatre stalwart, as his assistant director, who also helps him with the language barrier.

“Also, it does help that I know the play very well,” reveals Hasham. He played Stanley Kowalski in a 1969 production by the National Theatre in Perth, Australia.

Streetcar opens on March 19 at Pentas 2, KLPac. The show, which is one of the theatre venue’s ambitious productions this year, will be presented in Mandarin with English surtitles.

Will the show appeal to a new Chinese-speaking audience? Will the English-speaking theatre regulars show up?

‘I was attracted by the challenge a Mandarin adaptation presented. I have always thought that the storyline would appeal to a Chinese-speaking audience,’ says Hasham. Photo: KLPac

In these post-pandemic times, Hasham recognises the fact that local theatre can attract a crossover audience, especially with virtual shows in the past two years giving Malaysians a glimpse of how diverse theatre can be.

He also reckons it doesn’t hurt to take a risk and to break down barriers, given the creative team – a multiracial one – includes Tan, dramaturg Omar Ali, translator Minami Khoo, costume designer Beatrice Looi and more.

A dream cast

Award-winning film/TV/stage actor Ruby Faye plays Williams’ ill-fated heroine Blanche Dubois while radio announcer/stage actor Aki Chan and film/stage actor John Tan play Stella and Stanley Kowalski.

Hasham’s Streetcar, which runs for 150 minutes (with two intermissions), also features Tan Li Yang, Amelia Chen, Freddy Tan, Dylan Yeo, Yu Huan, Dennis Lee, Toh Shir Ling, Hendrix Heng and Joven Leong.

Streetcar examines the decline and fall of Blanche, a fading Southern Belle who abandons a privileged upbringing to live in a shabby New Orleans apartment with her younger sister, Stella, and Stella’s brutish husband, Stanley. She then befriends Mitch, a friend of Stanley’s, but her past quickly catches up with her as her lies unravel.

In KLPac’s upcoming Mandarin version of A Street Car Named Desire, Ruby Faye (left) plays the ill-fated Blanche Dubois while Aki Chan plays her sister Stella. Photo: Dev Lee

This staging is long overdue. The first online rehearsal was in May last year, with four days of rehearsals per week. These lockdown rehearsals limited Hasham and his team to script analysis. Physical rehearsals only began in January and the team has been averaging nearly five days of work per week.

Set in 1940s, audiences at KLPac next month will be transported to the heart of the French Quarter in New Orleans with Ziying Chua’s set, while sound designer Chris Higgs will provide the atmospheric surround sound.

“It has been a one-and-a-half year’s journey starting with auditions in September 2020 followed by script readings in May 2021. We have persevered despite the multitude of challenges – rehearsing a show that is not in my native language (also that of half my creative team) mostly online via Zoom last year and rehearsing without a definite show date.

“We were driven by the belief that we have something worth staging and that will be staged regardless of how many times dates had to be moved so more people can experience this extraordinary work especially those who have not before,” he adds.

It is Streetcar’s piercing themes of loneliness, frustration, and relationship breakdown that drew Hasham back to the table.

“But ultimately, I was attracted by the challenge a Mandarin adaptation presented. I have always thought that Streetcar’s storyline would appeal to a Chinese-speaking audience,” reveals Hasham.

Other non-English stagings by Hasham include 2012’s original musical Paper Crane (Cantonese) and 2017’s Bahasa Malaysia adaptation of Harold Pinter’s Betrayal.