The cast for new theatre work 'Opium At Closing Time', includes Yen (Alexis Wong, seated) and (from left) Chai (Samuel Low), Tuk (Brendan Vinsent), Kak Lin (Hannan Barakbah) and Hui (Grace Ng). Photo: Engku Armand
When reality unravels, it can be a disconcerting, dark and confusing time.
Like many others, theatre practitioner and writer Tarrant Kwok has seen it happen to a loved one. His grandmother was an Alzheimer’s patient for many years before her passing in 2017.
“It was a quiet death, one that we had mourned many years prior, her being lost to Alzheimer’s years before,” shares Kwok in a recent interview.
This became the starting point for something bigger, the first chapter in a collection of stories, snippets and conversations, that settled into a play written and directed by Kwok, to be staged at the Damansara Performing Arts Centre (DPac), Petaling Jaya in Selangor, starting Oct 20.
Opium At Closing Time, presented by new theatre company Amberjade Arts, dives into the often fragmented experiences of those suffering with Alzheimer’s and those who care for them.
This production is a recipient of the Boh Cameronian Grants for New Productions 2022, supported by Boh Tea and Kakiseni.
“While I cannot even seek to understand the kind of memory loss and decoherence of an Alzheimer’s patient, I can simulate it. I chose deliberately to embrace the fragmentation of the experience. When one comes to watch the show, don’t expect to understand it right off the bat. It is not, at its surface, a ‘well made play’. Yet there is an inevitability in the narrative, and you are just coming along for the emotional catharsis,” says Kwok, who adapted Edgar Allan Poe’s short story The Fall Of The House Of Usher to stage, for the theatrethreesixty arts outfit in 2018.
Tarrant Kwok, writer and director of 'Opium At Closing Time', hopes for a more understanding and supportive society for people with Alzheimer's and their carers. Photo: Engku Armand
Opium At Closing Time is Amberjade Arts’ first full-length production. The theatre company was formed early this year.
It tells the story of Yen (played by Alexis Wong), who has Alzheimer’s, and her son Chai (Samuel Low), who is her carer.
Produced by Wendy Wong and Engku Armand, with music by Yanwen Ng, this play employs non-linear storytelling to reflect Yen’s disjointed memories.
The audience will meet a host of characters from the past and present, brought to life by Brendan Vinsent, Hannan Barakbah and Grace Ng. Some characters are played by more than one actor.
Chai’s story is an amalgamation of Kwok’s experiences and observations, as well as that of other carers he has spoken to. After Kwok’s grandmother’s passing, his grandfather had a stroke in 2019.
“Caring for my grandfather through the pandemic affected me deeply. There is so much I had to take out – the daily grind of caring for your grandparent, the resources spent, the emotional toll of caring for someone who you know may not make it through the year. An early draft of the play had a recurring silent segment that was just the routine of bathing and changing, but it didn’t make the cut, at least for this presentation.
“Writing Chai’s part was a way of trying to share to the world and those who are or have been in my shoes: ‘You are seen, I hear you’.
“While vascular-related dementia is distinct from Alzheimer’s disease, they share commonalities that blur the distinction between them. Alzheimer’s skews more towards memory loss, while vascular dementia tends to have symptoms closer to loss of critical thinking and coordination.
“As a carer, I dealt with the latter. As a grandson, I have witnessed both,” says Kwok.
Wendy Wong and Engku Armand, producers for 'Opium at Closing Time'. Photo: Engku Armand
A meeting point
Low, who plays the dutiful son who looks after his mother in this play, is also no stranger to the challenges faced by carers.
For almost a decade, he took care of his mother – who has muscular dystrophy – and his father, a stroke survivor.
“Just like Chai, I willingly took it on out of love for the both of them. I was more fortunate because my parents reached a stage where with a helper in a house, they could manage and with their blessing, I could leave to pursue the dream of a life in performing arts full-time. But it was after I left that I came to understand the weight of responsibility that comes with caring for your loved ones, how easy it is to get caught up in caring for someone that you neglect to care for yourself. And what makes it tough is that it is no one’s fault, we are all just trying our best,” he says.
Yen (Alexis Wong) plays a woman with Alzheimer's and Chai (Samuel Low), her son, who is always by her side. Photo: Engku Armand
Low describes his character in Opium At Closing Time as the link to the present reality. But Chai doesn’t see what Yen sees in her episodic flashbacks.
“The blending of the past and present adds to the beauty of the play and it takes a lot of attention to discern which is which. The flashbacks draw you in and make it challenging to disassociate myself. My character has to be rooted in Yen’s real and empty present, and remind her that the ghosts haunting her are not real,” explains Low.
As for Wong, she tackles the elderly role of Yen with gusto, sharing that being able to realistically portray the age of the character without detracting from the story is a tall order.
“It is the most interesting aspect because it has made me consider what age does to our bodies, from how we move to how we speak.
“Also, her internal conflict resonates with me. It is easy to look at someone’s conflict and say that the person is incapable of making a good decision.
“But it is so much deeper than that. I believe our inability to make good decisions stems from a myriad of issues and past situations which we have to actively address. This is why we must learn to listen to ourselves and others to develop a better sense of empathy. This is what I hope is communicated through my character, that we learn to listen better so we can respond better,” she says.
Through a different lens
In Opium At Closing Time, the audience is invited to explore, among other things, the less-taught events in Malaysian history.
In challenging our perception of time, memory and the meaning of family, this play is also a story of Malaysia, one that draws from history and is not afraid to talk about the choices that were made and the consequences we must suffer.
In the show, Tuk (Brendan Vinsent) and Kak Lin (Hannan Barakbah) reflect on the impact of change and hard decisions. Photo: Engku Armand
“We discuss Malaysian history, but encapsulated within the viewpoint of the time, so you must judge them for what they did. There is no way to encapsulate the entirety of our history into 90 minutes, in a way that doesn’t ‘essentialise’ many of the nuances of the events. It is hard to pick the stories, especially without bringing everything to a halt with exposition.
“So we eschew that. We look at how people were affected – or could have been – by these events. How does the mother react to events as large as 1969? How does the wife react to the burning of a distant village?
“From a writing standpoint, the play is trimmed down to highlight the core memories that could drive their decisions in the present, set against a broader backdrop,” says Kwok.
In his exploration of a specific experience of memory loss, where long-term recall is so much better than short-term existence, this becomes a device that allows the past to be revisited and examined from a personal perspective.
What does this mean for the characters involved? And is hindsight really 20/20?
“Perhaps ironically, I want people to look at how they act, and whether they are part of a cycle, or are their own agents. Read more than what you were taught in school. See why we are the way we are now,” he says.
Opium At Closing Time is a familiar story in many ways, but is it only if we remember?
“Understand that for those who start to forget, they cannot help themselves, and you shouldn’t punish them like they did when a younger you forgot to take the clothes in.
“And when you leave my show, go hug your loved ones – parents included, as difficult as it may be. In this play, we show the loss of memory, but I want to ask the audience, should we forget these memories instead?” he concludes.
'Opium At Closing Time' is showing at the Damansara Performing Arts Centre (DPac) in Petaling Jaya, Selangor from Oct 20-22 (8.30pm) and Oct 26-29 (8.30pm), and Oct 23 (3pm) and Oct 30 (3pm). Free seating. For ages 15 and above.
