A scene from the musical 'Tales Of 4 Dialects', featuring the Teochew language performers. Photo: Asia Musical Productions
Four distinct Chinese dialects will be highlighted in the Tales Of 4 Dialects The Musical, which returns to the KLPac stage on June 30 and July 1 at 8pm.
This well-loved production, presented by Asia Musical Productions, offers a culturally rich musical experience that uses the Hokkien, Cantonese, Hakka and Teochew dialects to tell four stories, complete with folk songs and dances that highlight each dialect and the traditions that are intricately tied to them.
Tales Of 4 Dialects The Musical is produced by director/producer Ho Lin Huay, alongside music director Yuan Leow Yunn and her team of musicians. It stars singers and musical artistes such as Alana Sim, Wen Suen, Liow Jun Yi, Jazz Bai Lin, Nam Jun Yeong, Melissa Ong, and Wong Chin Chia, among others.
The Cantonese segment of the show 'Tales Of 4 Dialects', featuring erhu player Wong Chin Chia (left) and singer Jazz BaiLin. Photo: Asia Musical Productions
This marks the fourth year that the show is being staged – it made its debut in 2015, and was re-staged in 2017 and 2022.
"The use of four dialects in one show is unique among large scale dialect-driven musicals in Malaysia. It is also fairly rare among Malaysian Chinese original stage plays to feature multiple dialects, let alone four.
"For the benefit of those who might not understand these different dialects, each live performance will also be accompanied by Chinese and English subtitles," reads the production notes.
The four segments of the musical will tell the stories of the ancestors and elders of each clan, with each tale lasting about 25 minutes long and containing five songs.
There will also be encore performances, including the original song This Is My Home, Malaysia, as well as a medley that adds Hainanese and Foochow into the mix to make it six dialects in total.
The musical has also been praised for its deep roots in Malaysian Chinese culture – raising thought-provoking issues regarding the importance of our native dialects, while paying tribute to the traditions and history of each featured clan.
More info here. There is also a matinee show this Sunday at 3pm, tickets available here.
