Playwright, director, and producer Fa Abdul returns with her latest production, Leela Jhansi, a poignant narrative of stolen childhood.
Settled in her hometown of Penang, Fa is nurturing a vibrant theatre community, with her latest play premiering at Auditorium A, Level 5, Komtar in George Town from May 3-5.
It revolves around Leela, a 13-year-old girl with bright ambitions whose life takes an irreversible turn when her father agrees to a marriage between her and a much older man.
Damodaram, the wealthiest figure in their remote Indian village, is cloaked in finery and influence but pines for a lost love – Leela’s mother who died in childbirth.
Embarking upon a union with Leela that would erase her father’s gambling debts raises eyebrows in the village and casts the girl into a harrowing web of consequence and sacrificed innocence.
Inspired by a widely reported incident from 2018, Fa felt a profound connection that compelled her to craft a narrative around it.
“The inspiration for Leela Jhansi stems from a deeply disturbing real-life incident in Malaysia. Back in 2018, news broke of a 41-year-old man marrying an 11-year-old girl with the consent of her parents, in exchange for financial assistance," says Fa, 50, who has hit the ground running this year with her recent monologue Her Story I His Story and is gearing up for July's children's theatre production, Twisted: A Fresh Fairy Tale Twist.
“Prior to that, we have heard of many other child marriage incidents but this particular case made me really upset; perhaps it was a combination of the girl’s young age and also the facts surrounding the man who had two other wives and whose daughter was friends with his new bride,” she adds.
Returning to George Town and preparing for Leela Jhansi has given her newfound energy, despite the challenges in the local theatre scene.
Known as an unapologetic straight shooter, Fa has wittingly or unwittingly courted controversy in the past, one episode resulting in a previous play in Penang – Sex In Georgetown City – being pulled and renamed in 2019.
But the issue of child marriage and its complexities are not to be shied away from, in her opinion, though she may make slight allowances to keep the conversation alive in Leela Jhansi.
“I knew right away that I wanted to write a play based on the case, but I knew in Malaysia where people easily get offended, it was a risky thing to do. So, I decided to have the story told from a different perspective, one that is set in a fictional background setting of an Indian community in a rural village," says the former Penangpac general manager.
“For the next two years, that story kept bouncing around in my head, like a persistent echo I couldn’t shake. I’d jot down ideas, scribble notes, but never quite found the time to bring them to life,” she adds.
In 2020, Covid-19 hit hard and all non-essential businesses closed their doors.
The lockdown gave Fa, who is also a TV scriptwriter/news columnist, the time and focus she needed to put the whole Leela Jhansi project together.
“I finally pieced together all those scattered thoughts into something tangible. In 2021, after months of rehearsing under the tight lockdown restrictions, we were gearing up to stage the play at Penangpac.
“Just when we were ready to hit the stage, another MCO (movement control order) struck. It was a gut punch. We put our plans on hold, waiting for the lockdown to be lifted again but then Penangpac shuttered its doors, and our dreams were put on indefinite hold,” recalls Fa.
The production team then disbanded, and the cast scattered.
With so many starts and stops, it looked to be a sad ending for Fa’s passion project, especially when some of the original main actors moved overseas.
In 2023, amid a resurgence in the performing arts scene, the Leela Jhansi show underwent a revitalisation.
“Even though some of the cast had moved away, some even out of the country, they kept pushing for the story to be told. Personally, for me, it was difficult to restage the play in 2023, because I had trouble erasing the visual image I already had of Leela Jhansi in my head.
“But by the end of the year, I decided to take the leap of faith and re-audition for the available roles. I’m glad I did that because I’m truly pleased with our current line-up.
“This new combination created a different chemistry between the actors and the roles they play and brought in so much more to the playing field than I had ever anticipated,” says Fa.
The play is currently headlined by Chrisalynn Lim in the role of Leela, Penang theatre veteran Lucille Dass as Dadi, Leela’s grandmother, rising talent Sidhart Joe Dev as Leela’s father Palwankar and Suresh Ramskay as Damodaram.
They are joined by a strong supporting cast of Monica Mohan, Ivan Gabriel, Billy Aurelia Ooi, Sri Kugan and Menan Mohan.
The Penang-based line-up also serves as a catalyst for showcasing the island's theatre talents.
Despite an impressive past body of work, Fa firmly says this play is the best work she’s ever done with some of that credit perhaps going to the three long years it took to finally get it on stage.
“I’m often regarded as a prolific writer. I’m always recording and jotting down ideas, and completing scripts within a week or two.
“But with Leela Jhansi, it was so different. I had the pleasure of creating and recreating, developing and redeveloping, and returning the story for three long years.”
On top of that, the conversations she had with the cast made her refine the story even more.
“The whole process has been so humbling and enriching,” she says.
On stage, Fa adds her aspiration is to keep the dialogue of pertinent social issues alive.
“I believe some of us have the responsibility to keep retelling important social stories so as to remind us of those issues which have been swept under the rug and keep the dialogues alive. I’m a firm believer of changing the world and our society’s attitudes on crucial issues through dialogues.
“And I believe we need to have opinions, voice them loud and clear, and slowly but surely pressure our leaders to build a healthier and more just nation,” she concludes.
Leela Jhansi will be staged at Auditorium A, Level 5, Komtar in George Town, Penang from May 3-5. Tickets are priced at RM28. It is presented by Big Nose Productions. More info here.
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