Leow Puay Tin, an acclaimed theatre practitioner in the Malaysian performing arts landscape, steps back onto the stage for her latest production, Mortal Man: Two Monologues.
The show is set to play at Five Arts Centre, GMBB in Kuala Lumpur from Dec 12-15.
In her current role, Leow is not just a performer or a playwright, but a torchbearer of innovation and empathy, using these tools to engage critical thinking and emotions from audiences.
Her one-actor play, Material Woman In The Beauty World, performed by Ling Tan, captivated audiences in Kuala Lumpur and at the George Town Festival last year. The production delved into themes of physical and emotional identity, offering a poignant portrayal of an "ordinary" woman navigating life in her 50s.
This year, Leow hasn't slowed down with theatre projects. The upcoming play Mortal Man: Two Monologues intertwines art with the complexities of identity, society, and human connection. But what makes it stand out in the literature is her approach with the ‘tikam-tikam’ method.
'Tikam-tikam’, meaning ‘random pick’ in Bahasa Malaysia, is aptly used to describe a process of performance-making that underscores both the theatre experience of Mortal Man: Two Monologues, and a series of performance texts written by Leow and other local writers, published for others to read, experiment, and perform.
Using the method as the framework for storytelling, the Melaka-born Leow navigates topics that will resonate deeply, especially among local audiences, through an innovative blend of structure, chance, and evolving journeys.
Tikam-Tikam: Chance Encounters With Performance Texts By Leow Puay Tin, a playful, experimental book inviting readers to explore and perform Malaysian stories, will also be available during the run of Mortal Man: Two Monologues before hitting local bookstores.
Addressing complex themes
First read publicly in 2022, Mortal Man: Two Monologues examines the lives of two characters, a Chinese woman writer and an Indian male theatre director who negotiate the giving and receiving of personal, community, and collective experiences.
At the heart of Klang Valley-based Leow’s work lies an exploration – the questioning and reflections of race, belonging, and national identity. Writing about race in today’s socio-political climate remains fraught with challenges.
“The topic of race is pervasive and deeply rooted in Malaysian society. From colonial history to present-day dynamics, race shapes cultural, linguistic, and societal interactions. But race is also a vehicle to talk about many things,” says Leow in a recent interview.
Her personal journey on writing about race, or “the race thing” – as she calls it – has been decades in the making. From early experiences rooted in personal anger and confusion to current, more reflective pieces, she has grappled with how to address race, without reinforcing stereotypes.
“Theatre is perfect for this,” she says. “It asks both the audience and performers to empathise with perspective that are not their own.”
Mortal Man: Two Monologues therefore, is not just about representation, but about understanding the shared and conflicting experiences that help define us as a nation. Her characters – constructed through real-life inspirations – serve as voices to address these themes.
Growing with 'tikam-tikam'
Originally conceived by the late Krishen Jit, an icon in Malaysian theatre and founder of Five Arts, the tikam-tikam method began as a performance framework though governed by a set of "rules".
“It was 40 years ago, when I was fresh out of university when Krishen introduced this idea to me. It was actually very radical for its day, and I quite enjoyed the process of creating stories or performance text. But the challenge surfaced at the performance stage,” says Leow, a playwright, thespian and academician, know for works such as Three Children, Family and A Modern Woman Called Ang Tau Mui which have staged abroad.
She further elaborated that decisions were arbitrary, however, framed with rules.
“There is this ‘tikam-tikam’ wheel, you spin it, there’s a word that will be called out, and you have to respond to that word, and respond again, and so on.”
While Leow grew much from the experience, she was interested to see how the approach could evolve, and what that process might look like. It was only years later, when she came across the "Chaos Theory", that things started to click for her.
Officially discovered by Edward Lorenz in 1961, the Chaos Theory is a branch of mathematics and science and proposes that systems, although appear to be disordered, are actually governed by underlying patterns. It is the study of how small changes in a system’s starting conditions can lead to wildly different and seemingly random, unpredictable outcomes.
“When I understood the theory, I began to realise the significance that there is a certain ‘randomness’ that affects our actions, but these effects are not completely random. We cannot predict the outcome of our actions, but it’s not completely random and patterns emerge over time,” says Leow.
“There is a kind of correlation between our intentions and our actions, traces of which can be found in the outcomes. I want the tikam-tikam performance to be like that, where you can change something, take an action, but you can never really predict the outcome. That reflects the unpredictability of life," she adds.
Finding a sense of liberation with the approach, Leow dedicated years of consistent work on the art of crafting and writing, while allowing the approach to evolve in its own time. And now, audiences can witness and engage with the performance, as it is being created live, the moment it is being performed.
Her approach balances structure with spontaneity, an amalgamation of documentary-style realism and creative storytelling, ensuring that each voice contributes to a broader understanding of the human condition against the backdrop of Malaysia’s socio-political and historical contexts. There is a fixed first and last scene to provide context and resolution, but every scene that bridges the two ends are left to chance.
In other words, the tikam-tikam method shines on stage as a tool integrated into the performance-making practice, resulting in randomised scenes that disrupt and shift the storyline. Audiences, therefore, cannot assume the role of a passive watcher or listener, rather must actively engage with the performer and text, and ponder critically about what to interpret, decipher, and contribute to the creative act.
'A set of Lego pieces'
Each run of the play will therefore be a unique theatre experience, with new materials, new actions, and new embodiments of character and narrative for audiences to journey with.
“It’s like giving the audience a set of Lego pieces,” says Leow. “We provide the pieces, but they construct their own story in their minds.”
This iterative, exploratory process reflects her commitment to continuous innovation.
One might even say, that the text and the performance are also given space to evolve and grow with each run, thereby expanding the possibilities that fluid, randomised structures bring to the stage.
Mortal Man: Two Monologues sees Leow returning to the stage as a performer, in what might be her ultimate monologue. Performing alongside her is Faiq Shazwan Kuhiri, a performer, musician and member of Five Arts Centre, together with a production team that includes Ken Takiguchi as dramaturg, Syamsul Azhar as lighting and multimedia designer, and June Tan and Mark Teh as producers.
On working with younger artists, Leow expresses that it has reinvigorated her creative process.
“They remind me not to get stuck in my own world,” she says. “Their openness and willingness to take risks inspire me.” “Young collaborations bring energy and non-judgemental perspectives to the table,” she notes.
“Their risk-taking and curiosity remind me of my younger self, ready to experiment and explore. After all, that’s how it was like for me when Krishen Jit first introduced me to the tikam-tikam method,” she recalls fondly.
Through these partnerships Leow has been able to embrace fresh ideas, growing in her own journey as playwright (and performer), while mentoring the next generation of theatre practitioners.
Despite her significant, and continued contributions, Leow approaches the idea of legacy with modesty.
“I don’t feel the need to leave behind a fixed body of work or knowledge,” she says. Instead, she emphasises the important of continuous learning and adaptability.
Her tikam-tikam method embodies this philosophy, encouraging performers and audiences alike to embrace unpredictability and find meaning in the unexpected.
As Mortal Man: Two Monologues takes the Five Arts Centre, starting next Thursday (Dec 12), it serves as a testament to Leow’s enduring vision for theatre – a space for dialogue, discovery, and shared humanity.
Whether this is truly her final return to the stage as a performer remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: Leow Puay Tin’s influence on Malaysian theatre will continue to inspire for generations to come.
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