The Theatresauce team and collaborators performing 'Beware: Si Oompur Lumpur' - a street theatre show- at Tha Phae Gate, Chiang Mai, Thailand, during the 2024 Asian Youth Theatre Festival last November. Photo: Cozomia Performing Arts Archive
A recent forum "Lessons From Abroad", organised by Theatresauce at Cosmic Theatre Hub in Petaling Jaya, gathered Malaysian performing arts practitioners to share insights, surprises, and cultural encounters from their international journeys in 2024.
The session received a positive response, bringing together theatremakers, students, and arts enthusiasts to explore the benefits of international artistic experiences.
Adriana Nordin Manan, artistic director of Cocoon Creative Lab and founder of Protagonist Studio, shared insights from her time at the Yokohama International Performing Arts Meeting in Japan.
“Across Asia, more countries are recognising the value of engaging with artists and exploring new ways to structure and interpret theatre,” said Adriana, whose debut award-winning play Fault Lines (2023) examines the Malaysian diaspora and its impact on cultural identity.
“I used to worry about what’s universal – if people from different backgrounds would understand what I’m trying to portray. But what I’ve come to understand from my experiences abroad is that the more culturally specific a work is, the more universally it resonates," she added.
Adriana (left) with Phuong Vu, director, photographer, and co-founder of AntiantiArt, Hanoi. Both presented their work at the Yokohama International Performing Arts Meeting in Japan. Photo: Adriana Nordin Manan
For Jazzie Lee Jin Jye, co-founder of Lowercase Laboratories, her experience at the Asian Youth Theatre Festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand offered valuable insights into the fusion of design and storytelling.
“The festival expanded my perspective on storytelling, which opened up my understanding of theatre’s possibilities, especially in terms of lighting design and how the body interacts with space,” says Lee, a frequent collaborator with Theatresauce.
At the Asian Youth Theatre Festival last November, over 20 theatre groups from 14 nations explored the theme "Changing Climates". Malaysia’s participants presented Beware: Si Oompur Lumpur, a street performance inspired by Kuala Lumpur’s sinkhole incidents, and led a workshop on climate storytelling through theatre.
“Performing in a foreign street setting challenged our group to embrace spontaneity, adaptability, and deeper audience interaction. I’ve discovered new ‘fonts’ in theatre-making that now inspire my creative choices. Moving forward, I’d love to weave live music and my Malaysian-Chinese heritage into my writing and directing,” said Lee.
Theatre practitioners (from left) Mia Sabrina, Dexter Zhen, Jazzie Lee, and Lim Sheng Hui share insights and lessons from their overseas experiences at the forum. Photo: Theatresauce
Meanwhile, Dhinesha Karthigesu, multidisciplinary theatremaker and artistic director of Theatresauce, shared insights from the Cifas Producers' Academy in Belgium, emphasising the importance of international collaboration.
“The Producers Academy was designed as a space to gather producers and art makers of different genres and experience levels to come together to learn, to discover, and rethink the ways we work and make art. I applied, got in, and went because I was at a stage in my career where I didn’t know what I wanted to do next, and I am always looking for ways to grow and learn,” said Dhinesha.
“The Academy reminded me of how I was not alone. That there were other makers across time zones and countries asking similar questions, trying to do parallel things. Sometimes what we all need is a community and to know that there are others just like us who want to make great work and art too,” he added.
“I am hoping with our new Theatresauce initiative of 'Lessons From Abroad', we can do this more frequently. Gather and share knowledge and compare notes. Build community around learning and growing,” he concluded.
Other forum participants included Lim Sheng Hui, founder of Terrafunk Theatre Collective, whose Into the Symbiocene was nominated for Best Dance & Physical Theatre and Best Innovation in Performance at Stockholm Fringe Festival 2024.
Kelvin Wong, director, educator and founder of Theatresauce, shared The Unsilent Mode Project, an experimental multimedia performance tied to a doctoral research project involving performers from Britain, Malaysia, and Japan.
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