The upcoming theatre adaptation of the popular animated series Keluang Man realises the dream of its late creator Kamaruddin Ismail (1956-2019), better known as Kamn Ismail.
The Keluang Man theatre show - in Bahasa Malaysia - will be staged at Studio Sedar Ruang, Shah Alam in Selangor from April 24-27.
The main cast includes Han Zalini as Keluang Man/Borhan, Christina Suzanne as Suri, Jay Iswazir as Samsir, and Azman Hassan as Cikgu Ahmad.
Playwright and director Walid Ali described the Keluang Man theatre production as an origin story, based on the early version created by Kamn Ismail. He said one of the most common questions from the public when the play was first announced was about the character Tiong Man.
"After re-examining the original animated series, we realised that Tiong Man appeared too early in the series and was too closely tied to the main character, Keluang Man. So for this (stage) production, we decided not to include Tiong Man," said Walid at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur recently.
"Instead, the play will focus on Keluang Man and several selected characters adapted from two to four carefully chosen episodes of the animation series, which were then reworked into a theatre performance," he added.
The theatre script follows Borhan, a psychiatric patient at Hospital Bahagia, Tampoi, who becomes the crime-fighting vigilante Keluang Man by night.
Walid said the storyline was expanded to give each character a meaningful role and their own narrative arc.
As for casting, he explained that actors were chosen based on both their performance skills and resemblance to the animated characters.
According to Keluang Man Club secretary Muhamad Firdaus Omar, the project faced long delays due to difficulties in assembling the right production team.
“This production was already in the works while Kamn Ismail was still alive. But we couldn’t find the right person to lead it, and the pandemic caused further delays. Now, we’ve reclaimed the intellectual property rights and are finally moving forward to realise his dream,” said Firdaus.
Keluang Man, a live-action superhero film by Astro Shaw and Pasal Productions, is also set to hit local cinemas on May 29. - Bernama
