Fronted by Ghafir Akbar, 'Entourage - Murder Amongst Friends' brings a 'lost' Jit Murad script to life at last - sealing inaugural JitFest with a landmark finale. Photo: JitFest
THEATRE: 'ENTOURAGE - MURDER AMONGST FRIENDS'
Venue: Robert's Theatre, The Campus, Ampang, Selangor
Date: Dec 5-11
JitFest 2025 wraps up its year-long celebration with a rare treat: Entourage – Murder Amongst Friends, which opens tonight at Robert’s Theatre in The Campus, Ampang. The old school venue has quickly become a favourite spot for independent theatre, making it a fitting home for this long-awaited premiere.
Written by the late Jit Murad in 2000, Entourage has never been staged until now — and remains the only whodunit he ever completed.
Set in late-1990s Kuala Lumpur, it gathers a circle of friends whose seemingly ordinary evening spirals as secrets surface, hinting that the real danger may lie in the fractures between them.
Directed by Datuk Zahim Albakri, with Ida Nerina as executive producer and Ghafir Akbar leading the cast, this “lost” script finally takes its place on stage - closing JitFest with a theatrical first.
“As we celebrate Jit’s brilliance through JitFest 2025, Entourage - Murder Amongst Friends stands out as a rare window into his creative mind at a pivotal time in Malaysia’s social evolution,” says Ida.
“It’s daring, funny, terribly unsettling, and deeply human, everything that made Jit’s voice so unforgettable.”
The cast also features Mae Elliessa, Harry Verdan, Sabrina Hassan, Malik Taufiq, Engku Armand, Nabil Zakaria, Mia Sara Shauki, Badrish Isdin, Nicholas Augustin, and Suhaimi Sulaiman.
More info here.
A view of Wong Perng Fey's 'Tanah Air (Part I) digital photography series (2025) at the Ilham Art Show 2025 at Ilham Gallery, Kuala Lumpur. Photo: The Star/Low Boon Tat
EXHIBITION: ILHAM ART SHOW 2025
Venue: Ilham Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
Date: ends April 5
Ilham Gallery in Kuala Lumpur is closing the year on a high with the Ilham Art Show 2025, showcasing contemporary artists and collectives across painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, installation, textiles, film, and video. The exhibition has been drawing enthusiastic weekend crowds and brings together established names and exciting newcomers, including Gan Chin Lee, Wong Perng Fey, Roopesh Sitharan, Tiga Tawai, Eiffel Chong, Marcos Kueh, Joshua Kane Gomes, Kim Ng, Arikwibowo Amril, Syarifah Nadhirah, Kimberley Boudville, Yvonne Tan, Hieng, and Afiza Abubakar.
This Saturday (Nov 6) at 11am, visitors can join an artist walkthrough (free admission) with Dr Kendy Mitot, Arikwibowo Amril, Emran Beams Shaqif, Afiza Abubakar, and Kim Ng, moderated by Ellen Lee.
An open-call exhibition, the show welcomes artists based in Malaysia or abroad, regardless of background or experience. From over 270 submissions, 20 artists and collectives were selected in March 2025 by a regional panel including Gridthiya Gaweewong, Sharmini Pereira, Wong Hoy Cheong, and Rahel Joseph. Each received a production grant to realise works they might not have pursued otherwise.
While the exhibition isn’t tied to a theme, recurring ideas emerge: reflecting on history, exploring the fragility of nature, the fluidity of identity, and shifting social and familial ties.
Launched in 2022, the triennial Ilham Art Show continues to champion contemporary voices in Malaysia and beyond.
More info here.
Law Lian Cheong's artwork titled 'The Harmony Of Human And Harmonist', which is showing at the Harta Space exhibition. Photo: Law Lian Cheong
EXHIBITION: 'LINES IN MOTION: A JOURNEY THROUGH SCRIPT AND EXPRESSION'
Venue: Harta Space, Ampang, Selangor
Date: Dec 6-30
Opening this weekend, Lines In Motion brings together 14 calligraphers, showcasing traditional, contemporary, and cross-cultural styles. Led by senior practitioners Sharifah Zuriah Al-Jeffri, National Laureate Datuk Dr Siti Zainon Ismail, and Dr Yusuf Liu Baojun, the exhibition highlights their long-standing mastery.
The line-up also includes Dr Nor Azlin Hamidon, Suhaimi Fadzir, Tee Ying Jie, Law Lian Cheong (Law LC), Noura AR, Fairuz Paisan, Mohd Nur Hazwan Yusoff, Muhammad Afifuddin Sabri, Dr Zainuddin Abidinhazir, Malaysian artist Fong Sheeney, and Singaporean calligrapher Malik Mazlan.
Organised by Orris Resources in collaboration with Universiti Putra Malaysia, the exhibition presents calligraphy as a shared visual language, with Islamic and Chinese scripts alongside contemporary interpretations.
A two-week programme features live demonstrations, including Dr Yusuf, who practises seven world scripts and is also a writer and poet.
More info here.
THEATRE: 'THE SWIMMING INSTRUCTOR'
Venue: Pentas 2, KLPac
Date: ends Dec 7
The Swimming Instructor returns to Pentas 2, KLPac this weekend, blending poolside humor with subtle tensions. This revival marks the first Malaysian staging of Singaporean playwright Desmond Sim’s comedy-drama since 2009, with director Christopher Ling reuniting with Sim to offer a fresh 2025 take.
The play follows Johan, a disciplined swimming coach, whose routine is disrupted by Jan, a wealthy young woman, and Dave, a fast-moving advertising executive. What starts as casual poolside encounters gradually unfolds into a web of emotions and personal baggage, revealing the quiet undercurrents of desire and connection that shape human relationships.
Sim’s sharp writing balances light-hearted banter with moments of introspection, letting emotions ripple beneath the surface like waves in a still pool.
The 2025 production at KLPac stars Kai Chalmers, Andy Poon, and Tania Ashwini, with original music by Italian-Malaysian singer-songwriter Marco George.
More info here.
Wong's acrylic on canvas work titled 'When I Stand On This Stage' (2025). Photo: Wei-Ling Gallery
EXHIBITION: 'KL: MyUtopia'
Venue: Wei-Ling Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
Date: ends Dec 6
It's the last call to catch Wei-Ling Gallery’s group exhibition, KL: MyUtopia, a show that brings together five artists whose practices are rooted in the capital city’s evolving psyche – Chin Kong Yee, Gan Sze Hooi, Khabir Roslan, Kim Ng, and Wong Chee Meng.
Although united by geography, these artists approach Kuala Lumpur not as a fixed identity, but as a shifting, restless subject: a city that is constantly rebuilt, erased, and remembered anew.
The exhibition, ending this Saturday, gathers painting, installation, and mixed-media works that collectively reflect on the layered realities of Kuala Lumpur.
Rather than presenting the city through postcard views or architectural spectacle, these works delve into the everyday forces that shape its image – the fraying edges of urban growth, the persistence of cultural memory, the tension between ambition and survival.KL here becomes more than just skyline branding; it appears as a city lived from the street level up.
The artists interpret its growth as both psychological and physical, revealing how the city moulds its inhabitants, while also being moulded by them.
More info here.
EXHIBITION: NAJIB BAMADHAJ'S 'THE PROMISED GARDEN'
Venue: G13 Gallery, Petaling Jaya
Date: ends Dec 13
Talk about a love letter to Claude Monet, one of the founders of Impressionism. Najib Bamadhaj made the most of his European journey earlier this year, showcasing a solo series - inspired by Monet - at Art Zurich 2025 in Switzerland before travelling to France to actually visit Monet’s iconic garden in Giverny.
It was this experience that inspired the 12 new works in his current exhibition at G13 Gallery, which been extended to Dec 13.
Rather than replicate the scenes, Najib paints the emotions the places evoked, which is why butterflies recur throughout the series - symbols of quiet beauty and the delicate, fleeting moments he felt.
The paintings guide viewers through the garden across all four seasons, from the soft pastels of spring to the richer tones of autumn and winter. Inspired by Monet’s lifelong devotion to shaping his garden, Najib approaches his own practice with the same patience and care.
Using acrylic, bitumen, and touches of silver and gold leaf on jute, he creates textured, weathered surfaces that evoke the sense of a garden slowly evolving over time.
More info here.
A gallery view of 'I Love Sushi', an exhibition tracing the art and history of sushi, at The Toffee building in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: The Japan Foundation, KL
EXHIBITION: 'I LOVE SUSHI'
Venue: The Project Room, UR-MU @ The Toffee, Jalan Raja Chulan, KL
Date: ends Dec 31
Malaysians can now explore sushi beyond the plate. The Japan Foundation, Kuala Lumpur (JFKL) is welcoming the masses to its touring exhibition I Love Sushi, which offers a short - yet insightful - journey through Japan’s iconic dish as a celebration of history, art, and tradition.
Organised with the Embassy of Japan in Malaysia, Urban Museum Kuala Lumpur (UR-MU), and Sushi Hibiki, this free exhibition reimagines sushi as a cultural masterpiece, reflecting Japan’s creativity, craftsmanship, and deep respect for nature.
At the gallery, I Love Sushi allows visitors can explore captivating visuals, interactive displays, and digital experiences that trace sushi’s evolution - from a centuries-old preservation method to the refined nigiri-zushi of the Edo period, and finally to the modern global phenomenon it is today.
The exhibition also offers a multisensory experience at The Project Room, featuring a virtual reality “sushi shop,” educational videos, and exhibits - a sushi "wall" with 150 varieties - highlighting the precision and artistry behind every roll and slice.
Part of a decade-long world tour that began in 2022, the exhibition celebrates food as a bridge of cultural exchange, showing how, like art, it connects people across borders.
More info here.
