As 2026 kicks off, the Klang Valley’s theatre, classical music and performing arts landscape is set for a running start, as January is already overflowing with shows.
In conjunction with Mozart’s 270th birthday this year, Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre and Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS will begin the celebrations early this month.
These venues may command much of the spotlight, but the energy spills well beyond the main stages.
Club venues such as BoboKL continue to bridge cultural worlds by welcoming groups like Orang Orang Drum Theatre, while Five Arts Centre’s space hosts theatre productions grounded in collective engagement.
Here’s a look at what’s on in the Klang Valley this month.
New year, full throttle
At KLPac, publicity photo shoots are in overdrive as a packed line-up of January in-house shows prepares to hit the stage, offering something for every taste and age.
Fresh off its eventful 20th anniversary, the arts venue shows no signs of slowing down, opening the new year with The Magic Flute featuring the KLPac Orchestra in collaboration with Fiamma Opera Studio.
The show, which runs at Pentas 1 on Jan 4, is part of the "Classical For Kids" series, with the enchanting world of Mozart in focus.
If you need a year-starter party vibe, Yesterday Once More: Boogie Nights, a pop cabaret series, is set to light up Pentas 1 from Jan 8-11.
Directed by Ian Chow, with Alesia Dhana as co-director and choreographer, this upcoming edition promises a jukebox of hits, featuring Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, ABBA and more.
For emerging theatre talent, Lorong Cermin takes the stage at Pentas 2 from Jan 16-18. Directed by Christopher Ling, with music by Joe Loy and puppets crafted by graduating students under the guidance of Siapa Theatre, this original musical by Perassath and Merah Malam explores memory, resilience, and the delicate journey of finding love and forgiveness.
The old theatre guard still has plenty to offer, led by God’s Waiting Room, a new comedy-drama by Joe Hasham. It is set to play at Pentas 2 from Jan 22 to Feb 1.
The play features three legendary actors – Datuk Faridah Merican, Anne James and Patrick Teoh. Set in a retirement home, the story follows three strangers who form an unexpected bond while dealing with their less than cooperative bodies and the passage of time.
Get close, feel the sound
Soundscape Records, celebrating is 25th anniversary this year, is lining up two shows at KLPac this month. Tokyo-based post-rock band Mouse On The Keys returns to KL after a decade for a special performance at Pentas 2 on Jan 8, with Dirgahayu opening in an intimate, surround-stage set-up that draws the audience closer to the music.
Singer-songwriter Liyana Fizi, a familiar presence across arts and folk-driven spaces in recent years, takes the same stage on Jan 11 for a “campfire” showcase celebrating the vinyl release of her solo debut album Between The Lines (2011) – a warm, reflective throwback.
Mozart to Madu Tiga
It’s Mozart mania at Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS! The Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) opens its new concert season in 2026 with Amadeus Live, a movie screening of Amadeus, a famed multi-Academy Award winning motion picture in 1984, complete with the music accompaniment by the MPO on Jan 10.
Milos Forman’s Amadeus remains a landmark film, blending lavish period detail and darkly comic storytelling while shaping how cinema depicts genius.
On Jan 27, MPO honours Mozart with a birthday tribute, featuring the Overture To The Magic Flute, a lyrical Sinfonia Concertante (with Peter Danis, violinist, and Jebat Arjuna Kee, violist), Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, and the elegant Symphony No. 29.
Family Day also comes alive at Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS with two visually spectacular Cirque de la Symphonie concerts on Jan 17, led by acclaimed Malaysian conductor, composer, and pianist Tengku Irfan, now based in New York.
For homegrown movie fans, P. Ramlee’s Madu Tiga: Live In Concert on Jan 23 and 24 at DFP is the big ticket of January’s spread, featuring a screening of the evergreen 1964 film accompanied by the MPO under conductor Ahmad Muriz Che Rose.
An important movie in Malaysian cinema, Madu Tiga continues to bring smiles to audiences decades on.
Crossover potential
In KL, Orang Orang Drum Theatre takes over BoboKL in Bangsar on Jan 8 and 9 with a high-energy fusion of percussion, movement, and vocals.
Featuring shigu, gamelan, gendang, didgeridoo, and more, the ensemble delivers a bold, physical, and immersive rhythmic experience.
For the group, it’s an opportunity to step beyond the arts festival circuit and connect with a new audience, showing that experimental, rhythm-driven music can resonate even in a venue usually associated with jazz sets and pop nostalgia.
By bringing this lively performance into a club setting, BoboKL demonstrates how spaces often linked to nightlife can become platforms for cultural crossover.
The feelgood factor
Looking for a show to lift your spirits? Life Is ... The Musical celebrates resilience, joy, and the beauty of living fully – a perfect feelgood theatre experience.
A revival version titled Life Is ... The Musical V 2.0 is set to run at the Damansara Performing Arts Centre (DPAC) in Petaling Jaya from Jan 24 to Feb 1.
This hopeful Malaysian production explores how an unexpected health diagnosis can change everything, blending humour, outlandish moments, and heartfelt storytelling.
Produced and directed by Tomos Nicholls and Vale V. Wong, the show returns with a revamped script and an exciting new chapter, perfectly timed for Chinese New Year.
Originally staged in December 2024, Life Is ... The Musical won three Boh Cameronian Arts Awards earlier this year (Best Original Music & Lyrics, Best Musical Direction, and Best Ensemble).
New ideas, deep conversations
Tali Tukang Gantung (The Hangman’s Rope), a powerful 60-minute performance, runs four shows at the Five Arts Centre in GMBB in KL on Jan 17 and 18.
It is a “pay as you wish” basis show. Based on real interviews, it explores the human costs of capital punishment through theatre, movement, and music.
The opening show features a panel discussion, and the closing concludes with a candlelight vigil, inviting audiences to reflect on urgent stories and begin the year with profound thought.
Written and directed by Effa Qamariani and starring Deena Dakshini, this critically important production humanises a complex issue with exceptional craft and emotional depth, making it essential viewing and an act of communal empathy.
It’s always a cause for celebration when new initiatives support theatre. BUKA, a platform for new solo works produced by Hoe Hui Ting, runs at Five Arts Centre from Jan 23-25.
This carefully curated series, supported by Five Arts Centre, offers a raw, intimate look at the future of Malaysian performance art, where tomorrow’s stars are born today.
This new programme features three solo works – two theatre monologues and a dance piece – directed and performed by
Syafiq Syazim, Yon Lynn, Nur Alyaa Afifah, Doro and Engku Armand, with a special vocal appearance by Fatimah Abu Bakar.
