Sofia and Lisa to play Dr Siti Hasmah

Up close and personal: (From left) Lisa, Sofea and Dr Siti Hasmah having a light moment during the press conference on the theatre.

KUALA LUMPUR: After a series of hiccups, the show Teater Tun Dr Siti Hasmah will take place in November with actresses Datin Sofia Jane and Lisa Surihani playing the role of the former prime minister’s wife.

Sofia will replace Erra Fazira, who stirred controversy when she pulled out at the last minute citing clashes in her filming schedule.

“Her loss is my gain,” said Sofia, whose last stage production was Natrah – the musical in 2009 and 2010.

“It’ll be interesting to see what kind of twist we can give to the role. We all grew up with Dr Siti Hasmah and felt her presence but she’s also very elusive. I couldn’t say no to the role and it’ll be my journey to discover her as a woman,” she said.

The show, which chronicles Dr Siti Hasmah’s life, was to run last month but was fraught with challenges for producers World Islamic Network Television Sdn Bhd.

The original director, Adlin Aman Ramlie, also pulled out abruptly stating other commitments and the lack of confidence in shouldering the responsibility of directing the production.

“Thankfully, we got Erma Fatima to take over directing.

“With the lack of rehearsal time during Ramadan, we had to postpone the dates so we could put up a good show.

“Erma also had to rewrite the script and she worked day and night to do this,” revealed the show’s producer Datuk Khairuddin Abu Hassan at a press conference here yesterday.

According to Erma, she picked Sofia and Lisa as she felt both these actresses could carry off the role best.

Lisa will portray the younger version of Dr Siti Hasmah while Sofia will take over when she becomes the prime minister’s wife.

On the actresses playing her, Dr Siti Hasmah, 86, quipped, “They’re both much prettier than me!”

The role of Dr Siti Hasmah’s husband and former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad will be played by Isma Danial (the current Dr Mahathir) and Nazim Othman (young version). Other cast members are still being finalised.

Teater Tun Siti Hasmah will be staged from Nov 9-19 at Istana Budaya, Kuala Lumpur. For details, go to istanabudaya.gov.my or call 03-4026 5555.