Category: Theatre
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When Theatre Royalty Meets Mortal Truths
From writer-director Joe Hasham’s God’s Waiting Room, the stage at KLPAC transformed into an intimate vestibule of memory. Featuring the historic first-time trifecta of Datuk Faridah Merican, Patrick Teoh, and Anne James, the production served as a landmark celebration of Malaysian theatre. While the performance was bolstered by masterful stage command and an undeniable natural…
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Murder Mystery or Social Diagnosis: The Narrative Contract and Cultural Reflection of ‘ENTOURAGE’
After watching ENTOURAGE: Murder Amongst Friends (2025), I found myself grappling not with the question of whether I liked the work, but with how best to approach it as a relatively young audience who is unfamiliar with Jit Murad’s creative context. For those well-versed in Jit’s oeuvre, or who carry vivid memories of Kuala Lumpur’s decadent urban…
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From Folk to Nation: The Cultural Repositioning of ‘Drums: A New Beat Beckons’ (2025) and the Twenty-Four Festive Drums*
What Drum Up JB 2.0: Drums: A New Beat Beckons has opened is a path that calls for more creators, more audiences, and more cross-cultural (and cross-disciplinary) dialogue: ……
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The Malay Myth from a Foreign Lens
Pushing the boundaries of theatre storytelling, Fragments of Tuah examines the myth and narrative of the legendary figure.
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An Intergenerational Review of Cempaka’s School of Rock
A local school’s production of an iconic rock musical performed is looked at by two theatre reviewers from different generations to rate the results.
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Tallying Love and Heartache in Theatre
The trials and tribulations of a long-term Malaysian Chinese couple are explored in all its messy, complex, touching, and frustrating glory.
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POLY (2025) @ DPAC Review: The Slow Unravelling of the Absurd
Ian Skatu’s debut play is a brave and experimental absurdist work, but does it have a place within Malaysian theatre?
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The Bee @ DPAC: Untellable Horror Told Masterfully!
Loh Kok Man’s The Bee has transcended language and culture to examine the darkest of humanity and how violence begets violence.
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A Triumph of Protest Theatre
Wild Rice’s ‘Accidental Death of an Activist’ adapts an Italian classic, but can it survive its Singapore-nisation?
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The Sisters Soong: Siblings On A Mission
The Sisters Soong take a brave new direction telling the story of the famous siblings, but is their irreverance to history their downfall?