RAMLI IBRAHIM – Finding His Bliss

By Chacko Vadaketh The temples of Orissa have come to Istana Budaya. On a huge gauze screen that stretches the entire stage, images of temple carvings are being projected. Through the screen, you see the whole set, made of massive arches and a ramp, emerging slowly from the depths. It is festooned with gorgeous temple […]

Eyes Wide Open

By Alfian Sa’at Sepet: to possess single eyelids, or used pejoratively, slit-eyed. The condition of being slit-eyed sometimes goes beyond its physical designations to enforce racial stereotypes. The sepet person is associated with certain personality traits: either a shifty inscrutability (you can’t read the person’s eyes), or handicapped by narrow-­mindedness (surely someone with eyes like […]

Tong-Tong-Chang!

By Phang Kuan Hoang A couple of cute infant Chinese Lions were brought inside the concert hall at the end of an MPO Family Fun Day series concert titled A Chinese New Year Celebration. They emerged from the exits near the stage and gradually trotted their way to the main galleria, playfully interacting with the […]

Polis & Negro

By Amir Muhammad Tahun 2005, tibalah masanya untuk episod ketiga daripada rentetan layar lebar Gerak Khas, yang dimulakan pada tahun 2001 dan disusuli pada 2002. Walaupun jarak antara episod kedua dan ketiga tidaklah sejauh jarak antara The Godfather Part II dan The Godfather Part III (16 tahun) namun banyak juga yang telah berlaku di persada […]

To Bitch or Not to Bitch

By Jit Murad In the current spirit of fulsome, if not full, disclosure I should admit to a couple of things. First is that Faridah Merican had originally cast me as Hamlet in this play but during rehearsals we had a heated disagreement over padded leotards and Gavin Yap immediately swooped in to replace me. […]

Our Hamlet

By Jit Murad First of all I’ll assume that the reader isn’t a seni kaki and wouldn’t mind a refresher synopsis of the play. By all means, please, if you already know the story, scroll straight down. If you don’t know it, let me say that Hamlet is a damn good yarn, although for the […]

Royal Charmer

By Chacko Vadaketh “My daughter will only wear local Malaysian clothes, calls me ‘Bapa’ and wants to move here!” With that the tall, handsome Harry Connick, Jr. had everyone at the press conference in the palm of his hand. He certainly made an impression, arriving on time, looking comfortable and relaxed in a well worn […]

COOL STUFF | 1

By The Special Bunch This is a monthly column bringing you news of arts happenings around the world. Hardcore Soft Toys by Llewellyn Marsh Bursting with political incorrectness, Avenue Q, which won the Tony Award 2004 for Best Musical comes at you with an inventiveness that leaps miles ahead of overrated ‘jukebox musicals’ such as […]

Hidup Rakyat!

By Fahmi Fadzil “Selamat datang tuan-tuan dan puan-puan! Selamat datang ke Pertandingan Permainan Tradisional, anjuran Kementerian Kesenian, Kebudayaan dan Warisan!” Saya dah lama sangat tak datang ke Taman Tasik Titiwangsa, KL. Dulu saya datang dengan keluarga, memang best kita orang main semua benda-benda yang ada. Saya pun ingat ada tempat yang ada jalan-jalan dan isyarat […]

The Lady Esplanade

By Pete Teo I played at the Esplanade (Jan 14 – 16, 2005). For those who are clueless, the Esplanade is Singapore’s shiny new national performing arts centre. And yes, I am aware that Malaysians tend to cart forth stories of chewing gum and blowjob every time Singapore is mentioned in conversation – but please […]
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