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s the action is a liquid continuous flow with dead bodies resurrecting themselves to reappear moments later in a different scene and costume changes occurring as if by magic it wasn t easy to keep track of the parade of personalities as each performer played two or more characters they had to act sing dance fight and move props around as each scene merged into the next but it was undoubtedly an enthusiastic disciplined focused and poignant ensemble performance veering from commedia dell arte style hijinks provided by ris kaw and logod the clownish greek chorus adroitly played by iefiz alaudin and bella rahim to dark dire and distressing theater noir the public impalement of the sultan s concubine nurhalisa gut wrenchingly portrayed by hana nadira as hang nadim the young genius who suggested building a palisade of banana stems against the swarms of killer swordfish joel timothy low won the audience over from the outset so that his cruel and unjust murder elicited vicarious outrage veteran actors sandra sodhy na a murad and lam ghooi ket lent professional gravitas to each character they played while the younger ones alfred loh arief hamizan amanda ang qahar adilah and gregory sze gave vigor and vitality to the proceedings as sultan iskandar syah gregory sze was marvelously narcissistic vulnerable and schizoid sentencing the woman he loved to death by impalement just so he wouldn t be seen as a weak ruler alfred loh s portrayal of the inquisitorial trial judge was blood curdlingly convincing and amanda ang s tun dara sultan iskandar s love deprived official consort was sensitive and poignant rhythm in bronze jillian ooi in the middle pic courtesy of bella rahim a crucial dramatic element was the mesmerizing live soundtrack provided by the celebrated contemporary gamelan ensemble rhythm in bronze under the masterful musical direction of jillian ooi and teuku umar ilany featuring guest percussionist thong yoong how indeed almost everyone will agree that just listening to rhythm in bronze in action alone was worth the price of admission they are that captivating choreographer faillul adam costume designer dominique devorsine and lighting set designer loh kok man deserve mention and a hearty round of applause for their excellent work on swordfish concubine the political dimensions of kee s play are of course worthy of an academic treatise and everyone in the audience was electrified by the cogency and relevancy of his numerous allusions to the rotten state of affairs at least in old singapura where the action takes place all too familiar to us were the complacent self serving sycophantic palace officials and ministers and their cunning machinations just to maintain their privileged positions and the corrupt status quo the deification of royalty and the sanctification of the covenant a mythical social contract handed down from generations long gone serve as tools of mass mind control leading to cultural stagnation abuse of the law political paralysis allowing criminals in public office unchallengeable impunity setting up a sovereign fund and milking it for all its worth to support lavish lifestyles the usual shenanigans that go unreported and unremarked in the muzzled media arresting citizens for gathering without a permit in public places charging them with sedition in the spurious name of stability and security a secret police network payrolled by authoritarian paranoia the very ingredients of a failed state once known as temasek now fallen into the hands of invaders but swordfish concubine closes on an upbeat optimistic note it s time to rock yo and move to your own beat as the citizens begin to awake and embrace the possibility of nay the necessity for radical liberating change a complete break from stultifying toxic tradition 4 november 2017 first published in eksentrika 4 november 2017 production images courtesy of pam lim share this share on x opens in new window x share on facebook opens in new window facebook like loading leave a comment posted in malaysian theatre theater and tagged alfred loh amanda ang hana nadira kee thuan chye na a murad political satire rhythm in bronze sandra sodhy swordfish concubine bookmark the permalink metaphors be with you posted on august 16 2017 by antares maitreya matt crosby as cyber zahim albakri as putra in a scene from know no cure the moment you start focusing your attention on them metaphors wriggle right out of the woodwork spring from the ground beneath your feet like mushrooms back in y2k that pivotal year in which the earth s axis was realigned by the crowning of neocon emperor george caligula bush i almost gave up on romance succumbed to forwarding bulk emails and stopped calling myself a man of letters at that low point in my life i was visited by the alphabet more precisely like a scene out of sesame street the letters a and z showed up at my door cleverly disguised as adam broinowski and zahim albakri adam broinowski they were on a mission to gather facts and impressions about the orang asli amongst whom i live we spoke to some villagers trekked to a spectacular waterfall and discussed environmental issues zahim explained that adam was doing research for a play he was incubating and that he was in malaysia for three months on a cross cultural project sponsored by asialink adam was sufficiently charming for me to put him on my permanent email list and he would occasionally zap me a few lines from japan where he had joined an avant garde theater company called gekidan kaitaisha theater of deconstruction zahim albakri on april 28th 2007 i bumped into a and z again this time at the home of marion d cruz where a lovely feast was in progress celebrating the memory of theater icon krishen jit they had an affable actor named matt crosby in tow and i was told that adam s play know no cure was opening mid may starring zahim and matt this was to be the world premiere of a play written in 2001 and which has since been further developed and refined with adam and zahim co directing in the seven years since we first met adam broinowski has grown a mephistophelean van dyke and acquired an enigmatic aura he appears more confident more focused more masterful and there s a wizardly twinkle in his eyes that tells me he s onto something mysterious and powerful adam bronoiwski in vivisection vision animal reflections a performance piece i google adam broinowski and am amazed by all the things he s done produced a documentary on japanese subcultures called hell bento aired on sbs in 1995 written a bunch of plays the great gameshow of pernicious influences and hotel obsino in 1996 and 1999 studied noh and a bit of butoh in japan at shizuoka university as a japan foundation fellow which means he speaks fluent japanese performed in seven countries as acrobat clown dancer multimedia artist acted in a tv series while working on his phd at the university of melbourne and at 36 he s several months younger than both my second daughter and my second wife it s hard not to feel a twinge of vicarious paternal pride talking to this multi talented young man who has dedicated himself totally to all the artistic pursuits i d wish upon my own son tell me a little about know no cure i say to adam what elements do you think will entice malaysians to watch the show well matt plays a very sick mat salleh named cyber and zahim plays a malay surgeon named putra who s forgotten his own roots the action is set in the near future in a fictitious and utterly sterile place called jaya sounds like an exquisitely inspired extended metaphor i smile exactly the sort of theme i d pick if asked to write a play adam s eyes are intense and earnest he embodies the idealism of all sagittarians and his love affair with japan has given his mind a distinctly zen edge he assures me the visual elements will be exciting and provocative most importantly the chemistry between matt and zahim is working out fine matt crosby matt crosby s professional accomplishments are no less reassuring than adam s equally versatile he s done radio tv film acted directed scripted designed and managed studied and toured in japan with shinjuku ryozanpaku a leading contemporary theater company matt graduated from the national institute of dramatic arts in 1981 and was artistic director of the actor s furniture group from 1996 to 2000 he has explored a variety of performance techniques suzuki grotowski kristen linklater and neuro kinetic expression whatever that is in his role as cyber he represents faustian man s industrial corporate scientific mindset the metaphoric terminus of western civilization cyber is hospitalized while visiting jaya and is to be operated on by dr putra played by zahim albakri one of malaysia s most highly acclaimed actors and a cammy award winning director many times over cyber s diseased condition is reflected in the unhealthy state of the natural environment will putra cure cyber or will he himself end up contaminated the audience is advised that al gore will not be making a cameo appearance in this production this is beyond politics this is hybrid theater from the thinking heart and it focuses on extinction of ancient wisdom as well as of species and that includes homo supposedly sapiens an urgent issue we ignore at our own peril the world premiere 16 may 2007 of adam broinowski s know no cure marks fifty years of nationhood and cross cultural ties between two former british colonies you wouldn t want to miss out on this exciting artistic collaboration 9 may 2007 share this share on x opens in new window x share on facebook opens in new window facebook like loading leave a comment posted in malaysian arts culture theater and tagged adam bronoiwski know no cure matt crosby zahim albakri bookmark the permalink four legs good wild rice celebrates an orwellian centennial posted on july 28 2017 by antares maitreya ivan heng s 2003 restaging of george orwell s classic is wonderfully thought provoking it s been ages since i last read animal farm undoubtedly one of george orwell s best known works so it was a pleasure indeed to be reacquainted with this timeless allegory a fairy story orwell called it through wild rice s production of ian wooldridge s faithful stage adaptation for an appreciative singapore audience in september 2003 singaporean theater prodigy ivan heng directed by the immensely gifted ivan heng animal farm impressed with the caliber of the performers the quirkiness of the set the artful make up and philip tan s animated live music a performance in itself heng opted for an unexpectedly sober and only slightly zany dramatization of the plot relying largely on stylized movements and a very disciplined cast heng s directorial vision was reminiscent of the 3d effect of computer generated animation e g the dreamworks production of a bug s life in which the characterizations blur all boundaries between cartoon and realism with well defined physical mannerisms the actors effectively created vivid animal personas that somehow made them human without anthropomorphizing them lim yu beng and selena tan were convincingly horsey as boxer and mollie steadfast but a bit slow on the uptake ivan heng gene sha rudyn and pam oei were pricelessly piggish as napoleon snowball and squealer as the ruthlessly ousted deputy sha rudyn s anwarish goatee harked back to leon trotsky and he was equally brilliant as benjamin the literate but phlegmatic donkey and cockily comical as the resident rooster michael ian corbidge s farmer jones was a john bullish political cartoon down to his union jack underpants and he also doubled as pilkington a cross between uncle sam and a redneck evangelist entrepreneur the casting of ruddy faced angmoh corbidge as jones was an oblique allusion to our colonial past a political subtext that wasn t lost on the audience when napoleon harangues the animals and asks querulously if they want farmer jones to return and reclaim manor farm it sounds like the sort of dire warning against the dangers of globalization you might hear at any umno general assembly ivan heng s napoleon was a masterful study of a charismatic leader s steady metamorphosis into demiurgic despotism the political scapegoating of his erstwhile deputy into public enemy no 1 leading to inquisitorial witch hunts and party purges to divert attention from gross mismanagement were chillingly goosebumpily real as heng pigged out completely on his juicy rôle without ever succumbing to the temptation to ham it up as agitprop chief squealer pam oei s high pitched stridency evoked eerie memories of china s cultural revolution when party cadres in mao suits brandished copies of the little red book at all potential dissidents and heretics but hysterical squealers are found in every ministry of information audience participation consisted of our being invited to recite the post colonial doctrine of four legs good two legs baaaaaaaaaaaad in appropriately sheeplike tones indeed since the only farm animals not represented on stage were the sheep it fell to the audience to take on that rôle like good law abiding tax paying citizens for our valiant efforts we were paid off in sponsored pre election apples but with changing realities and lucrative joint ventures signed between the porcine farm management and pilkington the american corporate representative leaflets had to be dropped from the rafters in four languages english tamil malay and chinese proclaiming the new era ideology of four legs good two legs better another farm development project to serve the needs of progressive animals brought to us by napoleon the fine upstanding porker in a well cut dark suit and red tie standard uniform of the nefarious illuminati world management team sported by nwo executives and their political proxies on all important occasions what ivan heng has achieved through this hip and savvy re staging of animal farm with a distinctly asean flavor is a revitalization of orwell s classic study of the neo feudal mechanics of political power giving it a fresh contemporary sheen rich in local color the somber theme of bad times getting worse is dynamically offset by very physical performances and the insertion of a garish carnivalesque grand finale abetted throughout by the vigorous live music mostly percussive provided by an enormously exuberant and talented philip tan he performs offstage for the most part though visibly but occasionally leaps onstage and contributes to the surrealistic mayhem air conditioning ducts feature prominently as multi purpose stage props representing the pseudo mystical fascination of newfangled technology as well as the animal butcher s van in which boxer is carted off for slaughter when he outlives his usefulness to the system in short wild rice s animal farm was a totally credible and more than creditable tribute to george orwell s acute insight into the ploys and pitfalls of political power and his dystopian view of the human condition the production has been...
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