“A Playful Take on Uncomfortable Issues“

Reviewer: Isaac Tan
Performance: 23 July 2017

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, being told that one’s society is plagued by drug abuse, domestic abuse, incest, and extra-marital affairs should not come as a surprise. Yet, knowing these facts and its relevant statistics does not prepare you to confront the individual stories.

And that’s what we are faced with, as we enter Teater Ekamatra’s playground in Main-Main. Six characters find themselves in a liminal space, which happens to be a whimsical playground, and by interacting with each other through games, they reveal how their lives played out.

Playwright and director Aidli Mosbit’s riffing on the theme of play is no literary exercise. The lightness of touch in the treatment of these heavy themes engages the audience in two ways.

First, the playful atmosphere throws the dark themes into sharper relief.

In a scene where the characters list various things with which one can play, an unguarded Suhaila Safari blurts out paedophilia and playing with children. The scene immediately takes a very dark turn. The same applies to seeing the characters play a game in one scene, and violently confront each other in the next.

This contrast draws one’s attention to issues to which one may have been inured to due to countless incidents of the same kind being played out in the media.

Second, the use of camp and make-believe gently guides the audience to encounter topics that are very taboo, such as paedophilia. Topics that will otherwise make the audience flinch and tune out, which can elude any meaningful discussion.

The mythical story of a sultan being cursed as he cannot be aroused by grown women may appear to be a cheap joke, but we are unwittingly being guided into observing an uncomfortable act once we collectively realise the disturbing implications of such a curse.

Aidli Mosbit strikes the right balance in playing with both dynamics, and this results in an engaging, and provocative show.

This is complemented by stellar performances from the ensemble (Al-Matin Yatim, Farez Najid, Farhana M Noor, Hatta bin Said, Munah Bagharib, and Suhaili Safari). There isn’t a single moment in which any of the actors drop the ball as they juggle both playful and serious scenes with complete ease. Their keen sense of timing for comedy as well as in the transitions makes the show thoroughly entertaining and well-paced.

The best testament to the efficacy of what Teater Ekamatra aims to achieve is a fellow audience member wondering aloud whether these stories are true. Even if the specifics are made up, it is sobering to realise that similar incidents occur every day, and not all of them make it into the news.

“A Lesson in History”

Reviewer: Muhammed Faizad Bin Salim
Performance: 15 August 2015

Two themes resonate very strongly in this historical biopic that has been specially commissioned for the Pesta Raya stage.

The first is how the titular character is a champion for the common man. The second is the value of integrity in the face of adversity.

It is fittingly poetic then that this production successfully brings across an authentic and utterly believable depiction of the trials and tribulations of our nation’s very first Head of State – replete with allusions to landmark historical events that provide the backdrop to the overarching narrative. The irony of us only now being able to truly see, listen and learn about Encik Yusof Ishak (played sensitively by the talented Sani Hussin) is not lost on the audience. We all walk away with a deeper understanding, awareness and appreciation for a man whose history we knew little about and also did not receive as much public fanfare and media spotlight.

Kudos to the creative team for celebrating the life and legacy of one of our pioneer statesmen. It is evident that director and playwright Zizi Azah Abdul Majid (with dramaturg Haresh Sharma) have been very hard at work and conducted extensive, quality research. They have taken great care to capture not only the essence of the man himself and his relationships with his family, friends and compatriots but also the nuances of that particular time in Singapore’s and Malaya’s past.

Fatimah Mohsin (an iconic tour de force in the Malay wedding industry), dresses the cast in exquisitely beautiful baju melayu and kebayas and even the gentlemen looked dashingly dapper a la HBO’s Mad Men and Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby.

The ensemble has great chemistry with one another and shuffles between the more tender, emotional scenes as well as the more light-hearted ones with ease. This is particularly impressive considering the fact that all of them (with the exception of the two principals) have to take on multiple roles whilst showcasing a range of regional Malay accents and dialects. Farah Ong excels in bringing out the comic character of the fictitious Sri. Najib Soiman and Erwin Shah Ismail exude confidence in bringing to life the many male characters that have been instrumental to Yusof Ishak’s life while Dalilah Shahril plays the maternal figure of Aishahton to perfection.

To those who may have reservations about viewing a performance in a vernacular that you may not be familiar with, don’t fret. Nothing is lost in translation and in fact, it’d be an opportune time to be reacquainted with our national language as the narrative of this icon of Singapore’s past unfolds before your eyes.

The only misgiving one has at the end of the performance (also known as the big prepare-your-tissues-coz-Siti-Khalijah-is-bringing-out-the-onion-cutting-ninjas moment) is how it is unfortunate that only a select audience would be privy to this wonderful showcase; those who were lucky and quick enough to get their hands on tickets to the sold-out shows.

Yusof (not Yusok, shame on you MAS!) definitely requires a restaging sometime soon. It may not be a glitzy musical played in a larger venue across the bay area and may not run for as long but it can stand as tall and as proud or even more so for finally putting the spotlight on other heroes who set the foundation for the first-world nation we are so proud of today.