MEENAH AND CHEENAH by Dream Academy

“Bringing out the inner lians in us all”

Reviewer: Isaac Lim
Performance: 12 May 2016

The 90-minute performance, which initially appears to be a low-brow comedy show poking fun at a group of lesser educated Malays and Chinese, turns out to be a pretty good lesson on racial practices and racial harmony.

Well, at least for this reviewer, who admits to being a classy, closeted lian.

The main narrative follows the lives of two best friends who went to school together, vying for the attention of the same Indian boy, till the said Indian boy (named Vicknesh) gets married. Mixed within the comedy sketches, we see two everyday characters facing scenarios related to their respective ethnicity. For example, when two office ladies meet in the pantry during the month of Ramadan, and the Muslim woman, played by Siti Khalijah, has to explain the rules of the fasting month, while fighting the temptation presented by her Chinese colleague’s food.

While Meenah is an endearing way of calling Aminah, a rather common Malay girl’s name in 1990s Singapore (and continues till today), Cheenah has a rather negative connotation. It is now associated with the uncouth Mainland Chinese. However, Cheenah here refers to the ah lian sub-culture in Singapore society, the Chinese counterpart to Minah (which is derived from Meenah).

Alfian Sa’at, the lead writer, together with contributing writers Rishi Budhrani, Fukkah Fuzz (both mainstays in the local stand-up comedy scene) and Josiah Ng deliver an entertaining script packed with nuggets of information and loads of funny sound bites.

That said, the pacing of the show can be tighter. The show started on a high, but as the segments wore on, there was a feeling that the jokes were on repeat mode. Honestly, how many times can you milk the gag of mispronouncing Barbie as Babi (pig in Malay)? Additionally the scene transitions using shadow puppetry projections pale in comparison to the outlandish disco music interludes from the ’90s.

Of the two, Siti Kalijah stands out as she portrays the different Malay characters effortlessly, and with conviction. Judee Tan is less convincing in the first half, as she appears to be less energetic. Tan’s performance did pick up in the second half, especially after her solo dance segment, in which she gyrates to cheesy Mandopop and techno songs.

Despite the presence of racial jokes and slurs, Meenah and Cheenah appears to be a lesson on cultural sensitivity as it tries to clear up the many inter-racial misunderstandings. The show also frames itself as a time capsule, capturing many wonderful and hilarious moments for people who grew up in the 1990s and 2000s.

In all, this appears to be a fresh start to a new comedy franchise by the Dream Academy team, and judging from the audiences’ response, they will need to churn out fresh materials soon.