The Covid-19 pandemic has raged on for more than a year now. Six Penang theatre groups share their aspirations to come back stronger.
By Lee Kwai Han
The performing arts world continues to endure the great Covid-19 storm. One year since the Movement Control Order (MCO) was first implemented, mass gatherings are still deemed dangerous and theatres in Malaysia are not allowed to operate at full capacity. We continue to witness how Penang theatre groups persevere and adapt to bring on the shows.
1. Penang Players Music and Drama Society
A Couple of Secrets, a comedy theatre directed by Lawrence Chin, to be staged in PenangPAC from 25 to 27 June 2021.
Image courtesy of Penang Players Music and Drama Society.
Penang Players Music and Drama Society was formed in the 1950s and went dormant for some years. Since its revival in 1992, Penang Players remains active, producing theatre shows and dinner shows.
Penang Players will be staging A Couple of Secrets in June 2021, which has been postponed from May last year. MCO has forced the group to shift their rehearsals online to keep the preparation going and for the group to stay connected and motivated.
Joelle Saint-Arnoult, the producer of the comedy show said, “Penang Players is adopting more local expression in this originally British play to make it resonate better with the Penang audience.” She hopes the comedy show will bring much cheer to Penangites despite the gloomy past year.
2. Musical Youth Theatre Happening (MYTH Productions)
Forkbeard: A Viking Musical Odyssey, with Alice Silva Matias as Sigrid and Nicholas Pereira as Forkbeard, will be staged from 30 September to 3 October this year.
Image by David ST Loh. Photo courtesy of MYTH Productions.
Dr. Nancy P. Jenster, PhD, the founder of MYTH Productions, believes musicals provide a powerful learning experience for youth. Jenster started MYTH Productions with carefully-curated shows surrounding the theme of forgiveness in Abbie and the A Team (2018) and environmental awareness in One Minute to Midnight (2019).
However, their much-awaited musical Forkbeard: A Viking Musical Odyssey has not escaped the fate of postponement. This year, the group will finally bring their year-long online rehearsals to fruition in PenangPAC from 30 September to 3 October. A Covid-19-induced twist has also brought the group to a new odyssey of green screen production for its promotional trailer, which will be released in August.
The musical is now calling for auditions for Viking crew on 17 April. All interested candidates are welcome to attend an informational meeting on Zoom in early April.
3. ZXC Theatre Troupe 造心厂剧坊
ZXC Theatre Troupe brought together members of diverse age groups on My 15 Fly Away Like A Bird, a stage play to commemorate the Troupe’s 15th anniversary. It was staged in KOMTAR, Penang and Taman Budaya Kuala Lumpur in June 2007.
Photo courtesy of ZXC Theatre Troupe.
Founded in 1991, ZXC Theatre Troupe is one of the pioneer Chinese contemporary theatre groups in Penang. Founding member Tan Hock Kheng has seen the rise in demand for Mandarin-based children’s theatre in Penang over the years. The Troupe uses children’s theatre as a channel to introduce Malaysia’s diverse culture and performing arts forms to its audience. For example, the Troupe beautifully integrated shadow play into its children’s theatre Sang Kancil & Tapir (2015).
Besides organising theatre camps for children and youth, the Troupe hosts an annual platform called FRESH: Little Theatre Performance, where interested groups can submit new theatre pieces for release. The recent MCO has led to the twelfth instalment being postponed to late April.
ZXC Theatre Troupe will also be staging an original theatre piece that combines installation art, IKAT, from 25 to 27 June to celebrate its 30th anniversary. IKAT brings its audience on a journey imagining a Penang society without dialects.
4. Triple I Productions
Award-winning show Bodhivrksa directed by Jason Ong in PenangPAC, 2018.
Photo courtesy of Triple I Productions.
Jason Ong established Triple I Productions in 2018 to pursue his passion for stage production, drama education, and event planning. He then set up iBox by Triple I, a multifunctional theatre space in Gelugor to provide space for theatre and workshops use.
In facing the pandemic, Triple I was quick to adapt to the online theatre world, releasing Let’s Play series: The Paddy Field of Gunung Keriang on CloudTheatre in June 2020. Later, Triple I released a pre-recorded gospel theatre, The Return of the Prodigal Son, via the same platform in December. Triple I has also moved its drama and dance workshops online.
While Triple I continues conventional stage productions, Ong sees the need to adapt to a new form of theatre performance and is keen to pursue digital theatre in Penang.
5. Badan Kesenian Warisan P. Ramlee Pulau Pinang (Bakawalee Penang)
Paluan Gendang Munafik, directed by Razali Ridzuan, won the first runner-up award in the Penang State Theatre Festival in November 2019.
Photo courtesy of Bakawalee Penang.
Since its foundation in 2004 by a group of enthusiastic theatre practitioners, Bakawalee Penang has been an active Malay contemporary theatre NGO in northern Malaysia. It is currently led by experienced director and script writer, Razali Ridzuan.
Bakawalee has been a frequent award winner in the biennial Penang State Theatre Festival and Malaysia Theatre Festival.
In 2019, Bakawalee started JomShow Production, an offshoot to explore short film production. The group’s short video Terputus was shortlisted in Short + Sweet Film Malaysia 2019. This venture proved to be timely. With the halt of theatre work under the pandemic, group members continue to hone their skills in video shooting, editing, and directing at their own place.
Meanwhile, the group is also keeping the production of a musical theatre and a realistic theatre in the pipeline.
6. Gabungan Seni Warisan Anak Pulau Pinang (Gasewap)
Matinya Seorang Pahlawan, a play written by Usman Awang. It was staged under the direction of Dr. Lena Farida Hussain Chin in Auditorium P. Ramlee.
Photo courtesy of Gasewap.
Gasewap was founded in 2012 by Dr. Lena Farida Hussain Chin with the mission to preserve theatre education in Penang. The NGO draws its aspiration from the work of the late Dato’ Mohamad Baharudin Ahmad, commonly known as Cikgu Baha in the performing arts scene.
Gasewap conducts theatre workshops for schools and institutions in Penang and has successfully staged 19 performances around Malaysia and overseas in the past 9 years.
While the group remains open for invitation to perform and conduct workshops, Gasewap is taking on a reflective focus this year. The group organised a series of 10 public webinar sessions titled Sembang Seni in early 2021. Topics discussed ranged from sharing about acting and directing to challenges in manoeuvring the Covid-19 situation and in facing bureaucracy.
As the pandemic reshapes how we enjoy theatres, the health of the performing arts ecosystem has largely come under scrutiny. Not only does support from the CENDANA-PENJANA Recovery Initiative and Penang State EXCO for Tourism and Creative Economy (PETACE) play a crucial role in keeping the shows on, solidarity from the public is much needed to aid recovery and boost resilience of performing arts practitioners through the storm.
Cover Image: Still from ‘Let’s Play series: The Paddy Field of Gunung Keriang’, which was released on CloudTheatre in June 2020. Courtesy of Triple I Productions.
Lee Kwai Han manages arts and environmental education projects in Penang. Despite her training in engineering, she believes arts is the software solution our society needs.