The designation of George Town as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008 has brought many changes to Penang. We explore how this has affected the development of performing arts in Penang.
By Hilyati Ramli and Muhanniz Mesri
George Town, the capital city of Penang, can be seen as a living museum where the lived culture in existing buildings retains the original from a century ago. Back in 2008, George Town’s cultural and architectural traditions were recognised by UNESCO, which officially designated the city, together with Melaka, as a World Heritage Site. This boosted the economy as well as the development of the arts scene itself. As art became a part of daily life and appreciation of the arts grew, works of street art blossomed throughout the city, more art spaces have been built, and more festivals have been held all year round.
The George Town Heritage Celebration is held every 7th of July to commemorate this inscription, celebrating the living heritage of the city that spans multicultural practices, traditional food, arts, and crafts. This birthed another gem, George Town Festival (GTF), that showcases both local and international acts. When it first started, the festival was only held for a day but became a month-long festival the following year. The idea behind GTF is to celebrate and preserve local arts, culture, and heritage including dance, music, theatre, as well as photography and heritage exhibitions.
With the huge buzz surrounding these festivals, we have to take a step back and wonder, how have these two festivals affected the development of performing arts in Penang?
A Leap Forward
The existence of these festivals did in fact give performing arts in Penang a fresh start. Placing local acts on par with international ones served as a stepping stone for the local scene to be further developed and recognised on a larger scale. This exposure automatically shaped the overall performing arts scene in Penang.
One of the positive outcomes has been the ability to allure local artists who are based overseas to come home and develop the local scene, sharing their experience and knowledge among the performing arts community. One of them is Jet Leang, who has been involved with the festival since 2013, performing for Bridges and Kaki Lima under the patronage of Ombak-Ombak ARTStudio. In 2018, he founded Jet Leang Dance Theatre (JLDT) to provide classes and expose young artists to being a part of a full-time dance company, either as professional dancers or choreographers.
WTF!? by Jet Leang
Photo credits: Yew KH
As a result, more emerging local artists, especially young talents, have started to build their own pathway into the world of performing arts. Of course, this would not be possible if not for the huge support from those experienced artists, not to mention their endless effort to nurture these rising talents. All this contributes towards the development of the performing arts ecosystem in Penang as a whole.
More opportunities
In light of the success of these festivals, both federal and state governments as well as the private sector (NGOs) have taken the initiative to come up with more events or festivals, such as George Town Literary Festival (GTLF), The In-Between Arts Festival, Penang International Food Festival (PIFF), and Penang Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. Although most of the time, the focus of these events has no relation whatsoever to performing arts, any large event would incorporate some sort of entertainment that fits the atmosphere, including live performances and cultural performances as part of the grand opening. This creates more opportunities for performing artists to create artistic and commercial work to meet market demand. By having this chance to constantly produce new work, artists have more opportunities to hone their craft throughout the year.
The variety of performances in Penang has also grown rapidly as more traditional and contemporary work has been exhibited to the public. In the early 2000’s, the only well-known platform for Penang-based theatre troupes to showcase their work was Pertandingan Teater Peringkat Negeri Pulau Pinang that is held once every year by JKKN Pulau Pinang. Pertandingan Teater Peringkat Negeri Pulau Pinang is often referred to as a “festival” as it showcases multiple talents from Penang theatre troupes, but it is also a competition whereby the winner will represent the state at the national level, usually in Kuala Lumpur. For the Penang theatre community, this used to be one of the biggest opportunities to bring their work out of Penang with full support from the government.
Under The Rug performed by Azlinda Mohd Said for FRESH Little Theatre Performance under the Initiate, Develop, Perform programme by Reka Art Space.
Now, along with GTF, other outlets for the Penang theatre community to exhibit their work have sprouted. Among them are Wayang DiSinkeh and the Initiate, Develop, Perform programme by Reka Art Space, Short + Sweet by Penangpac, and FRESH Little Theatre Performance by ZXC Theatre Troupe
Breaking Boundaries
It cannot be denied that the theatre community in Penang used to be segregated by race. Each and every one of them had a specific space preference when it came to showcasing their work. However, the dynamics have changed in recent years, with the Penang theatre community beginning to share the stage with one another. Hence, more experimental works have been produced, such as Bayang by A.S Hardy Shafii, Never Trust a City with No Ghosts by Chee Sek Thim, and Menua Kitai by Izzardzafli Padzil; these were mostly focused on local issues which made them much more relatable to the audience.
Never Trust a City with No Ghosts by Chee Sek Thim
Photo credits: Jane Koh
Traditional performance troupes have similarly developed as more work has been done to preserve their legacy. Notably, we can look at the works of the leading authorities on performing arts in Southeast Asia, Prof. Tan Sooi Beng. Prof Tan has not only published books such as Bangsawan: A Social and Stylistic History of Popular Malay Opera (1993), The Music of Malaysia: The Classical, Folk and Syncretic Traditions (2017), Bangsawan Malaysia: Staging Cultural Diversity and Change (2011), and Eclectic Cultures for All: The Development of the Peranakan Performing, Visual and Material Arts in Penang (2019), but she has also practiced the work. This can be seen in her recent approach towards Potehi Glove Puppet Theatre.
New approaches of presenting traditional forms are being explored to make it more appealing to the young and upcoming generations. Without a doubt, the theatre scene in Penang seems more dynamic, has more variety, and is less segregated as compared to before.
Many changes have happened in the performing arts scene, especially the theatre community, in Penang since the UNESCO World Heritage listing. Hopefully, the idea of turning Penang into an Art hub in the northern region will further benefit the performing arts community.
Cover photo: Bayang by A.S Hardy Shafii. Photo Credit: Reamur A. David
Nur Hilyati Ramli is a Penang-based theatre practitioner from Melaka. Graduated from Universiti Sains Malaysia with a Master’s degree in Fine Arts, she has been involved in several aspects of performance, such as dancing, acting, directing, and stage managing, since 2004. Her talents have brought her not only around Malaysia but internationally, including Taiwan, Vietnam, Indonesia, and China. She has lectured and facilitated children’s workshop performances and performing arts classes under the patronage of organisations such as Ombak-Ombak ARTStudio, Arts-ED Penang, Penangpac, College International Yayasan Malacca, Sultan Idris Education University, and People Theatre Taiwan Troupe. She is currently a theatre lecturer at the School of the Arts, Universiti Sains Malaysia.
Muhanniz Mesri (or Muha as she is affectionately known) graduated from Universiti Sains Malaysia in 2018 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts, majoring in Drama and Theatre. Having discovered that theatre is a great platform to help children gain greater self-esteem, improve social skills, and even deal with social anxiety, Muha believes she can use drama and theatre to help empower special needs children at Oaktree Resource Centre. On weekends, Muha teaches children drama and theatre at Penangpac.