Playwright, actor, director, stand-up comic, hotel staff and now entrepreneur, Riz Zolkepli talks about his deep passion for learning and how theatre is one of the mediums for his calling as a storyteller.
By Tan David
Born in Johor but now working and practicing his crafts in Penang, Riz Zolkepli (sometimes known on playbills as Noor Rizuwan) is a multi-faceted theatre practitioner whose range of credits includes being a playwright, actor, director, and sometimes even a theatre stage and lighting designer. A Universiti Sains Malaysia graduate majoring in drama and theatre, Riz debuted in Penang’s theatre scene with Hantu Rumah Mayat in 2011, followed by a string of other works such as the restaging of Dinsman’s original 1974 play Bukan Bunuh Diri, Siapa Salbiah (2015), and Bercakap Dengan Salbiah (2016). The latter work was then nurtured under Reka Art Space’s Initiate.Develop.Perform Incubator Programme into a full-length monologue titled Fragrance, which premiered in SINKEH Studio in 2017 to rave reviews.
Urban legends and human nature
Going through his body of work, one cannot help but notice a similar theme cutting across Riz’s creative outputs: they are crafted around urban legends and mysterious deaths. For example, post-Fragrance, he premiered The Sounds in 2019, a new work centred around the tales of Orang Bunian. The play title, in its original Malay version Bunyian, is therefore an auditory word pun for the term Bunian.
“I am very interested in urban legends and how they propagate from person to person,” says Riz when questioned on the subject. He cites Bercakap Dengan Salbiah and Fragrance, which are based upon the urban legends surrounding the murder of factory worker Salbiah Yeop Abdul Rahman in 1980 whose body was discovered in the Vale of Tempe (known these days as Jalan Lembah Permai) and has sparked numerous claims of paranormal sightings ever since.
(For more information on the sensational scoop at the time, read The Star editor Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai’s account of the story here.)
Riz’s proclivity towards urban myths and the paranormal was sparked from his upbringing in a Malay kampung in rural Johor where cautionary tales, myths, and pantang-larang (superstitious practices) were commonplace and accepted as a way of life. “My childhood environment certainly instilled the curiosity in me to research, explore, dissect, and retell tales of the mysterious and the tragic,” says Riz. Indeed, Riz’s own late grandfather was a pawang (or shaman) specialising in casting supernatural forces to influence local football matches, at a time when the nation was going through its football years in the 70s and 80s!
Riz played the role of Pembantu Raja Buta in Malam Takdir, written by Dr Johan Othman and directed by Chee Sek Thim, 2019.
Photo courtesy of Reka Art Space
However, as an impartial storyteller, supernatural forces and paranormal tales are just two layers of elements among others that he uses as conduits to express himself as a playwright. As much as Fragrance was based on the myths and speculation surrounding the Salbiah murder, the monologue was ultimately an alternative perspective of a story about a crime, one that is grounded upon human nature, emotions, and factual evidence. “Urban legend remains a strong theme in my work. But if you sit through any of my plays to the end, you will realise that ultimately, I am trying to tell a story about human nature,” says Riz. His works also explore how stories are passed from one person to another, one perspective to another, which may ultimately result in a “legend” completely remote from the thoughts and motives of the characters themselves.
From playwright to hotel staff to comic to business entrepreneur
Despite being relatively known in the local theatre scene, Riz maintains that he is not so much a full-time artist, but rather a full-time learner. When asked about his variety of pursuits, Riz comments, “I am very much rooted in theatre, but I do not wish to limit myself to just one art discipline.”
From his student years in USM up to present, Riz has also taken on other endeavours besides writing, acting, and directing, including co-managing a guesthouse in town until it had to shut down as an effect of the Covid-19 pandemic. At present, Riz is working full-time as a front-desk supervisor during the day and taking on gigs as a stand-up comic. At the same time, he’s also setting up ManaBro with a business partner, merchandising outdoor equipment and gear.
Riz also takes on stand-up comedy gigs in venues across Penang.
“My constant curiosity and passion to learn new things and take on new challenges were probably the factors that enabled me to explore different career paths to keep myself afloat professionally and financially,” ponders Riz. This does not mean he has to compromise his progress as a theatre practitioner. On the contrary, his keen sense of learning and exploring play a major role in his artistic development.
Riz remains actively engaged in the theatrical world. While the world was undergoing a global lockdown in July 2020, word about his unique storytelling methodology somehow made their way across the world to the United States. Upon discovering Riz’s repertoire in urban legends and local history, the New York-based theatre house Pointless Theatre Co engaged him to research and draft a play chapter about the Malay legendary figure Hang Tuah’s speculated youth.
The next chapter
Ever restless, Riz has a long-term goal to write novels and books. He is currently writing the first draft of a travelogue of his business partner, a literal explorer who cycled from the UK all the way to Johor. However, he remains rooted in theatre and is concurrently working on his next play inspired by the tale of Orang Minyak. “This is a continuation of my bigger narrative on the six senses by using myths as a conduit,” explains Riz. “Fragrance and The Sounds are thematically about scent and sound, while this next play about the legend of Orang Minyak is about the sense of touch,” he adds.
Riz played the titular role in Chainarong (2014), produced by Dewan Budaya, USM
Like all good writers, Riz suffers from bouts of mental blocks. Yet he remains hopeful about his professional and personal progress as a storyteller. His lifelong passion for learning and exploring has certainly enabled him to be versatile and adaptive to various mediums and themes as he continues telling his stories.
Cover photo courtesy of Reka Art Space
Tan David is a Penang-based festival programmer and head of Teh Beng Club (TBC).