Admin2023 is set to be a year of rediscovery and reconnecting with almost 50 productions by klpac and The Actors Studio. They are off to an exciting start with a two-installment offering in collaboration with Big Nose Productions entitled “Her Story”, from 12 to 15 January 2023, and “His Story”, from 23 to 26 February, which will be staged in Pentas 2 of klpac.
Born out of the need for a creative outlet during the pandemic amid then on-going lockdowns, this online playwriting writing project spearheaded by Fa Abdul began in early 2021. 20 new writers, aged 13 to 55, were taken under her wing with 12 female writers being workshopped from July to October 2021 and 8 male writers from January to April 2022.
Known for her powerful storytelling with a string of well-received plays under her belt, one expects no less from Fa Abdul’s latest project. This two-year labour of love has resulted in 20 insightful monologues, in English and Bahasa Malaysia, that are colourful, surreal, humorous and deeply introspective based on real-life experiences of ordinary Malaysians from different walks of life.
Presented in two back-to-back installments, the first will be “Her Story” with 12 monologues touching on themes of the human condition and femininity.
Her Story
“Her Story” tells of women striving for freedom in Oti T.’s “Rollercoaster” and Asmaak’s “The Unexpected Moments”; rising above challenges in Binnu’s “My Dad Was Never a Doctor!”, Dalela’s “Bukan Semua Perlu Cerita” and Aurora Borealis’ “Kontradiksi”; fighting mental health issues in Dev M.’s “My Blessed Unrest”, Fatih Nuur’s “Di Sebalik Tirai Sakit Jiwa” and Angelina K.’s “A Letter to Death”; family expectations in Livaanya Sivarajah’s “Brida”; falling in love and finding your self worth in Bina K.’s “A Single Pringle”, AC Wong’s “Red Lipsticks” and Anussha Kumar-Lee’s “Curls”.
In rehearsals since December 2022, these powerful monologues will be delivered by Piravina Ragunathan, Veronica Boh, Janusha Laxmi, Tiana Xavier, Ais Isaac, Vio, Mardiana Ismail, Tharwa Karina, Skylar Lim, Carmen Khoo, Carolyn Chow, and Nephi Shaine.
His Story
This will be followed by “His Story” with eight monologues such as Andrew Loh’s “Don’t Jump!” on self-discovery, Karam Tabba’s “I Got Busy” and Bing Hou’s “Life Changes” about putting others before themselves as well as Lawrence Chin’s “Tattoos on the Left”. Besides that, Faizal Sohaimi’s “Little Grains of Sand”, R. Mohamad’s “Mother’s Boy”, Simon Ong’s “The Good Son” and Zee’s “Hey Daddy” talks about love in all its different forms.
“His Story” will be brought to life by Ash Sahimun, Sidhart Joe Dev, Karam Tabba, Lok Shi Hoong, Xavier Chen Wen Xuen, Adrian Choong, Nandagopall, and Daniel Hussin.
An apt season opener, “Her Story” and “His Story” offers theatre enthusiasts a refreshing blend of relatable plots and twists filled with cultural relevance and context. Performed in English and Bahasa Malaysia with English surtitles, this will be the audiences first chance to view this important body of work created during the pandemic.
Tickets are priced at RM36 for preview nights – Her Story (12 January 2022), His Story (23 February 2022) and RM40 for normal shows. The audience can enjoy a special combo promotion at only RM70 (2 tickets: 1 for Her Story and 1 for His Story) until 15 January 2022. Eslite Malaysia white and black card members are entitled to get 5% and 10% off normal-priced tickets. Purchase tickets online at https://www.cloudjoi.co/org/klpac.
Visit www.klpac.org, call 03 4047 9000 or WhatsApp +6018 227 7212 for more information.
CJMY
