Opening night for this long awaited musical was last Saturday nite (11th August 2007) at KLPac and the only reason I , took a whole week to write about it is , not my usual procrastination but because I was genuinely busy (3 days) , genuinely sick (2 days) and now here I am , so I'm missing one day, who's counting...
Anyway, enough about me...this is a gem of a local musical. I can't even begin to tell you how proud I am to be Malaysian after watching it and how proud I am with this whole production. From the script, to the stage presentation and the stellar cast of outstanding talents that performed , directed , choreographed it, designers, very daring too, it even had a symbolic "rape scene"...my God...this is how far we have come in 50 years!
I have been to a few international plays in my time and I must say that this play didn't fall short of anything except perhaps more audiences. The writers of this play are two 28 years old boys, Lim Chuan Yik and Teng Ky-Gan. These two are some awesome talents! I missed Broken Bridges , their first collaboration but if Tunku is anything to go by, I must have missed something really good.
The storyline of Tunku is part fiction and part factual. It unfolds in such a way that you see bravery and true love and yet you can still feel pity for the villain (played by Tony Eusoffe).. The story unfolds after 1957...it isn't a story about Tunku Abdul Rahman but rather all that he stood and fought for and all that he believed in when fought for Malaya's independence and today's Malaysia . It is a play about the forces of ambitions that has made Malaysia what it is today(expulsion of Singapore 1969, bloody riots of May 1969) .
It is a play that celebrates what Malaysia really is. A country where we should "all be blind, colour blind" as the lyrics of finale song goes. It is a play that depicts what Malaya was really like in the 195O's and 1960's . People of all races dancing, living , working together in their national costumes. Most poignant for me are all the pictures of bygone era that was flashed across the backdrop as giant black and white TV screens . Pictures of Tunku, in national costume with fist raised to shout "Merdeka" (seven times, not three) , pictures of Tunku dancing the "joget" with other Indian, Malay and Chinese counterparts. Those were surely the days of democracy and freedom of expression with dignity and total reassurance of moral intact.
Those were the days, where Malay and Chinese lived and ate together, the immersion so close that it is confusing who started what or when first, as depicted in the song "Laksa" . If you think about it, is "Laksa" a Malay or a Chinese dish and how did it come about? More importantly should it matter?
Naturally a story about any country's history cannot avoid the reality and political manipulations that goes on . This is seen in the role of the racist and politically ambitious Syed, "aide" to the Tunku, who wanted to see the races rife for what he thinks should be the right "Malaya" . But like all villains or heroes, they all believed in the "truth" and "the right" that they fight for, rightly or wrongly and in the end paid the price. This play also showed the role of the Press and the consequences and the power they wield and true responsible reporting of events versus sensationalism.
But enough of the heavy stuff, was it , entertaining.... a resounding YES!! Was it educational , Yes!! education is after all what you choose to learn from anything...
I ask every Malaysian born before and after , especially after to go watch it and truly appreciate how hard won was our independence!
Lastly I have to say , the videography was brilliantly done. My God , Doreen ,what an angelic voice and and it was remiss of the organizers to have overlooked your bouquet of flowers! Fatima, you sizzle as the sultry mistress of a glamorous elegant era ...oops not letting the cat out the bag here! But then again the whole cast f 53 members from 5 months old to ...ended the night on a standing ovation, something that nice "shy" Malaysians are rather stingy with except for exceptional performances , guess that says it all huh!Joe Hasham and Faridah Merican and all sponsors like the STAR, thank you for your foresight!
Selamat Hari Merdeka yang 50!!
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