Kakiseni: Hate the sin, love the singers? Theatre Listings and more

Hate the sin, love the singers? Are your favourite pop stars doomed to sizzle in hell? Or will Malaysia’s mighty morality scorch them like overdone satays before they even get there? Former Siasah editor Mustaqeem looks at the cellphone-busting phenomenon of Akademi Fantasia with its cohort of cute belters, and wonders: Why do we enthusiastically send so many SMS-es in support of the very ones we would also condemn to perdition? Singers are not alone. Actors get no bloody respect too. Instant Café Theatre’s youngest member and Cameronian nominee, Ghafir Akbar, tells us about a new performance programme at Sunway College that will hopefully go a long way in changing society’s attitudes; and if not society’s, then at least his parents’. Aspiring young actors, feel free to print this article out and accidentally leave it on your family dining table. In the face of so many challenges to our country’s faith – pop idols, ungrateful children, belligerent editors – National Laureate Noordin Hassan attempts to remind us of the Qur’an’s truth from the stage. Who better to understand his play Demi Zaitun than a reviewer named Zaiton (aka Toni Kasim)? Check out her ever incisive (but necessarily careful) review. Meanwhile, Jerome Kugan comes out from hiding to talk to members of Five Arts Centre. They celebrate their 20th year in existence – a remarkable feat, considering their reliance on commercially unviable projects. Will their answers make more sense than their movement-intensive performances? At the polls, we asked if you agree that Malaysian writers should write in the National Language. Interestingly, on the second day, the number of yes’s jumped suddenly to twice the number of no’s, as if someone with a point to prove was frantically clicking on the poll with all the computers within reach. At last count, however, 81 disagreed with the language criteria, 71 agreed, while 100 of you voted ‘depends’. Does this prove a point? It proves that people in this country think that numbers prove a point. If anything, it proves the question is badly phrased, as a very savvy poster pointed out in the feedback to Zedeck’s popular KL Lit Fest article. For the record, I think that a Malaysian writer is a writer who is Malaysian, no more, no less. May he or she be heard, read, and reprinted in every LRT train. Some recommendations for the coming weeks: Wish I Was There, new play written by Gavin Yap for The Actors Studio’s Malaysian Playwright Series, will run from Thu Sep 2 to Sun Sep 5. Though not exactly a sequel to his Dumb Waiter-like Sweet Nothing, the play stars Patrick Teoh and Gavin as two dead men whose souls are stuck in the basement of heaven. Sort of. At the MPO, Joshua Bell, the prettiest violin player this side of the gender equation, will be in town to perform the Brahms’s Violin Concerto, as well as an evening of solo offerings. And lastly, our glorious country will celebrate her 47th year of independence this Tue Aug 31. The party, complete with hell-bound entertainers (out to take the whole country along with them), will be held the night before at the Dataran Merdeka, as well as other liberated patches of grass in your respective states. In an interview with Bernama, our former prime minister said regarding young Malaysians: “If we tell them that our country was once colonised, they probably wouldn’t have an inkling of what it’s all about. Hence, it is not easy to make them realise the importance of safeguarding the nation unless we relate to them continuously of the past years’ experiences.” He then suggested that we sing patriotic songs to safeguard ourselves against our former colonialists. You know, dude, it’s been 47 years. I do hope that at some point, the government will see fit to move beyond fear-instilling rhetorics and start encouraging people to be independent minded too. It’s about time. In closing, I would like to quote a kindly mee-goreng cooking makcik I met at Chow Kit last year: “Kalau orang tu baik, dia tu bebas lah.” Happy Merdeka folks. Contributed by Pang Khee Teik, Kakiseni Other Articles Moraliti Fantasia by MR Al-Mustaqeem Bolehkah magis Akademi Fantasia mengubah pandangan masyarakat moralis terhadap para penghibur Malaysia?... Wanna Be An Actor? by Ghafir Akbar But your parents not cool with it? Despair not. Rey Buono’s new performance course at Sunway College is here to save the day... Theatre of Experimental Sermons by Toni Kasim Can a Sasterawan Negara preach without being preachy? Noordin Hassan makes a case for Teater Fitrah in Demi Zaitun... 20 Years of Uncertainty by Jerome Kugan How did Five Arts Centre survive by making art that puzzles audiences and challenges authorities?... Theatre Aug 25 - 29, 2004 (9pm daily, 3pm on Aug 29) Actorlympics 2004 - Acropolis Now! Afdlin Shauki, Harith Iskander, Rashid Salleh, Nell Ng, Ida Nerina, Jason Lo and guests Reza Zainal Abidin and Gavin Yap... Aug 27 - 31, 2004 (8.30pm) Misi Misi is a two-man conversational play between a wheel-chair bound corporate figure, Tan Sri Engku Daffa Engku Omar and his... Sept 01, 2004 (8.30pm) Kyogen - Lecture and Demonstration Kyogen is a Japanese traditional theatrical play that dates back six hundred years, with humorous and sarcastic content. The Kyogen... Sept 02 - 05, 2004 (8.30pm daily, Sept 5 @ 3.00pm) Wish I Was There Wish I Was There features a stellar cast of seasoned actors and talented newcomers: Patrick Teoh, Gavin Yap, Chew Kinwah, Click here to see more on coming theatre shows... (it's highly recommended that you do!)