Front Row

The Embassy of Italy in Kuala Lumpur and the Rossini Opera Festival of Pesaro collaborated with local institutions to celebrate the composer’s--Gioachino Rossini--birthday. Chi Hoe educates us on Rossini and on the process of collaborating with two visiting artists from a Rossini academy in Italy. He shares on performing Rossini’s music and tells a little about the stories of the four operas performed at the concert.

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Artist Caryn Koh has been making a name for herself through her dreamlike and emotive paintings, particularly her “Sekolah” series that features a schoolgirl in the iconic blue pinafore. We speak to her about her debut solo exhibition, called “As Deep As I Could Remember, As Far As I Could See”, and how it represents both her connections to the past and an attempt to move beyond it.

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On our arts review show, we discuss “di antara ITU & INI”, an exhibition that brings together 15 visual artists to reflect on what it means to be a nation that is grappling with change. Themes of power, ownership, and autonomy are examined by the diverse line-up of artists within the context of the recent political shift that has happened in Malaysia. Artist Ruby Subramaniam joins us to review and talk about the exhibition.

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The story of three old men whiling their time away in a retirement home hardly sounds like gripping entertainment - but “Heroes”, Tom Stoppard’s English version of the French play by Gerald Sibleyras is a humorous yet bittersweet examination of ageing. In this local staging of the play, the World War I veterans are played by Patrick Teoh, Thor Kah Hoong, and Paul M. Baker, with Gavin Yap directing. We speak to the director and cast members about bringing the play to life.

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“River Cities” is an art exhibition by People Ideas Culture that reflects on the vital role of rivers in building civilisations and culture. The exhibition also examines the various issues related to rivers and river cities, such as environmental damage, politics, and socioeconomic development. We speak to some of the people involved in the exhibition about why art is an interesting approach to discuss these issues.

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How do you make a story of feuding families and star-crossed lovers who die tragically by the end, a fun and engaging experience for children? That’s where the KL Shakespeare Players’ “Storytelling Shakespeare” series comes in. This time around, they’re bringing their interactive storytelling approach to “Romeo and Juliet”, which is designed to get the little ones dancing, singing, and chanting along. We speak to the people behind the production about how they adapted the play for a younger audience while still staying true to the spirit of the original.

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Writer Ridhwan Saidi describes his Teater Normcore productions as a “series of seemingly normal stage plays”. The latest addition to the series, Stereo Genmai, is adapted from Ridhwan’s novel, and is a psychedelic adventure about a novelist who goes in search of his lost fictional character. We speak to him, actor Hannan Barakbah, and producer Nurul Aizam about bringing this mind-trip of a story to the stage.

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Pangrok Sulap is an artist collective from Sabah that has been making a name for itself through representations of its state. It brings together traditional woodcut printmaking with its unique punk aesthetic to depict and reflect on Sabah’s sociopolitical issues. Pangrok Sulap is presenting its first solo show in Peninsular Malaysia, called “Lopung is Dead!”. We speak to two of the collective’s members about the importance of telling their own stories, and why art can be an effective way to do so.

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The artistic director and actors tells about this “edible, cultural, social, theatrical intervention” which has traveled from France, Spain, Poland, Italy and now, Malaysia. As consequence, the participants come from France, Italy, India, Germany, India, Ukraine, Poland, Myanmar and of course, Malaysia. The process of creating this kind of theatre is in itself uncommon. It involves both the artists and the community in which the performance is created through exchanges and barters. Hear what Theatre de la Cour (Theatre of the Heart) has to share with us about the arts and the community.

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A multilingual theatre production called “The Tragicomedy of Errors” brings together two different plays to create a whole other play - confused yet? Basically, two theatre troupes - one Malay, one Chinese - are forced to rehearse in the same space, and the show is about both these individual plays and the interactions between them. We speak to some of the cast and creatives of the show about the intricacies of putting on the show, and how it reflects the very Malaysian experience of trying to communicate across language and cultural lines.

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