Kompilasi by Rumah Anak Teater Enthralls

The debut production of Rumah Anak Teater (RAT) entitled Teater Komplisasi Vol I, was staged in the Stor Theatre Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka from the 28 Jan – 1 Feb. Quite simply it was precisely the breath of fresh air the Kuala Lumpur theatre scene so desperately needed. Several young theatre graduates of the Diploma Program at ASWARA have gotten together to create the theatre collective under the mentorship and watchful eye of Sahili Abdan or better known as Namron through his Komuniti Kental Project. ‘Kental’ means strength and according to the artistic director’s notes, it is this strength of spirit that he is trying to encourage and nurture to face the challenges of life as a professional theatre practitioner in Malaysia. In Namron, they have found an artistic mentor and an inspiration much like what the late Krishen Jit was to Namron in the late 90s. These young talents are beginning to make their presence felt on the KL stage in an emphatic way through their obvious talent and passion. They appear to have a need to make a difference in the Malaysian firmament, to influence and challenge the society they live in, and to become the vessels of change they desperately desire. Through collaborations with Instant Café’s Kurang Manis and Breaking Ji Po Ka Ci Pecah, productions at the KLPAC namely AirCon, and other works by new young directors such as Megat Sharizal, they are building an audience, creating a society and garnering a following that is coming to expect on-the-edge works, intelligent scripts, good acting, and alternative interpretations. The 6 sold-out performances albeit in a relatively tiny venue that seats approximately 100 people, were testimony to that. The last time that this zeitgeist occurred in Malay theatre was when the likes of the Nordin Hassan, late Syed Alwi, Hatta Azad Khan, Zakaria Ariffin and other ‘angry young men’ and undergraduates of the University Science Malaysia staged works in the 80s.  The phoenix has only risen every now and again through works of Namron or Shahnon Shah, among others that are particularly rare in theatre these days. Their bravery is exemplary and is a beacon to all artists, young and old regardless of race or religion. Their voice demands to be heard.  

The Kompilasi Vol. I did not disappoint. It enthralled. Zahiril Adzim’s Teruk, Khairulnazwan Rodzy’s Pokok Kelapa Sayang, Khairilridwan’s Tambat Kaki, Fared Ayam’s Stabil were the 4 short works written and directed by the young men. Each play was between 20-30 minutes long, based on the theme of ‘kuasa’ or power. They presented the plays in the spirit of Jerzy Grotowski’s poor theatre, devoid of excessive costuming or make-up, sets or props, and brought back the glory of repertory company acting, similar to Centrestage of the legendary Mustapha Noor in the 80s or the Royal Shakespeare Company in England, even. In Kompilasi, the stable of acting talent consisted 7 wonderful performers including the directors themselves with Ameerul Affendi, Sherry and Intan Diyana. They told these stories with conviction, honesty and a sense of realism that I enjoyed in the intimate theatre setting. The individual interpretations were evidence of their own particular journeys and what was uppermost in their minds – ‘power’ in love and politics.

A sense of despair was palpable in all the 4 works each with its own tragic ending. It appears that as young Malaysians or Malaysian artists, they were all aware of the futility of their opinions but ecstatic in the avenue to express themselves. This joie de vivre and in-your-face attitude resonated with the audience.  Helpless in many situations, the writers/directors with dramaturge Moizzis R. Chong, currently a 3^rd. year writing student, told their stories. I thought that the Khairulnazwan’s Pokok Kelapa Sayang was the most convincing, allowing for sufficient character development in the short span of time, building clear relationships and leading to a climax with a clever twist at the end. One could feel the tension building, the simmering unhappiness and eventual obsession that ends in madness leading to murder. The character Hasyim Tua appears to have an unnatural attachment to the coconut tree and slowly the audience is drawn into the plot. The mystery is unraveled as we discover the chain of events with a brilliant climax that I will not divulge lest the plays are restaged! Khairilridzuan or K’n was the only one who chose a blatantly political theme in his interpretation of power, mocking the didactic Pak Tam as a symbol of what he clearly sees as a diseased political climate in Malaysia and perhaps, many other countries. Preaching fire and brimstone, and unashamedly using or rather, misusing the name of religion to strike fear into the hearts of the constituents to simply buy their vote and ‘tambat kaki’ or having their feet tied, metaphorically. The reactions of the people / citizens are voiced through 3 young glue-sniffing men. Bob in his glazed state of mind is surprisingly sharp in his analysis of situation and able to see through the hypocrisy, while the irony is provided by the other 2 characters who are more trusting and innocent. They epitomize the naivety that is more prevalent in rural societies. Eventually, the problems of the squatters fall on deaf ears and they are brutally removed leaving the 3 young men each to choose their path and destiny.

Teruk tells of a love between a jobless young man and a beautiful successful woman that gradually descends into hopelessness, while the character in Stabil is unable to deal with a breakup of a relationship that is only hinted at and is envious of the stable life path of his neighbour over conversations at the balcony. These two stories need to be a little more thought through and the characters more fleshed out. The audience needs to be convinced of their drastic action in order to sympathize with their plight. Although lack of reason and irrationality is symptomatic of madness, it would have added more credibility to the characters and essential for the strength of any script. Nevertheless, there is great potential for further development since it deals with very contemporary issues of the changing role of women and the conventional perceptions of success or respect that is prevalent in today’s society.

The acting skills of the RAT ensemble were of a consistently high standard throughout the 4 plays and at times, achieved brilliance. I thought that Ameerul Ariffin in Pokok was particularly riveting. This young man, who is now an undergraduate at the University of Malaya, has sincerity, charm and a believable quality of the boy-next-door. The challenge in repertory acting is to make these different characters in different plays believable and this requires extensive and intensive practice. The performers need to observe and give the various characters individual physicality from the simplest gestures or facial expressions to broader levels of characterization. For instance, no two people have the same smile, and I trust with greater experience this can be honed to a higher level. Already Zahiril Adzim is making a name for himself in film, most recently in Kami the Movie, and in television. It will not be too long before the others do so too, should they choose that path. The scenography by yet another ASWARA graduate, Yusman Mokhtar was clever in its simplicity. This young man deserves kudos for intelligently using white transparent curtains to create different spaces and times. It proved to be effective and practical combined with the lighting design that gave the illusion of space in the extremely confined performance area. This he overcame with just the right use of video projection at the right times. Another interesting addition to the evening’s presentation was the element of live music performed ably by Indra Za’aba, a final-year Music student at ASWARA strumming on his guitar. It gave a sense and slice of Malaysian life and the buskers at the ‘mamak’ stalls. He also seemed to be a mystical minstrel or troubadour, involved in the developing story. Being a fan of The Police, I was thrilled that they used their classic Roxanne! The only minor criticisms that I have is of the use of the chair (that was on the poster as well) that seemed to be a little contrived and sent mixed signals to the audience.  Whether it was meant to be a symbol of power as often is in theatre or merely a prop that could thread these separate stories together was unclear. I found it also disturbing that so many characters in the various plays were smoking, which is potentially unhealthy in a small venue. Another production note was that there should have been a warning at the entrance or at the start of the performance, that strobe lighting would be used during the play. This is standard practice in theatre these days.    

What is evident is that the very broad multi-disciplinary syllabus of the academy is reaping its rewards. These young talents are able to tap into the myriad of talents available and blend it into their theatre performance.  This production proves Grotowski’s point that the most important facet of theatre is the body and the text. Good training of the voice and mastering the physical aspects of the performers’ instrument – the body, combined with challenging and insightful writing is the simple formula for powerful theatre. Audiences the world over love the magic of mega-productions with lavish sets and costumes, innumerable performers onstage, when done right, makes for entertaining theatre and definitely has its place. Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon or Cats and Malaysia’s Enfiniti Productions’ Puteri Gunung Ledang proves this beyond doubt. However, nothing moves me more than small, intense shows that make a sincere effort to challenge the audience while still not failing to entertain. As Grotowski said, “Here we can see the theatre's therapeutic function for people in our present day civilization. It is true that the actor accomplishes this act, but he can only do so through an encounter with the spectator - intimately, visibly, not hiding behind a cameraman, wardrobe mistress, stage designer or make-up girl - in direct confrontation with him, and somehow "instead of" him.”

The young talents from RAT deserve a rousing round of applause for their debut production and have shown that they have the potential to change the face of theatre in Malaysia. They have the power to make performances that we can be proud of – not because it is judged only within the context of Malay language but simply because it is of the highest quality. Now, their challenge is to grow, to persevere and to see where that takes them, testing to see if they are the ‘komuniti kental’ needed to succeed and make that difference.