The Curious Residency Part 2 & 3

The two final pieces of The Curious Residency series will debut at the beginning and at the end of September, respectively. Part 2 is entitled 8 Ways To Lighten The School Bag and is directed and written by Mark Beau de Silva with help from co-writer Juria Toramae. Taking something Malaysians know so well – that of the quintessential heavy bagpack from our sekolah rendah days – Mark’s story is about three good friends who get in a fight so big that their teachers and parents are forced to intervene and find the root of the problem by going through their textbooks, games and tuition classes! Although the plot is humorous, the play also aims to explore the trappings of our education system. “It looks at the inheritance of culture, stories, taboos, fears and ‘education’ from the home and school. We explored textbooks and syllabi of our schools before and after 1957, before and after the hope of the ideal 2020. We read the Moral textbooks again and discussed the separation of Muslim and non-Muslim students … who goes where after SPM?” explains Mark in an e-mail. The play is being described as a kinetic piece of devised theatre, which essentially means the story moves quickly and with loads of movement.

Part 2 mixes classics with a modern Malaysian take. Entitled Love & Beauty – The Sonnets of William Shakespeare and directed by Chris Ling, the story focuses on the muses of the Man on the theme of love and beauty. The story unfolds in an episodic manner and will include Shakespearean sonnets specifically chosen to reflect the nature of the ‘episode’. Besides the writings of the Bard, the play will also feature the poetry of Australian playwright Alex Broun and Helena Foo, with music by Nick Choo and even multimedia elements (short film, graphic animation, etc) by Goh Choon Ean. Chris puts it best by describing the play as a “multi-sensory window into the complex nature of love and relationships. Through the many access points of the sonnets, poetry, video, music and live performance, I would hope that audiences get enticed into the world of the characters and inadvertently see themselves onstage in some form or other.”

Text Sarah Chan