Front Row

In his latest exhibition, the artist’s works hang side-by-side with photographs taken by the late Almarhum Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah , the fourth Agong and 14th Ruler and Sultan of Trengganu. Jin Leng tells about his time in Trengganu when he was an art teacher at Sultan Sulaiman Secondary School and about his ideas on Malaysian art. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Collaborating with practitioners of traditional Japanese Noh drama, visual artists and musicians and other contemporary dancers, our guest explores what happens when Southeast Asian trance rituals are rubbed against the formality of Japanese Noh. How far can trance rituals stretch Noh, and how disciplined can be trance be by the formal strictures of Noh? More some when the movements are created by...

As producers of one of the few children-friendly performances in the DiverseCity KL International Arts Festival 2017, our guests share how works perceived as for grown-ups only can be made accessible to young children. They point out that Shakespeare stories deal with moral issues; and getting children to watch the Bard’s plays--adapted and age-appropriate--would allow for dialogue between p...

Our guest describes how the project is initiated to allow the silent voices of minorities who are made to conform to societal expectations. The theatrical undertaking began with soliciting stories and then from these to devising an immersive and multidisciplinary production which involves a whole multi-level building. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our guests clarify the negotiations and the renegotiations between artists and their works. They also introduce members of the Titikmerah collective and what they are striving to do. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our guest is a former student of the artist, Cheah Sek Meng whose works are being exhibited in a show titled “Merdeka: Unity and Diversity.” He talks about the theme of the exhibition and his own journey. His transportation company is now taking the exhibition on a national tour. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The festival director reveals how he curates and organizes the eight-year-old festival. And specifically for those in the performing arts, he shares the process of applying to be a part of the festival. Then, together with Susan Lankester, he discusses his directorial debut in ‘The Human Voice’, a play by French writer, Jean Cocteau. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The visiting soloist, baritone Cipriano De Guzman, tells about the challenges of being on the road, or more literally on airplanes going from city to city to perform. The assistant producer reveals why the Canticle Singers invited De Guzman to perform and why the singer accepted the invitation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Temple of Fine Arts’ annual festival coincides with the country’s 60th Merdeka Anniversary, the country’s Diamond Anniversary. The artistic director tells of how 'best of the best' of Malaysia will be depicted in the arts, including using Malaysian folktales and legends in a performance titled ‘Under the Kayon Tree’. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa...

The performers tell about their own explorations in Mike Bartlett’s work on labour laws which sometimes on the surface look innocuous but can a devastating effect when executed. As we often say, “The devil is in the details.” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our guests--the co-founders of a musical theatre company--tell about their concert which offers songs from the movies. They also offer insights into the process of reprising a character or a performance, its challenges and opportunities. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As part of the Blossom Arts Festival 2017, TheatreThreeSixty has devised a play with an ensemble of five local actors to explore the impact of history on the individual. The artistic director tells what the site offers and how the performance fit as hand-into-glove in the MCA building on Jalan Ampang. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Getting a peek into the Opening and Closing ceremonies of the 29th SEA Games which the country will host. Our guest reveals who the artistic director of the event is and shares on the themes that will hold the performances together. This programme is brought to you by Mah Sing. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the most notable living contemporary dancer choreographer is Pina Bausch, credited with popularizing vignette-based performances that have no linear narrative, and performance incorporating many things that are not strictly dance. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Beethoven is filling the air in the Klang Valley. This year, within weeks of each other, nearly half a dozen concerts bearing Beethoven have been staged. The composer is being celebrated although 2017 is not an anniversary year. Yin Qi sings the composer for his compassion and for the hope his music brings. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hear how the father and son team up again to translate into Bahasa Malayu a canonical English work, George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’. Omar Ali who is also the director reveals about the adaptation which sets the tale on our shores. The cast member tells about the rehearsal process and learning to move like farm animals. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘White Mask’ is an art exhibition that takes its name from a short story written by Zedeck Siew. The short story also provides the 22 participating artists with the brief to create. Interestingly, some of these artists gave the writer the inspiration for ‘White Mask’ when they took him on a guided tour of graffiti art in the city. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inf...

The fifth part in the series on the history of music. This time, the period of music history which Ludwig Van Beethoven introduces with his dramatic works whose appeal are more emotional than intellectual. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For most of us, Central Market is Pasar Seni. Not a place for fresh produce but a place for tourists to pick up souvenirs as keepsakes and mementos before they depart our shores. Our guest, Ipoh-born and Australia-based, Hari Ho, shares how in the closing days of that wet market in the 1980s, he took time out to capture the life and lives of the people there. See omnystudio.com/listener for privac...

Over the next three weeks, a group of born-in-Malaysia dancers will all be performing three traditional Indian dances and one contemporary dance. The questions that arise, How do Malaysian bodies interpret Indian dances? How does a body that is trained in contemporary and other traditional dances adorn one for a particular traditional Indian dance? Answers to these questions articulated in the int...

Two artistic directors of two percussion-based performance groups--one here and one in Burkina Faso--share on how they look at the question of evolving their troupes balancing between keeping to their core strengths and the need to keep and grow their audience base. They also detail their three-year collaboration which will culminate in performances which pool together drumming traditions and inst...

Where there has been a rise in performance poetry events there has also been an increase in stand up comedy events but it’s comedy that has been able to mainstream faster, gaining much larger audiences. The two mediums actually have a lot in common, share a history, and not just in their propensity to sometimes be funny. What can performance poets learn from stand up’s commercial succe...

Our guest tells about the creation and the sustaining of this group of seven which is made up of Malaysians and other nationals. This group has performed in more than a hundred international festivals and will be performing in Ipoh because music must be shared. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Talking about different art movements in the world. This week, we visit Japan of the 17th through to the middle of the 19th century. Learn about Ukiyo (the floating world) and the aesthetics underpinning the Edo mercantile culture. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The dance and the theatre departments of the national performing arts school collaborate to bring a hybrid experimental performance to the stage. The creators tell about the experimentation to uncover different approaches to creating contemporary interdisciplinary performances. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.