Front Row

The theatre practitioner tells how his own experience as a child has in a way led to his work using theatre to work with groups which are often silent, whose desires and wishes are not articulated. He tells about how through theatre marginalized communities speak their stories and together with others rethink, reimagine and reshape society. Theatre today for a better tomorrow . See omnystudio.com/...

The curators of an exhibition titled ‘The Space Between’ explore the role of artists in society – what it is and what it could be – through the works of 18 artists who, in novel and exciting ways, are also making major contributions to the current visual vocabularies of contemporary Malaysian art. The curator details some pieces in the exhibition, using them as examples to...

 The unusual exhibition is at the National Gallery of Australia, and the curator tells about this retrospective of James Turrell’s works which cover more than five decades but has uncovered visitors. The artist of light and space exposes visitors to light and light to naked visitors. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 Sabahan playwright Ariff Kamil's bi-lingual debut is directed by theatrethreesixty's Artistic Director, Christopher Ling. They talk about the production, which is made possible by the Development Grant for the Performing Arts, New Malaysian Works initiated by the National Department for Culture & Arts and Kakiseni. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 Toccata, in celebrating its new found NGO-status, takes on an arts festival with a variety of offerings which include dance and drums to polka and playground. The producer and musician discuss the importance of the arts in the valley and country and how NGOs can help nurture a fruitful environment. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In its fifth year, PAN Productions celebrates by restaging its successful ‘Cabaret’ which it first produced four years ago (2011). The trio of Ns (Nell, Nish and Nikki) tell us how they approach the task when factors have changed--more than two-thirds of the cast are new; the size of the band has grown by three and the set is completely re-designed. The director tells how she chooses w...

The director and the cast tell about the joys of restaging when there is the familiar to fall back on. But then, old fears too can resurface like bad dreams. Dama Orchestra re-stages ‘I Have a Date with Spring’ and the director and cast tell about how they are reprising their roles. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Mahavidya Dance Theatre is presenting a third performance under the series titled ‘Dance a Prayer. The choreographer-and-dance researcher explains the history and evolution of this dance form which is associated with Lord Shiva of the Hindu pantheon and how the dance company is promoting and preserving it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 Ronald Rand performed Let it be Art! and taught his master workshop, Art of Transformation. In the interview he unfolds advice for actors that applies not only to performances on the stage but life. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 The artistic director tells about his based-in-Singapore dance company’s annual pilgrimage to Malaysia. This dance company celebrates its home country’s 50th birthday and in conjunction will also perform ‘Double Contrasts’ by legendary Singaporean choreographer Choo San Goh. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 The puppeteer describes reimagining a very popular illustrated children’s book, ‘The Day the Crayons Quit’ by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers into a puppet show. Of course, such an adaption isn’t without some challenges. The puppeteer describes how the crayons will look like as puppets, and justifies that skinny tubular puppets can be engaging.   S...

The 12th BOH Cameronian Arts Awards will be honouring Datin Marion D'CRuz, Dato' Faridah Merican, Chin San Sooi, Dato' Rahim Razali and Normah Nordin. These are the people who have helped  lay the foundation for the performing arts in Malaysia. The awards organizer points out the need to celebrate and recognise these artists and their works to inspire the next generation. See omnystudio.com/l...

More than half a dozen artists are exhibiting and selling their works--some 30 paintings of oil and acrylic on canvas as well as watercolours. These works are for sale because their proceeds are going to charities in their country, now emerging out of a much darker period. The artists explain their social responsibilities and the why art must be in the service of something else larger than itself....

The composer and director tell about the birth of this locally written musical which will play in the coming week. The writer-composer, a Malaysian trained in Australia explains how the influences of the East and West meet in his new work. The director points to making the musical resonate locally.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Professor Elizabeth Moore is a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Nalanda-Sriwijaya Centre, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, who specializes in the connections between the past and present in the archaeology, cultural heritage and landscape of Mainland Southeast Asia during the first and early second millennia CE. We speak to her about Buddhist archaeology in Myanmar. See omnystudio.com/listener f...

We speak to documentary photographer Greg Constantine, who, for the past nine years, has been documenting the struggles of the Rohingya community from Burma. He will discuss his work, travels and upcoming exhibition of his project, Exiled To Nowhere: Burma's Rohingya. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why make fun of the funny? And where’s the originality of the take? The actors in Faulty Towers explains the raison d’etre of spoofing Fawlty Towers which starred John Cleese, Prunella Scales and Andrew Sachs. Adding to all this fun-poking, the actors will be serving dinner to the patrons who both come to dine and be entertained. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 Digging into our local puppeteering tradition and borrowings from beyond, a small puppet-festival emerges with local and Thai performers. The guests unveil how they marry traditions and the process of creating stories for these puppets.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 The musician and trainer of choirs gives a history of Christian sacred music, and explains why she feels compelled to modify the term for an Asian context which does not have deep European roots.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mah Meri (one of the 18 tribes of Orang Asli) of Pulau Carey under the organization of Pusaka Evenings at Publika performs ritual songs and dances, including its well-known mask dance called Mayin Jo-oh. Pauline Fan tells about the growth and struggles of Mah Meri in the face of modernity and challenges to its culture. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A musical which tells the story of a Chinese artist Li Shu Tong, who gave up his artistic life for an ascetic one. The writer-director tells about the kinds of works she produces for the stage, underscoring the need for the arts to serve a larger cause beyond aesthetics. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The company brings to the KL stage its fifth production of the Bard’s play, the Tragedy of Othello, but with its own abridged format. The guests tell about why this nearly 450 year old play continues to resonant even with a Malaysian audience.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 A music theater/ cabaret plus comedy styled show, much like Forbidden Broadway or Broadway Backwards. The five of singer-performers--Joshua Gui, Kerry-Ann Khoo, Eunice Lew, Kellen Yau and Dennis Yeap--come together to share their awkward moments in life through songs and humor. The group gives pop songs and musical numbers a different spin, utilizing the group’s individual stories to g...

The young artist explains the impulse to paint animals and how even in this series of beastly beauty (or beautiful beasts) there is an evolution and a clarity of vision. His earlier works have white spaces, but details and color cover every inch of his later ones.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The jazz singer is asked what it means to be described as a Chinese jazz singer. Does the adjective denote her nationality of culture? She provides and answer which points out that cultural roots cannot be ignored. The air we inhale, the language we speak, the traditional music we rub against with, eventually will seep into the things we do. Chinese jazz has Chinese culture. Just as Malaysian jazz...