Saturday, November 01, 2008

For the very 1st time...

Orang kater 'pecah bujang' ek??

Rabu lepas, aku buang tabiat. Aku gie tengok theater kat Marine Parade CC. Dlm seumur hidup aku, tak pernah aku kenal aper tu theatre. Sebut jer lakonan theatre, aku teringat citer Macbeth ke, Romeo Juliet ke...perrghhh ntah aper-aper lagi siak. Boring jerr..

But aku nak gie tengok theatre citer Gemuk Girls. Kebetulan si Melur yang acting. Lagipon, aku betol sangat nak tengok dia buat serious acting kat stage. Selama nie aku tgk dia kat rancangan TV kanak-kanak jek.

Saper tu Melur ahh?

Sebelom nie, aku tak kenal saper Melur. Tapi, ader ler satu hari tu aku TERtengok siri Tahu Nahu kat TV. time tu aku baru balik kejer, tengah makan nasi dgn sardin, kat ruang tamu.

Dalam rancangan tu ader 4 characters - Si Dol, Sulong, Melur dan Cikgu Bedah. Antara 4 orang nie, skill acting Melur paling berlainan sikit. Watak dia lak sebagai sorang murid berumur 11 tahun. Lakonan dia betol-betol buat aku kagum. Selamba jek dia bobal. But the most outstanding about her, she can do good face expressions and she's very good with her articulations. Aku rasa, itu lah fundamental yang paling penting being an actor.

Sebelom nie, aku dah banyak tengok org belakon kat TV, but takde yg meninggalkan kesan sangat. Tapi, si Melur ni buat aku betol-betol enjoy tengok lakonan dia. Tak semena-mena aku yang dah tua bangker nie, jadi pengikut setia siri Tahu Nahu from that day.

Aku tanyer pada diri aku, "Saper sey si budak Melur nie? Dia belakon terror ahh..tapi, kenapa baru skrg aku nampak dia kat TV ek? Knp tak dari dulu lagi...?"

Pelakon-pelakon muda yang ader skrang nie sumer giler glamer...harap muka jek lawa! Tapi lakonan kaku. Takde meninggalkan kesan langsung.

Oleh kerana aku terlampao curious sangat pasal si Melur nie, aku pon buat ler research kat internet. Rupanyer, si Melur nie adalah Siti Khalijah Zainal, salah seorang pengiat dalam seni theatre. Ohh...Tu pasal ler dia nyer acting ader 'class'. Dah lama rupanyer dia buat kejer nie, cuma skrg baru dia ditonjolkan. Sememangnya aku kagum dgn bakat yg dia ader. So far, not many aspiring actors/actresses possess her acting talent. Sadly, not many. :(

So dari situ ler aku mengenali saper tu si Melur.

Gemuk Girls

"Citer Gemuk Girls?"

Invitation terpampar kat Facebook aku. Unfortunately, the show opening night jatuh pada mid-week. Memula rasa malas nak pegi pada hari tu, memandangkan ianya jatuh pada hari rabu.

Aku cuma free hari Jumaat jek. So, aku rasa gie on Friday pon ok gak. Tak kelam-kabut sangat pasal dah weekend. Since si Spidey kejer somewhere near the venue, aku pon kol si Spidey ajak dia temankan aku.

Spidey kater malas nak gie. Dia tak reti nak menjiwai seni theatre nie. Lagipon, this week dia lemao satu badan pasal baru balik dari Surabaya on Deepavali. Ok ler, aku tak paksa dia.

Aku message Melur tanyer kalo masih bole beli ticket last minute kat sistic for Friday's show. Melur reply dia ader satu tiket complimentary for the opening nite. Dia bole kasi aku. But only for Wednesday opening nite only.

Since dia sudi nak 'sedekah' kan aku tiket FREE, aku pon dgn berbesar hati ler menerima pemberian nyer. Dia kater jgn dtg lambat, nanti pintu totop!

Aku cabut dari opis siang on that day. 7.30pm aku dah sampai kat Marine Parde CC. Aku pon gie ler collect tiket FREE kat front desk. Aku ingat gie tengok theatre mcm gie tengok wayang.

Ingat ader jual Popcorn ke, Coke ke kat dalam tu...hahaha! Terus-terang aku memang org gayat.Takde org aku kenal kat situ. Lelagi aku cuma datang sorang jek. Tak tentu arah di buatnyer kat lobby. Tak pandai betol bobal pasal drama seni-seni nih. Kalo pasal muzik rock, ok jugak ahh..Rasa mcm the odd one out siakkk! Betol-betol out of place derr... :)

But being me, aku sengaja paparkan muka sardin aku nie. Eksyen selak buku ler, baca brochures lerr, tengok jam ler, tengok dinding ler, kira brapa banyak lampu ader kat ceiling, korek idung, garok bontot ler....huaaarrghhh...mcm nak menangis tunggu bila show nak start.

Free Seating

Akhirnyer, kol 8.15pm kami dibawa masok ke seating area pasal show dah nak mula kejap lagi.

Wahh...bedebar seyy nak tengok. Mesti kat dlm besau mcm auditorium kat Esplanade. Ader langsir besar, ader stage tinggi, ader lampu banyak-banyakk...bla..blaa..blaa..

Rupanyer fikiran aku meleset. Bilik theatre tu gelap gulita dan sempit skali. Tempat dudok penonton mcm kat Indoor Stadium yg bole sorong-sorong. 1 row dlm 25 kerusi jek. ader 4 rows altogether. Aku dok kat 3rd row kat tengah-tengah. Mcm nak koyak seluar aku melangkah tempat yg sempit pasal nak rebut kerusi. Maklom ler, free seating lah katakan.

So, dudok ler berhimpit-himpit dgn segala mcm manusia yg hadir. Ader org cina, ader org melayu, ader org india, ader mat-saleh. Wahh! Segala mcm bangsa ader! Mcm gie tengok national day parade siot!

Bila dah dudok kat kerusi baru ler aku terperasan. Eh, mana stage?? Takde stage?? Pakai platform jek? Takde props? Backdrop pon takde? Sekadar screen putih jek kat belakang tu? - Kegayatan aku makin nampak terserlah...

"Eh, salah bilik tak aku nie?" Aku tengok org sekeliling aku dgn mata yang terkebil-kebil.

"Hi, anybodie sitting besides you?" tetiba ader awek cina menyapa aku dari tepi. Fuhh...Jamboo siot!

"No. I came alone. This seat has no owner." aku jawab sambil memberi senyuman ku yang termanis sekali kat dia.

Awek cina tu pon tersenyum balik dan dok rapat ngan aku. Terlampo rapat sangat sampai bahu dia tergesel-gesel kat aku. Aku tak kisah. Aku rela bahu aku digesel dgn bahu dia...hahaha!

Sebelah kanan aku lak, nyonya tua step tatai. Mekap kat muka dia...mak aiii! Punyer ler tebal bertepek! Isshh..Kalo dia pon nak gesel bahu dgn aku jugak, aku terajang kuda karang kat muka dia!

Jarak penonton dan pelakon dlm bilik tu punye ler dekat! Aku rasa ada ler dlm 2-3 meter jer jauhnyer. Para pelakon takyah pakai microphone pon. Dia org bobal bisik-bisik pon sumer org bole dgr. Ader jugak aku dgr bunyi-bunyi perot keroncong masa kat dlm theatre tuh...hahaha!

Al-kisah, cerita pon bermula...

Lampu bilik pon digelapkan tanda show nak start. Tetiba, lampu spot light disuluh direct ke watak Marzuki, yg dilakon kan oleh Najib Soiman. Dari tadi dia dah terbaring depan kita sejak kita masok. Tiba-tiba ajer dia bangun. Dia tengok sumer penonton-penonton yg hadir kat situ. Lepas tu dia tersengih-sengih ketawa.

"Isshh..Giler kaper dia nie?" aku bisik dlm hati.

Lepas tu, dia mula kan dialogue dia. Skali dialogue dia cakap melayu dahh! Kat screen putih tu ader ler subtitle Inggeris. Dia pon terus pot-pet-pot-pet...Aku pon blurr rabak. Aku rasa, aku dah tersalah tengok show nie.

Ini theatre citer melayu kaper??...ishhh. Terus terang aku catch no ball aper dia bobal. Takde ujung, takde pangkal...tau-tau citer jalan terus.

"..Pukol 4 pagi, pintu aku diketuk. Gedebang-gedebung-gedebang!!.." Lebih kurang mcm tu ler dialogue si mamat tu.

Si awek cina jamboo sebelah aku kekek ketawa. Aik? mcm ler dia paham bahasa melayu? Aku lak asyik meleng baca subtitle kat screen...saja nak tengok brapa perfect translation inggeris dari dialogue melayu tu.

Ader dialogue omputih, dialogue melayu, dialogue cina...makkoo! Ader 1 couple mat saleh tua dok depan aku. Confirm dia tak faham aper bahasa tu. Takde reaction langsung aku tengok dari mat saleh tuh. Mesti dah lost jugak nie...Sama blurr mcm aku nih.

But, as the show went on for the next 90 mins, we began to comprehend the objectives and the message they were trying to send across. It was simply amazing watching only 3 actors relating the plight and showcasing their talents, putting souls into each character potrayed. Slowly, the audience were engrossed and totally absorbed into the play, feeling every inch of pain, laughter, love, agony until the very end of epilogue.

As Siti, Alin Mosbit and Najib Soiman reappeared on the stage for the ovation, I realised it has been an enriching experience watching theatre for the very first time in my life!

The plot was good, the play act was very creative and the actors were superb.

Ternganga siakk aku tengok pelakon-pelakon tu sumer. They really have the courage, the talent and the passion. Aku kagum dgn bakat orang-orang seni nih. Ketawa, menangis, marah, geram, perrghh...macam-macam lah dia orang lakonkan.

Sumer di buat secara live tanpa director's cut. Takde break pon. Takde sangkak pon!

Apa yg aku saksikan pada Melur adalah luar dari jangkauan. Aku ingatkan Melur sekadar pelakon siri kanak-kanak kat TV. Rupanya beliau adalah seorang pelakon yg berkaliber besar dan hebat! Lebih hebat dari apa yg aku jangkakan.

Kalo korang tengok dia menjiwai watak Juliana tu...perrgghh bukan kejer mudah siot! Watak Juliana tu satu watak yg begitu berat, watak utama! Watak yang dilakon oleh Melur mempunyai beberapa transition yang berlainan disepanjang pementasan itu. Dah ler tu, banyak siak dialogue, babak dia nak kena ingat. Fuhh...kagum ler!

Mulai hari tu, perspective aku dalam theatre bertukar. Changed deliberately. It gives me a new perception. Theatre is not only about english literatures, dramas, play actings, shakespears. It provokes your intellectual. It makes you think. It brings you to new dmensions. It explores all the possibilities. It can really change your views about everything and anything around you.



Weekend Today - November 1, 2008 : Pg 50-51

As for Melur, I salute her that instant. She deserves the credits. I guess I wasn't wrong about her talent and ability. She'll definitely achive her dreams someday. Intuition tells me. :)

Gemuk Girls is a beautiful political epic. It really has nothing to do about girls being gemuk! And don't be fooled looking at the poster, I tell you :)

A great playwright by Haresh Sharma and wonderfully directed by Alvin Tan. I urge non-theatre goers to see for yourself. You'll love it. I know I did!

Kalo sesiapa yang dok kat Kuala Lumpur tu, 'Gemuk Girls' akan hadir di Pentas 2, The Kuala Lumpur Performance Arts Centre (KLPac), pada 4-7 Dec 2008. Ceritanya ader kena-mengena dgn keadaan kiter, negara kita dan politik yang terjadi masa sekarang. Satu citer yang hebat! Tak caya gie tengok aahh...

Click sini >> http://www.timeoutkl.com/performance/events/Gemuk-Girls

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The Necessary Stage

The Necessary Stage celebrates the award-winning collaboration of Director Alvin Tan and Playwright Haresh Sharma with a provocative new work.


Kartini and Juliana are not your typical mother-daughter pair - one loud and overbearing, the other straitlaced and on the threshold of entering politics. Together, they are Gemuk Girls and proud of it.

One day, they receive shocking news about Kartini’s father who had been arrested and detained in the 1960s. Suddenly the floodgates of the family’s emotional past are thrown open. Can a family survive as they struggle to reconcile the past with the present? Will Kartini and Juliana continue to be Gemuk Girls?

Gemuk Girls is a bold and often darkly humorous look at family politics and the politics of the day.

Director : Alvin Tan
Playwright : Haresh Sharma
Cast : Aidi ‘Alin’ Mosbit, Najib Soiman, Siti Khalijah
Multimedia Designer : Loo Zihan
Set Designer : Vincent Lim
Lightning Designer : Helmi Fita

Performances
29 Oct - 1 Nov & 6 - 8 Nov, 8pm
1 - 2 Nov & 8 - 9 Nov, 3pm

Venue
The Necessary Stage Black Box
(Marine Parade Community Center)

Tickets
$27 $22*
* Concessions for students, senior citizens and NSF

Advisory: Mature Theme (16 years and above)

Tickets are available through the SISTIC hotline at 6348 5555, via the
SISTIC website at www.sistic.com or at any SISTIC authorised agents islandwide. Information on discounts and concessions can be found on the SISTIC website.

Other related news : http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/entertainment/view/384770/1/.html

http://loozihan.wordpress.com/2008/08/24/gemuk-girls/

http://www.oktonite.sg/nite/scene.html#gemuk

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=22587138306

http://www.necessary.org/MainSeason/mainUPCOMING.htm