“Bernarda Alba” at klpac

klpac presents

BERNARDA ALBA

SYNOPSIS

“Bernarda Alba”, a musical, tells the tale of a powerful matriarch who imposes a strict rule on her household following her second husband's funeral: "Not a breath of outside air is going to enter this house. It's going to feel like we've bricked up the doors and windows," she proclaims.

Bernarda's five daughters, however, struggle with her cold wishes. The girls' dream and desires challenge their mother's harsh rules and the outside world begins to slowly permeate their isolated existence.

Cast: NICOLE-ANN THOMAS, ABIGAIL BARRAGRY, AMELIA CHEN, MIN LI, STEFANIE PAULUS, ASHVINA MARIE NAIDU, ELVIRA ARUL, SHERYL CHONG, TIONG WOOI, ROSDAYANA ROSTI & BELINDA HON

Director: CHRISTOPHER LING
Executive Producer: DATO’ FARIDAH MERICAN
Artistic Director: JOE HASHAM OAM

Musical Director: TONY LEO SELVARAJ
Choreographer: PETER ONG
Vocal Director: STEPHEN TOK
Lighting Designer: SANDEE CHEW
Sound: MICHAEL THOMAS

Date & Time:
25 FEB (Preview)
26 – 27 FEB, 2 – 6 MAR @ 8.30pm
28 FEB & 7 MAR @ 3pm (Matinee shows)

Venue:
Pentas 2, klpac

Tickets:
RM48 (adults)
RM38 (senior citizens)
RM28 (students & disabled)

PROMOTIONS:
RM28 flat for preview night and Tues – Wed (2 & 3 MAR) shows

Box Office:
klpac @ Sentul Park (03-4047 9000) &
The Actors Studio @ Lot 10 (03-21422009/03-21432009)

Tickets also available at:
TicketAxcess @ Head office (Jln. Semangat), 1-Utama outlet & Alamanda Putrajaya outlet

Venue Website: http://www.klpac.com/
Venue Map Link: http://www.klpac.org/Welcome.asp?c=venuelocation
Facebook Event link: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=235846122777

The Two Weeks That Was – Feb 8 – 21, 2010

The first week was quite busy in the office with everyone trying to finish things off before they leave for their Chinese New Year break. Being the only one in the office who doesn’t need to rush back home for reunion dinners, I had the luxury of taking my company mandatory leave days ahead of everyone else which I did during the week before Chinese New Year. Most of those dates were spent with household chores and some repairs especially those involving the electrical supply.

I guess that it’s a fact of living in a place that when you’ve live there long enough, you’ll bound to have to deal will problems related to aging electrical wiring and the like. For months, I’ve been having power supply brown outs whenever I turn on one too many electrical appliances. Electrical sparks at the power distribution boards became more frequent and things got worse when I can’t even run my microwave without tripping the power supply. I finally had enough and called the electrician to replace the power distribution board before I accidently burn the house down. Good thing that my landlord agreed to have the repair bill deducted for the month’s rent.

Several friends came together to organized birthday dinner with another friend who is celebrating his birthday in the same month. We all went to a small, out of the way, Japanese restaurant called “NIHON KAI” off Jalan Kelang Lama. I have to say that it was a wonderful find for me as they had a really good spread of dishes to choose from and all of them were priced reasonably well. All of us were led into one of those tatami mat private dining rooms where we proceeded to party like drunk Japanese salary men the night through. I’m sure that we sounded like that as we enjoyed the great food, drinks and company.

Chinese New Year came and went without much to mark it for me. We did get 2 boardgame sessions in during the break. The first one was with a group of friends in Sentul which lasted for a few hours where we tested out Settlers of Catan, Wits & Wagers as well as Taboo. Our hosts made us a wonderful lunch in between the games and we ended the day with dinner at Pavilion. The second session of games was on the following day at a café near to my apartment. We ended up spending almost 7 hours there playing “Settlers of Catan”, “Wits & Wagers”, “Kill Doctor Lucky” and “Wasabi!” The funny thing was that everyone else at the café seemed to have the same idea as every table there that night had some type of game happening. I’m guessing that people were already quite bored staying at home during the long break and hence why it seems like everyone was out with games there.

Being at work during Chinese New Year week was a bit if a drag since the whole office was almost empty expect for a few of us. Fortunately, nothing major happen during the period and I was able to handle a few of the issues that cropped up during the period on my own. I ended up taking some time during the week to visit Toybox and get my own copy of the “SmallWorld” board game that I hope to give it a test drive some time soon.

I ended the week with good food and company at a friend’s place on Sunday to watch as many episodes of “Glee” that we could squeeze in. We all ended up only finishing half of the 13 episode season but it was still a great time. I even got to do some cooking since we wanted to make cookies to go with the show and made dinner once everyone got their fill of the TV show. Having a proper kitchen is one of the things that I missed most after moving out of my parents’ house to live on my own. I definitely want to get a proper kitchen in the next place that I move in.

The Week That Was – Feb 1 – 8, 2010

Few highlights of the week.

Went to watch “Women of Silk River” which was staged at TAS@Lot10 on their opening night. I noticed that the crowd who came that night was not the usual crowd that I see at klpac but I’m guessing that a lot of them were friends, family and supporters of the production team as well as the cast. Overall, I loved the story even though there were parts of it that could have benefitted with a firmer editorial hand. I have to say that it is always interesting to watch a staging of a performance based on a devised play. When all the separate contribution comes together properly, things flow seamlessly that makes the audience forget that several voices contributed into the story of the piece.

After the show finished, a few of us stay back to have supper at a friend’s newly open eatery at Lot10. “Alsree Treasures Kitchen”@Lot10 had just opened the day before but because we know the proprietress, we got her to extend the dinner menu until they closed for us. I finally got her famous Beef Macaroni Soup that I have been hearing about from her but never got to taste. After the supper, we all agreed that the place would definitely be out hangout place for a pre or post show meal when we come for shows at Lot10.

This past weekend was also the weekend when my old school mates came back together for our 20th year anniversary reunion. Having transferred to a boarding school after my Form 3 year, I actually have two 20th year reunions to attend this year. Good thing that the one for the school that I attended from Form 1 to Form 3 decided to hold theirs in the beginning of the year and the other one towards the end of the year.

I have not seen most of the people who came to the reunion that day for at least 23 years and to say that a lot has change would be a major understatement. There were people there who I remember being so small and scrawny back then who have now blossomed into a person twice my size and at least a foot taller from me. A lot of them were shorter than me when I was in the same class with them back then but I’m guessing had a growth spurt after I left. It was nice actually getting back in touch with them but I have to say that I could scarcely remember about 75% of the people there. They have already started planning for the next gathering later in the year so hopefully more memories of those years will get jogged back in my mind.

The other thing that happen was me turning 37 on Sunday. Scary to think actually, turning 37 when there was a time back in darker days that I wondered if I would live past 28. If only my younger self could see me now and know that things would turn out all right despite how hopeless the situation at the moment felt. Still I cherish the years that have passed as life lessons that have made me the person who I am today. Without them, I guess I would have been a different person altogether and whether it would be for the better or for the worse, well that’s just another of the what-ifs that goes unanswered in my life.

The guys threw a party for me and one other friend who celebrates his birthday just 2 days after mine. As usual, good food & good company are the best ways of celebrating getting to add another year to the age box. The presents were a nice surprise with a highlight of a boardgame that they got out of my recent boardgame want list. I would be definitely breaking it out for the next games night with them. Still it was having friends like that that makes all the difference in the world.

I would not trade it for anything in the world!

The Week That Was – Jan 25 – Feb 1, 2010

The first month of the year closed off on a quite note work wise. Not much, other than the usual day to day work, has been happening in the month. Most of the time was spent planning for the rest of the year which hopefully will help once the next few months roll around.

The biggest item that happened in the past week was me being reminded of my parents’ mortality. As children, we always think that our parents will be there for us forever but as we grow older those youthful ideas get jarred by sometimes harsh realities that they don’t.

My father had recently been having some health problems and had to go for a checkup at the hospital. He was the type that would previously refuse to do so despite being asked to so many times by the family so for him to finally relent to go for the check up signaled to us that he was really hurting this time. True enough, he came back with a whole list of aliments that he has been ignoring all these years and now have caught up on him.

We all immediately knew that this is a major health scare for him when the first thing that he did after coming back from the checkup was to throw away all his cigarettes. Being a smoker for as long as I can remember, we knew that he must have finally come to the realization of what all that smoking was doing to his lungs. I have not personally seen his chest x-rays but according to my mum who did see it, his lung was already in bad shape. To top it all off, my father finally accepted that he does have diabetic condition that he has been in denial for years even with the doctor’s diagnosis.

My father has always been a confident person but after the medical checkup it seems that his confidence has been deeply shaken by the news. The family had long known that he has been in denial about his health issues and now it was already too severe to be ignored even by him. He now has his off and on days, health wise, but it is taking a toll on his confidence and the family.

He is currently still strong, walking around on his own and able to manage himself but I can’t help that eventually his strength will fail him. I have experience death in the family before but as they say, death of a parent is something totally different. I may even have many years ahead before it happens. As my father would often remind us that the males in our family generally lived well into our 80’s and he still has at least 20 years to go. But what kind of life would that be if you spend the next 20 years in a vegetative state? I duly hope that scenario is something that would never come to pass.

Mortality is quite disturbing when confronted.

“Women of Silk River” at TAS@Lot10

klpac presents

Women of Silk River

SYNOPSIS

Cleopatra. Joan of Arc. Nefertiti. Somehow we have always associated strong, courageous women with other parts of the world. This February, klpac's latest addition Kimmy Kiew takes a look at the lives of the unassuming Amahs in Malaysia.

Long before the influx of Indonesian and Filipino helpers, there were the Amahs from China. These women, often from poor families, were brought over to work as maids and were instantly recognisable by their white top and black bottom 'sam fu' attire and neatly plaited or bunned hair.

Women of Silk River takes a look at these invisible women who were employed to serve the household and make it run as smoothly and comfortably as possible. And yet there is so little known about their lives, their traditions, their beliefs, and, most importantly, the sacrifices they have made to to serve the household.

The devised play opens with the "sor hei" ceremony where their hair is combed into a bun and this signifies their new life as an Amah. Then, the tale of four Amahs, a British woman and a Japanese man unfolds...

Cast: DAWN CHEONG, PRISCA FLORENCE WONG, HELENA FOO, MIEN LY, NICOLE FUCHS & BEN TAN

Director: KIMMY KIEW
Executive Producer: DATO’ FARIDAH MERICAN
Artistic Director: JOE HASHAM OAM

Date & Time:
4-6, 8 – 9 FEBRUARY @ 8.30pm
7 FEBRUARY @ 3pm (Matinee shows)

Venue:
THE ACTORS STUDIO @ LOT 10

Tickets:
RM35 (adults)
RM28 (senior citizens)
RM23 (students & disabled)

PROMOTIONS:
Buy 7 tickets and get 1 FREE!

Box Office:
The Actors Studio box office – 03-21422009/21432009 (walk-in purchases)

Tickets also available at:
TicketAxcess @ Head office (Jln. Semangat), 1-Utama outlet & Alamanda Putrajaya outlet

Venue Website: http://www.theactorsstudio.com.my/
Venue Map: http://www.theactorsstudio.com.my/new-venue-the-actors-studio-lot-10/map/
Facebook Event link: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=226830045988