baca skrip: #______, or script read: #______, is a monthly series of online Malay play readings happening from May to August 2020. Putting the spotlight on the written text, the platform revisits seminal works by Singapore Malay playwrights, This series hopes to create the space to consider the resonance of the text today, appreciating the textures in the use of the Malay language while peeping into the history of contemporary Malay playwriting. ⁣
⁣
From re-discovering the familiar and being surprised by the new, we invite you to re-acquaint yourselves with the characters’ confrontations with reality, which is, in more than one way, our own. ⁣

baca skrip: #HantaranBuatMangsaLupa [Genap 40]

29 May 2020

Written & Directed by Irfan Kasban

Hantaran Buat Mangsa Lupa (Offerings for the Victims of Amnesia) is a trilogy of plays inspired by the three main events leading to the establishment of Islam. Paired with the severely poetic nature of the Malay language, Hantaran offers a dimension that faith excludes and/or questions.

Genap 40

From Hadith no. 4, the Messenger of Allah (Peace Be Upon Him), told us that it takes 40 days for a sperm and egg to become a drop of blood, then a chunk of meat, and then its roh (soul) to be blown into it by an angel on the last day. Along with its roh, four other decrees will also be written onto it; takdir, rezeki, iman, and ajal (fate, sustenance, faith, and finiteness).

Hawa, who is pregnant, receives a premonition that she will meet Malaikat (angel) on the 39th day, where she hopes to enquire about the fate of her child, and herself; revealing her true desire to challenging predestination.

baca skrip: #AnakMelayu

26 June 2020

Written & Directed by Noor Effendy Ibrahim

When Anak Melayu first came out in 1992, it was received with intense reservation and caution from the Malay community. The play presented a very raw, uncomfortable, and unforgiving portrayal of the psyches of 6 Malay youths and their relationships with family, religion, and love. Almost 30 years on, these characters are still disconcertingly familiar in the community. Anak Melayu entangles us in the messy web that every character weaves as they navigate themselves and each other.