May 2018

Joe and I left for Australia on May 15, two days after another exciting, updated run of 'DATO' SERI'. This update saw two wonderful actors - Redza Minhat as Dato' Seri and Nadia Aquila as Datin Seri. There were others for sure, but these two superstars practically sold the show to full houses about 4 weeks before opening night - never happened before. So superstars can sell a show, especially superstars who can act. There were so many fans in the house mainly tudung'd ladies - of course fans of Redza, and why not, he is a dish.
Mark, Lee Ching and I reprised our witches roles this time doing a tad more than our first outing - its our request to Omar Ali, the director.
So we left for Sydney and had such a wonderful break, with the very best of autumn weather, company  and food. 17 days just went by without much difficulty. One of the highlights was the meeting of Joe's classic Number 96 cast and crew including a fan who came all the way from Melbourne - a lady who had never been to Sydney prior to this. What a treasure. This is certainly one of our best holidays to Sydney, with a promise that in 2019 Joe and I, Tony and Terri will make way to the Lebanon and God willing to Mecca - something we will surely look forward to.

It has been an extremely exciting beginning of 2018. beginning with Ho Lee Ching's directorial debut she's been planning for quite a while. OCD - a devised physical theatre piece exploring what its like living with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Lee Ching lives with  Thuerette since she was eight, so she'd totally understand OCD and the play ran to full houses - a dream of every director. While OCD was in PENTAS 2, MAK YONG TITIS SAKTI, directed by Norzizi Zulkifly was fighting it hard to fill houses at the 500 seater of PENTAS 1. TITIS SAKTI is a curtain raiser in celebration of The Actors Studio's 30th anniversary. Productions spanning over 2 years. There was much praise for TITIS SAKTI of 2018, as 9 years earlier it was selected to be part of the Asian Shakespeare Intercultural Archive and is studied as part of the National University of Singapore Syllabus. Kudos once again to Norzizi.


You can always depend on Joe to excite us even more. Since 2017, Joe had been talking about a funny and touching story of 3 boys growing up in colorful Malaysia, wanting to be Madonna the singer, not Jesus' mother. As recession hits the country in the 90s, it seems more rational to idolize queens close to home like Siput Sarawak or Anita Sarawak.. the earrings were easier to source too. One would think that as the new Millennium approaches, they would find love and Life easier, but that is not to be. But, they will sing and they will dance and share stories as long as the heels are high and jewels sparkle!MEN IN HEELS ran for 9 shows in KL and 3 at penangpac. Near full houses in KL and full houses in Penang. What a joy it was! that was 1-11 March and on the heels of MEN IN HEELS was A MIX OF RUSSIAN featuring Pianist Albert Tiu. We must find a way of making our concerts make more money - any suggestions from anyone? The Actors Studio's CABARET series made a come-back in April titles 'YESTERDAY ONCE MORE'. Now, here's an unexpected surprise spanning 5 sell-out shows  and calling for more!

My beloved Zurina Rahim

Our beloved eldest sister Zurina Rahim passed on yesterday, October 18th, 2 days after she turned 90. Her daughter Razina made arrangements to bring her home to their house in Section 16, Petaling Jaya. 20 minutes after she arrived she breathed her last. Like her two elder brothers, Idaham and Badlil, Zurina too wanted to die in her own home. And she did, thankfully. Zurina had been unwell for a very long time, bedridden for about 2 years and prior to that suffered from Parkinsons for several years. But her last few months were the worst, in and out of hospital, almost losing her senses making it most difficult to communicate with her loved ones, including her husband Rahim.
So, yesterday ended the beautiful life of a beautiful daughter who cared for both her parents till the end of their lives. First our father passed on in 1986 the mother breathed her last in 1997. Zurina is the family princess. She was educated at St. Georges Girls School, as was Marina and I, then became a Normal Trained Teacher, followed with Kirkby Teachers' College in England. That was the start of her friendship and romance with her beloved husband Rahim Yusof, which ended yesterday with her passing.
She spent her years teaching at ASSUNTA SCHOOL 2. Razina told us there were many of her students yesterday at the funeral and many accolades on Facebook singing her praise as a teacher, including her impeccable English, even though she taught Malay. I liken this to my father who is also remembered for his English and being a great teacher for 32 years at Penang Free School.
Rest in peace Ju. We love you.

Smokehouse Inn

Joe had always wanted to take a short holiday somewhere in Malaysia. Our lives in the theatre have not allowed us such pleasures to readily. Not just the theatre, also our five furry friends at home. However, we found the five days we wanted at the end of July 2017. The promise of spending just one night at THE Smokehouse Inn in Cameron Highlands brought a smile to Joe. He has always wanted to go up to the Camerons. Everytime we drive up to Penang he'd say 'lets go up to Camerons'. Thirty years after our first visit, we made it up. We didn't really love the drive up the old road, but it was an adventure. The Smokehouse and the weather was so, so welcoming. We could not have asked for a better beginning to our brief holiday. And the suite Joe had booked was superb! What made our stay even more perfect was the impeccable service we received at the Smokehouse. Nowhere in Malaysia have we ever experienced this quality of service. So, we had our dinner by candle light, spent the cool night watching TV (old habits) and woke up the next morning to breakfast before heading off. We stopped by at BOH's another magnificent Malaysian icon. Driving down to Ipoh was far more comfortable as Joe had chosen the newer highway. A tad boring, but worth the ease. We made a promise we'd visit the Camerons perhaps once every six months, for a couple of days. The impression it made on us was that good. See you soon Smokehouse :)

Badlil

On 12th February at about 2.30 in the afternoon, we laid our favorite brother Badlil, or lovingly known as Li, to rest. Two years earlier we laid our eldest brother Idaham or Am to rest. Both were in their 90s having led good lives with their small families. Badlil's passion in life was tending to his garden. Having the best garden in the neighborhood, first in Penang and then in Subang Jaya. As he grew older he faced several challenges, but his strong will would bring him back to the strength he needed to tend to his garden. This time however, the illness was too much to overcome and his body rejected all the options provided by the doctor. on Feb 11 at 9.22 p.m. he passed on.
Rest well Li. God will be looking after you so you can guide Zainon to help tend to your beloved Garden.
We love you.

I just wrote a post but lost it in cyberspace. Really, really miss my blog. I have not even welcomed my new PA Michele to this blog. She's a cool chick loves rugby and guinness - perfect combination and the ALL BLACKS!!

It's been a great year - highlight surely must be 1000 MILLION SMILES - A MUSICAL TRIBUTE TO SUDIRMAN - 3 sold out houses at 500 seater PENTAS 1 klpac. So satisfying that we are planning a tour around Malaysia. Fingers crossed.

SHORT+SWEET 2016 did not do so well though - due to lack of publicity? So, we are correcting it with a publicist in place in 2017. We'll begin from January, led by Gan of course.

Looking forward to our trip to Australia for almost 3 weeks, spending Christmas and New Year with Tony, Terri and family. Hoping to see Viv too midway between Sydney and Melbourne.

Speak to you again soon.

love.

SHAKESPEARE 400

It's a wet day here in KL but Joe is suffering from the haze that has hit KL since yesterday. (sigh) Since my last posting in October 2015, so much has happened. First of all another successful run of SHORT+SWEET 2015. Then our trip to Australia for 3 weeks, through Christmas and New Year, coming back only January 10th. What a blast!
2016 for us began with embracing SHAKESPEARE 400 with the very first play, a result of an idea of mine i.e. telling King Lear by his 3 daughters. Directed by U-En Ng, MARBLE HEARTS as it was called started SHAKESPEARE 400 with good houses both in KL and Penang. Yes, we lost a little but not too much. Next was LOH MIO AND CHIU LIET directed by Freddy Tan of SIFU Productions - that was a blast, followed closely with 'DON'T LET SHAKESPEARE KNOW' presenting short adaptations of the Bard's works by 7 directors. Out of the 7 plays 6 were in Chinese and 1 in English. This had a few pleasant surprises, so good was this idea that we have decided to make it a yearly fare - in Chinese. Again very close on it's heels in APRIL came R+J a rare treat based on the Bard's Romeo and Juliet, with 4 young actors directed by Jeff Kevin from Tasmania - a rare and expensive treat - TASSTR lost a bundle!!
After R+J, another happy story to tell - KL Shakespeare Players THE MERCHANT OF VENICE - very well attended both in Penang and KL.
We have learnt to live with our motto - you win some, you lose some.
SHAKESPEARE 400 is fortunate to have friends such as UEM and MoF. Thank you for your support.