Nadirah

Salam all... this is not an entry dedicated to anyone by the name of Nadirah. Tak ade kene mengena dengan yang hidup ataupun mati. hehehehe...I've mentioned in m previous entry that i'll be watching a play by Alfian Sa'at at KLPAC right...well here is the review of it.

First of all i must say that it is an AWESOME play. The story line, the issue that was brought up and the value it was trying to portray was heart felt and emotional. But be warn, it's only for those who are open minded and who are not quick to judge for it can be sensitive to some people for it address issues on religion and the cultures of the two countries. If you asked what is the message from the play? I would like to quote the writer himself, when one of the audience asked him he said;

" If I want to convey a message i wouldn't write a play. Thus its unfair to say what was the message i was trying to convey. I have no answer to that question." :)

Anyway i'm sure all of you is dying to know what Nadirah is all about right. Let me first tell you about KLPAC ok. The venue where the play was held. We arrived at Sentul KTM around 8:20pm and the play starts at 830pm. We were supposed to collect our tickets half an hour before show. No doubt i was panic. I was like if they start already how ar? sure they wont let us in one. Now if you guys are a play lover you would definitely know that once the play had started you are not allowed to enter the theater until after the interval. It's different from watching a cinema. Plus when we googled the map of the place it states there 3 mins drive to the place. But when the taxi driver drove it seems like eternity. You know the when-you-are-late feeling. Like suddenly the traffic lights seems to be taking too long and you expect your taxi driver to be your hero and drive like a F1 racer. It was a long drive in. When we arrived at the entrance of the landmark, it reminds us of Fort Canning. No joke people it really looks like one. The building was...was...well old but nice kindda  buildings.

Pictures are from Google. hehehe.. We were in such a rush that we didn't get to snap pictures. Sad but true.

Anyway we were not late as when we arrived the previous show just ended and they just open for the next seating. Phew...it was lucky we were not late for there were no interval. It was a 2 hours play.

Now here's the real deal. The play itself. Ok...*drum roll*

Nadirah is a play about cross-culture, religion and society. It was written by a Singaporean (*waves...hehehe proud moment jap) It was 1st staged in Singapore in 2009 and again in 2010 (missed both for i was not in Singapore). It is now staged in Malaysia for the first time. Therefore this is it's third production. 

Play Synopsis

Nadirah is the popular and articulate Vice-President of her university's Muslim Society. She convenes inter-faith meetings where students talk about how they should respect one another's spaces. 

Nadirah is also the product of mixed marriage. Her father is a Malaysian Malay and her mother is a Singaporean Chinese who had converted to Islam. One day, Nadirah's mother tells her that she's going to re-marry. To a man who's not a Muslim.

Nadirah's best friend Maznah, believes that everyone has a right to happiness. Her senior, Farouk, however, is outraged and urges her to do 'the right thing'.

How does Nadirah make peace between various religions in school when she's having the same problems at home? Can mother and daughter worship different gods?

Will love or faith prevail???

"Funny, insightful and moving, Alfian Sa'at's award-winning NADIRAH wrestles with the complex issue of religion by grounding it in a story about a quirky family and the ties that bind."

A little insight of the play. The writer 1st wrote Nadirah in 2009 with inspiration from two sources.
1) Yasmin Ahmad's film, Muallaf, which dealt with interfaith understanding.
2) Nadra (a.k.a Maria) Hertogh tragedy that occurred in Singapore.

The Cast:

• Neo Swee Lin as Sahirah (if you remember the comedy series of Phua Chu Kang than she's no alien to you. She's the granny in PCK ) 
• Patrick Teoh as Robert
• Redza Minhat  as Farouk
• Farah Rani as Maznah
• Ani Juliana Ibrahim as Nadirah

 My Opinion of the Play...

I have to say that this is the first time i watch a play where there is no stage. The audience were seated at the perimeter of the rectangular room. The center of the room was left bare. For the cast of cause. It was a small room and therefore i felt really engage and involved with the play. The stage manager did a brilliant job. Love how organised each entrance and exit of the cast and the change of scenes was done briefly.

My favourite character is Maznah played by Farah Rani. I really love how she looks so natural and acted damn well. Everything that comes from her seems real  and professional. For the fact that she was limping throughout the play for she literally "break a leg" for the play, she did a wonderful act. She plays as Nadirah's best friend. The scene that i love the most was during the question and answer session she had with Nadirah. Now that scene is thanks to the playwriter himself of cause for the wonderful, honest lines. But the way Maznah carried it out was awesome. I'm not quite in favour with Nadirah's character. I don't quite feel her in the play. I felt like she didn't reach out to the audience. Macam kaku sikit. But still a job well done for it was not easy to play such a role. There's always room for improvement what, right? :)

Another scene i love would be the talk between Farouk and Robert. How they relate soccer to religion. Believing in two different faith and how it was portrayed in a very subtle manner was an eye opener for all who came.

I'm definitely not gonna reveal to you the ending of the play. Go watch it and feel it for yourselves. muahahahahaha....

Ouh they were using a book titled RUMI in the play. Now i'm going to hunt for that book. Let me just leave you with a quote frm RUMI

Lots of Love
    ella