Gold Rain & Hailstones - Still Great The 2nd Time Round!
I watched "Gold Rain & Hailstones" last night with the exquisite Lady Jazz, at the KL Performing Arts Center (KLPAC). It was still amazing - and that goes for both the show and the company.
It was the 2nd time for me - I first watched "Gold Rain & Hailstones" in 1998 and I remember being being awestruck at Jit Murad's writing and acting talent, in this particular play.
And back than was also the first time that I caught Lin Jaafar - whom I regard as one of the strongest and most versatile and underrated female English theatre actresses, that I've ever come across. And it was good seeing her act again - in my eyes, she's still brilliant!
The content for the 2006 version of "Gold Rain & Hailstones" had been somewhat updated to take in some of the current context - but the main gist of the play which revolves around identity, confusion, the search for a sense of belonging and one's commitment to one's homeland, still remains.
The fact that this play still remains relevant and timeless to perhaps, a new generation of theatre-goers either speaks volumes of the depth of the Malaysian psyche that it unearths,....or it shows how little Malaysia has progressed in tolerating people who are not quite mainstream and who cannot quite fit in within the tiny little identity boxes, which society's expectations sometimes imposes on us.
I'm not going to get into a review of "Gold Rain & Hailstones" - I feel that every Malaysian should watch it and extract the gems of the experience, for oneself. I think you already know what I think of it, anyway. If you're keen to watch it - it's playing for another week at KLPAC, until the 17th of September.
But I'd like to share with you 2 things which stuck with me from "Gold Rain & Hailstones" this time round.
The first is the comment made by Lin Jaafar's character, Aminah, who mentioned that her father had said: "The more we define ourselves, the less space we have to live in". Somehow, I understand that comment more today, than I did in 1998.
The second is Jit Murad's notes for "Gold Rain & Hailstones" in the Dramalab booklet, which strangely enough, struck a chord in me. In the playwright's notes, Jit pointed out that:
"We still exist in a system of patronage, we still endure an absurd bureaucracy. Our most fundamental discussions are still being silenced, we still defer to grassroots zealotry.
'Ah, plus ca change,...' as French transsexuals often say (with a shrug). 13 years later, many of my decaying peers have given up wanting to make a space for ourselves and for values and belief systems that are not "official" or to placate a disapproving constituency.
I guess belonging and identity are the concerns of the young. Let them worry about it"
Well said, Jit.
Perhaps, there comes a time in our lifetime when we all grow weary and we realistically accept the things that we cannot change, within our lifetimes.
And as we get older, we stop expanding the space for alternative viewpoints and values and instead, we turn inwards to live in the small space that we already have - or the corner that society permits us to have, to be different and to buck society's trend.
Quietly, of course. But somewhat still hopeful, for change.
It was the 2nd time for me - I first watched "Gold Rain & Hailstones" in 1998 and I remember being being awestruck at Jit Murad's writing and acting talent, in this particular play.
And back than was also the first time that I caught Lin Jaafar - whom I regard as one of the strongest and most versatile and underrated female English theatre actresses, that I've ever come across. And it was good seeing her act again - in my eyes, she's still brilliant!
The content for the 2006 version of "Gold Rain & Hailstones" had been somewhat updated to take in some of the current context - but the main gist of the play which revolves around identity, confusion, the search for a sense of belonging and one's commitment to one's homeland, still remains.
The fact that this play still remains relevant and timeless to perhaps, a new generation of theatre-goers either speaks volumes of the depth of the Malaysian psyche that it unearths,....or it shows how little Malaysia has progressed in tolerating people who are not quite mainstream and who cannot quite fit in within the tiny little identity boxes, which society's expectations sometimes imposes on us.
I'm not going to get into a review of "Gold Rain & Hailstones" - I feel that every Malaysian should watch it and extract the gems of the experience, for oneself. I think you already know what I think of it, anyway. If you're keen to watch it - it's playing for another week at KLPAC, until the 17th of September.
But I'd like to share with you 2 things which stuck with me from "Gold Rain & Hailstones" this time round.
The first is the comment made by Lin Jaafar's character, Aminah, who mentioned that her father had said: "The more we define ourselves, the less space we have to live in". Somehow, I understand that comment more today, than I did in 1998.
The second is Jit Murad's notes for "Gold Rain & Hailstones" in the Dramalab booklet, which strangely enough, struck a chord in me. In the playwright's notes, Jit pointed out that:
"We still exist in a system of patronage, we still endure an absurd bureaucracy. Our most fundamental discussions are still being silenced, we still defer to grassroots zealotry.
'Ah, plus ca change,...' as French transsexuals often say (with a shrug). 13 years later, many of my decaying peers have given up wanting to make a space for ourselves and for values and belief systems that are not "official" or to placate a disapproving constituency.
I guess belonging and identity are the concerns of the young. Let them worry about it"
Well said, Jit.
Perhaps, there comes a time in our lifetime when we all grow weary and we realistically accept the things that we cannot change, within our lifetimes.
And as we get older, we stop expanding the space for alternative viewpoints and values and instead, we turn inwards to live in the small space that we already have - or the corner that society permits us to have, to be different and to buck society's trend.
Quietly, of course. But somewhat still hopeful, for change.
posted by Stingrayz | 2:20 PM
2 Comments:
Isn't Change = Mass x Energy x Direction? Decaying peers vs grassroots zealotry (orchestrated, no doubt, by cunning pols). No prizes for guessing who wins.
Anon 2
Anon 2:
Here's another equation:
Lack of change = Selfish and silent Masses + Energy only for selfish interests + those whom has always lacked Direction and wisdom.
No prizes for guessing who loses out the most, with a citizenry like this.
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