I WISH to share my first-time experience in watching a play at the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka recently.

To be honest, I was quite sceptical when my daughter-in-law asked me to join her to see a local play, Cinta Julia, and only gave in to her request when I noticed that Fauziah Nawi, one of the most prominent names in the Malaysian theatre scene, would star in it.

The reason for my scepticism was the stereotypical portrayal of Malaysian life, starring the usual who's who in the entertainment business, and the characters who often indulge in "over-acting".

And so I went to see Cinta Julia, and to my amazement, I had the greatest theatrical experience by far -- mostly due to the prowess and performance of the lead actress.

I enjoyed every minute of her powerful and engaging act, and even shed a tear or two -- much to the amusement of my daughter-in-law, who was also engrossed in the play.
On that note, I think that DBP, Malay cultural groups and schools should organise theatrical activities in Malay and hold theatre and drama competitions among students more effectively, so that they can have the proper opportunity to use Bahasa Malaysia.

I noticed that most of the audience in the play was of the older generation like myself, and even though a 50 per cent discount was given to students, not many of them bothered to turn up.

I guess they might have had the same prejudiced view of local theatre as I did.

Watching my first local play at the age of 55 has opened my mind, and indeed, it's never too late to start something good -- so why don't we get the young ones to be involved in theatre much earlier?