IRREVERENT. Witty. Tongue-in-cheek. Instant Cafe Theatre has made headlines with its brand of theatre, political satire and comedy for the last 30 years.
ICT is back on stage with It's Never Too Late, Late Talk Show, perhaps the kind of talk show that the local performing arts collective would like to see in the brave new world of Malaysia Baru.
Says ICT co-founder Jo Kukathas: “There is this impression that post GE14, it would be easier to make political satire. In fact, it has been more difficult. As my fellow writer Zalfian Fuzi said, ‘For 30 years we thrived on satire and succeeded not only through wit but also by tapping into the anxieties of the moment. There was plenty of fodder — putting verbatim headlines and statements onstage performed by any of our iconic characters was already funny. But now things are less clear cut’.”
STATIC CHANGE
She adds: “Much has changed. Or has it? Who are we now? Are things really better? These were just some of the issues we faced in creating this show. Like all Malaysians, we were trying to come to grips with issues and suspicions that not only permeate our complex society but are all too often fanned by old and now new politicians wishing to maintain their power and the status quo. The role of satire is to keep those in power on their toes. So let's see what happens…”
Called by Channel News Asia as Asia's most famous or infamous woman satirist, which Kukathas scoffs at as a “soundbite than anything written in stone”, the actor, director, writer and ICT company's artistic director has drawn a following for her ingenious insight into Malaysian issues.
But funding the shows is a perennial problem. When asked about any equivalent to Singapore's cultural matching fund, she says: “More can be done. Singapore has many policies and structures including the cultural matching fund. I think things are in the works and there are advocacy groups such as ReformARTsi working to address issues and to be a bridge between artiste and government. It hopes to create a way for real dialogue and exchange to happen about Education, Artistic Freedoms and Funding.”
VARIOUS PERSONAS
Kukathas delivers her punchlines with the help of onstage personas Ribena Berry, YBeeee and Curry Spice.
She says: “At the moment, (I prefer) Curry Spice because she is bold, she speaks the truth, she is not afraid to be rude, she has an enormous zest for life and she wants to be the next Prime Minister of Malaysia.”
The Instant Cafe Night Live May 9 chat show, created by Kukathas with Zalfian, Kam Raslan, Na'a Murad and Sean Ghazi, promises to be a fun watch as YBeeee & Curry Spice chats with, or up, host Ghazi.
In true ICT fashion, YBeee is described as “Malaysian Official 63”. “He's the only former Deputy Minister whose name you can still remember: He's YBeeee! And he wants to Make Malaysia Great For Him Again (MMGFHA) #smallbossku,” she says.
“The show is a parody of a talk show — here called Instant Cafe Night Live. It is hosted by Sean Ghazi and features YBeeee, now an Opposition member of parliament after years of being in the government, and Curry Spice, a young bisexual Indian woman from Sentul.”
As ICT puts it about Curry Spice: “She's the only member of her own girl band The Asian Spice Girls, she's the star of Keeping Up With The Coomarasamys, she spent two weeks in London so she's all, like, ‘in your face’ and ‘know what I mean’ and she plans to be the next Prime Minister of Malaysia. That's right, she's the bi-sexual, bi-pedal, bi-nocular woman from Sentul — Curry Spice! #inikarilah #innit.”
SPECIAL SONGS AND GUESTS
Says Kukathas: “It's a look back at last year's watershed elections and a look forward into our possible futures. The show will blur the line between fiction and reality.
She adds: “It also features songs by Sean Ghazi and Tria Aziz as well as a list of special guests — real people working in the field of politics and activism.”
Host Ghazi, back not so long ago from the US and busy with his own Tarakucha show, among other events, is not ready to reveal any songlist for the show.
He says: “Ah — this is top secret intellectual property… all songs have to be submitted to the council of ICT elders before they are deemed worthy to be included in any ICT comedy revue. Wait — who says I'm singing? This is a late night talk show and I'm the host…”
The ICT also reveals that the audience can expect different celebrity guests every night — ranging from politicians to civil society leaders.
THE MAY 9 SHOW (Presented by the Instant Cafe Theatre Company)
When: May 8-11, May 14-18, at 8.30pm with a 3pm matinee on May 12
Where: DPAC Theatre, H-01, Empire Damansara, Jalan PJU 8/8, Damansara Perdana, Petaling Jaya
Admission: RM65 & RM50
www.dpac.com.my or call DPAC Box Office at 03-4065 0001
Golden Tickets at RM150 available at DPAC or by emailing GoldenTicketsICT@gmail.com