ACCORDING to director Ilya Rusaidi, although declamatory acting or dekon was born in Malaysia, it is suprisingly not that well-known even among theatre-going Malaysians.
“I would love to put some effort into promoting this new genre of theatre to Malaysians as well as foreigners,” she says.
Dekon is a genre of performance inspired by eminent National Laureate A. Samad Said.
Says Ilya: “I am naturally drawn to the structure of dekon. It contains various characteristics of traditional Malay theatre that has penanda (markers) in between the many changing of scenes.”
MINIMALISTIC VERSATILITY
“The penanda in Dekon can be illustrated by several varying elements, from poetry reading and traditional Malay theatre — for example the Mak Yong and Mek Mulung shows — to a puppet-shadow (wayang kulit) performance and a display of silat or even the traditional dances of the Indians or Chinese.
I also like the elegant and beautiful poetic dialogues found in dekon,” says Ilya.
Although dekon is characteristically minimalistic when it comes to props and costumes, these elements are still versatile in presentation.
It is said that Pak Samad put forth his concept back then as there was at the time an urgent need for innovation in the arts.
Taking a cue from the famous poet and novelist Pak Samad, dekon was first introduced to Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) by Dr Andika Aziz Hussin back in 2000.
PASSION FOR THE STAGE
Ilya will be staging Dekon Konfrontasi 13 at the Penang Performing Arts Centre (Penangpac) soon.
The UMS theatre major fell in love with theatre during her childhood when she would follow her father, Rusaidi Ramli, also a playwright and theatre activist, in Perlis.
Currently a production manager at Penangpac, her interest in the creative realms of theatre has led her to learn more about northern traditional theatre forms. She is also pursuing her master’s in Traditional Theatre at Universiti Sains Malaysia Penang.
The theatre stalwart has since directed a number of plays including Kontradiksi Tolol, Cinta Terhalang and Pusaran Angin Songsang. The latter, written by her father, won the Festival Teater Kuala Lumpur award in 2015.
Ilya also directed the first-ever Jikey theatre performance at USM, which was the first of its kind in Penang back in 2017. Jikey is a traditional Malay folk theatre form from Perlis and Kedah. It is strongly influenced by other Malay art forms such as Mak Yong, Bangsawan and Mek Mulung.
With all that tucked in her creative belt, Ilya is up to the task of doing the dekon method justice.
RACIAL CONFLICT
Based on an original script by Tasia Arlina Ismail, Dekon Confrontation 13 is about best friends Kahar and Ah Hong who have turned their backs on each other during the conflict on May 13 1969.
The script will allow viewers to see the incident critically through the eyes of Kahar and Ah Hong. It also observes how the racist game irresponsibly played by dirty politicians had torn the duo’s friendship apart.
Says Ilya: “This script was well-received and has been performed at the National Department For Culture And Arts (JKKN) in Kuala Lumpur and the National Library of Singapore.
This is the first time it is being staged in Penang and I can say that this is the first time the play is being staged as an official ticketed show.”
The Confrontation 13 production, which is presented in Malay, has not been adapted for stage per se but will be staged as what’s been written on the original script.
“If there are any changes, I can say that it would be from the director’s approach and decisions. The penanda will be different as these were not written in the script and it gives some space for the director to interpret the work.”
Ilya says the play will remind us of the various racial issues that we are still facing in our society today.
“If we are brave enough to admit it and to talk about it, then we will definitely have a chance to create a better understanding and to finally move forward as one nation. If we just prefer to take the simple route and sweep all of the dirt under the rug, then it will always be there no matter what. And it’ll just get messier.”