WALLS. Barriers. A method of organising and defining things by separation. It can also ironically create confusion, misunderstanding and unnecessary conflict.
Fans of the late, great P. Ramlee will remember his classic film from 1965, Masam-Masam Manis, where a wall features prominently in creating the drama between a man and a woman who hate each other, find love together and then discover that they are next door neighbours.
The delightfully dramatic comedy of errors is what has inspired a new play, simply titled Masam Manis.
"It's about private and public spaces, our relationship with technology and the multi-layered persona that we embody.
"The P. Ramlee film captured the nuances of Kuala Lumpur back then. This one is a look at our contemporary condition today," says director, writer and playwright Ridhwan Saidi.
Masam Manis is his third production under the Teater Normcore series of full-length plays which began in 2018.
His other works, such as a Double Bill, Stereo Genmai and Hamlet Fansuri, have been staged at the Five Arts Centre, George Town Festival and Urbanscapes.
The original 70-minute play in Malay will feature actors Sadiq M. Jamil, Mia Sabrina Mahadir and Lew Shu Ni at the cavernous KongsiKL in Old Klang Road.
"We all put up walls, from the masks we wear that differentiates our outer and inner appearances, to even our smartphones today, which creates these barriers of sorts.
"I'm interested in exploring these various barriers. Even physically, like the stage, for example, has a wall. The shape of the space, its divisions and how we perceive it is interesting to play around with," he says.
Ridhwan, who is an architecture graduate, explains that he has always had a fascination with space and written words.
"I try to incorporate the spirit of a venue into the productions. Sometimes it's just out of necessity but it always fits in somehow. It's an ongoing experiment."
His works have been staged in tiny venues like Revolution Stage's small shoplot blackbox in Bandar Utama to the warehouse setting of KongsiKL.
Ridhwan is also partial to keeping things short and sweet. "No intermission, just action the whole way in order to keep the audience fully engaged."
He explains that his venture into the theatre realm was a natural progression that began with writing. Prior to this he wrote novels, short stories, essays and poetry.
“I wanted to explore new territories in literature, which is playwriting. Also, theatre is poetry in space. So I get to continuously indulge in the various things that I love.
“But what made playwriting special is that the text-based written element is only half of it. The other half is the manifestation of the text itself, when it is transformed into the space, with actors and all the other elements involved,” he says.
Ridhwan adds that his intention is to create new works that can be enjoyed by reading the text as literature and then by experiencing it when it is later turned into a performance onstage.
This is a concept he calls Teater Modular, consisting of the dual forms of a book, as well as past and future performances.
Ridhwan together with Nurul Aizam are also the co-founders of publishing house Moka Mocha Ink, which has released novellas by local contemporary writers.
Nurul says that they are currently in the midst of editing and designing the Teater Modular Box Set, which is a set of 13 playscripts in Malay and English.
“Readers and even future directors or producers can then play around with the sequences of the playlets by arranging or rearranging them to their own needs or fancy.
“We’re relatively new to the scene but we plan to build an organic community that can contribute and work towards producing more creative works in various platforms,” she says.
Ridhwan, whose previous works have been described as intelligent, surreal, thought provoking and edgy, explains that, “Playwriting is unfortunately the least favoured reading form for readers here, so with the playlets, I can show how good old storytelling works and I really hope that readers and the audience will enjoy it as I do too.”
Nurul adds that Ridhwan has also established an open collective called Ensembel Teater Kaos Nol for theatre-making or art and theatre-related activism.
“It’s just a bunch of like-minded individuals we can work together with who are thirsty for creative expression,” says Ridhwan.
On the reception towards their stagings so far, Nurul says, “We are slowly getting good turnouts for our shows and the audience is usually made up of regular theatregoers, first-timers, as well as some prominent personalities in the scene, so it’s been hard but very encouraging as well.”
The two thirty-somethings agree that there’s plenty of room to grow in the local theatre arena with many more interesting stories just waiting to come from young people around the country.
Rooms. Spaces. Facades. As for Masam Manis, maybe it's not so much about breaking or tearing down those walls, invisible, metaphorical or otherwise.
Perhaps it's just about realising that they're there in the first place. Then maybe we might be able to see through it or around it and understand the spaces between them.
And in turn, get a better understanding about ourselves.
Teater Normcore 3: Masam Manis
When: March 12-15, 8.30pm
Where: KongsiKL, Gudang Yee Seng 2, Jalan Klang Lama, Taman Goodwood, KL
Admission: RM40
Visit www.facebook.com/events/477097669911991/
Call +60123887889 (Tasha), +60128331335 (CK) for further details.
Note: Performed in Malay with English surtitles.