KUALA LUMPUR: The Theatre for Young People (T4YP) ensemble under the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPAC) will be adapting the children's fairytale The Emperor's New Clothes as a pantomime showcase from March 3 to 6.
Titled The Emperor's New Clothes Or How The Procession Has Got To Go On, the show marks the finale of T4YP's 2021 season made possible by the Creador Foundation and will be staged at KLPAC's Pentas 2.
Helmed by The Actors Studio's director in-residence who is also one of the T4YP's facilitators and alumnus of the programme, Tung Jit Yang, the adaptation is an attempt to explore the popular Hans Christian Andersen fable about the pitfalls of vanity and greed from the point of view of six young family members embodied by the six T4YP ensemble members.
It investigates the notion of family and society, and how they intersect. The production is also inspired by Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed, reality TV and the translated text by Jean Hersholt, which lets the audience in on drama and clash between dramaturgies and points of view, as well as the histories of these six youths.
"Boal taught us that theatre can not only in Shakespeare's terms be a mirror which our vices and virtues are reflected but a 'magic mirror' into which the players, the audience, the playing-audience or 'spect-actors' may pass through and into, changing the image before them.
"By exploring the text this way, what other stories emerge? What change can happen?
"The Emperor's New Clothes tells of a family, and I found it interesting the father of the truth-speaking child, at first is embarrassed, and even tries to obfuscate the words of his own family, or maybe even more so because they were kin?
"Everyone knows that families are some of the most complex relationships we can have," said Tung in a recent statement from KLPAC.
The Emperor's New Clothes Or How the Procession Has Got to Go On will showcase some of the most resilient young thespians who auditioned in 2020 and persevered through lockdowns and online training since June 2021 to finally graduate.
The show will feature Alethea Chong, an audio technology and music lover who discovered theatre while working with Phnom Penh Players in Cambodia, psychology undergraduate Amaliyna Helmi, Danniel Iskandar and Eugene Ong who are corporates by day and actors by night, rising triple threat talent Elene Tang, and Nephi Shaine, a budding playwright who won the Short+Sweet Theatre's Best Newcomer award at age 16.
Tickets for T4YP's upcoming showcase, supported by MyCreative Ventures and The Actors Studio Seni Teater Rakyat, can be purchased online via bit.ly/t4yp2021_showcase (no phone and over-the-counter sales).
Call 03-4047 9000 or WhatsApp +6018-227 7212 for enquiries. For the latest Covid-19 SOP guide, visit http://bit.ly/klpac_covid19_updates.
Each ticket sold goes towards keeping KLPAC and The Actors Studio afloat. The public can also make a donation via www.klpac.org/donations.