When The Stage Calls You Back

An evening of stories, people, and purpose.

Sometimes life comes full circle.

Once upon a time, between 2008 and 2011, I used to visit the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPac) almost every week. As a lifestyle journalist, my mission was to interview actors and directors of upcoming productions, write about them for Malay Mail, and later review their shows.

I loved this part of my job.

I loved it so much that even after I left Malaysia’s oldest newspaper and began working as a freelance writer, I continued to cover the happenings in the theatre and performing arts scene in the capital city.

I even had the opportunity to get to know many talented actors and directors, many of whose names I already recognised, having seen them or their work on stage many times. Among those include Gavin Yap, Christopher Ling, Mark Beau De Silva, First Lady of Malaysian Theatre, Datuk Faridah Merican, and her husband/partner in theatre, Artistic Director & Co-Founder, KLPac, Joe Hasham, on several occasions. For that, I’m always grateful. 

It was wonderful to interview people who are genuinely passionate about their cause. They end up offering quotes like a dream, so good that sometimes it felt as though the article wrote itself.

So last week, when I found out another actor, writer, director, of The Instant Café Theatre Company, Jo Kukathas, was organising the festival What The Elders Left Us, – Researching, Remembering, Reimagining the 1960’s, I knew that I had to find time to be a part of it, one way or another. 

The festival from 12 October to 9 November 2025, spotlights Malaysian artists of the 1960s and asks what has been passed down to us, the later generations, and what they themselves inherited from those who came before. 

I signed up (tickets were free) for the Independent Women session on the first day, featuring Datuk Faridah Merican in the spotlight. The session saw readings of well-known plays in the 1960’s including All The Perfumes, Uda Dan Dara and Lela Mayang, with actors Terence Swampillai, Leysha Al-yahya, Arief Hamizan, Gregory Sze, Sharifah Amani, Perassath Servai, Anne James, Mia Sara Shauki, and Firdaus Sufiyan lending their talents on stage.

They were joined by none other than veteran actor, director, scriptwriter extraordinaire, Dato’ Rahim Razali, whom I also had the privilege of interviewing a few years ago. 

Hosted by multi-talented Jo Kukathas, she sat down with the two veteran theatre doyens and asked them pertinent questions about the performing arts scene in the 1960’s, their perspectives on the present situation, and their hopes for the future. 

“Of course, we should restage plays like Lela Mayang today, but it must be relevant for situations today, using the same theme but different perspectives, different arguments,” shared Datuk Rahim.

“The festival is not to give you answers, but to put things in your minds to think about,” said Jo Kukathas during the enlightening session. 

“After 60 years in theatre, I want to continue watching good theatre, performance art, dance — forever and ever. I want it to be part of my life and my students’ lives, and our grandchildren’s lives. I don’t want this to die. We must fight for it to survive,” concluded Datuk Faridah, the Executive Producer & Co-Founder, KLPac.

All those years ago, I felt like I was, in a way, fighting to create awareness of the unique talents of Malaysians on stage.

Sitting in the audience at Pentas 2 on Sunday, I found myself reflecting on the festival’s theme. It became clear to me that what the elders left us goes beyond one-of-a-kind scripts or colourful characters — it is also the will and persistence to ensure that the arts stay alive for future generations.

These days, my fight continues – just in a different way. 

Today, I am reminded why the arts will always matter.