A Wedding Announcement.

The Bard of Avon & Mak Yong in Wedlock

A theatrical event took place the other evening which provoked me to consider marriage; marriage, as considered from a point of view that suggests such unions are best made in heaven.

Shakespeare’s magical romp through the woods, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, and ‘Mak Yong’, an ancient theatre-form of the indigenous Malays of the eastern parts of the Malaysian peninsular, came together in a marriage of what appears at first glance embarrassingly like ‘political-convenience’, if one were to be cynical, but on reflection provided a freshly-painted platform from which to dive into a refreshing stream of theatrical exploration.
An adventure it certainly was, and I commend those match-makers responsible for having the courage to undertake such an enterprise.
If only this marriage can sustain itself beyond the honeymoon, that it be allowed the chance to evolve, develop and mature into a relationship that provides a progeny born of love, of mutual respect and understanding, that is worthy of it’s illustrious ancestry… the genius of Shakespeare and the profound heritage of Mak Yong.
This hope lies in the acceptance of change… there exists no place for the ‘purist’; no place for those who would happily condemn Shakespeare to infinite academic incarceration, and Mak Yong to the museum of mindless fossilisation.

There are few absolute rules about playing Shakespeare, as there are infinite possibilities for style and interpretation, but the heart of Shakespeare lies in his amazing ability to frame the essence of human nature and behaviour.
He was an incredible storyteller, who created universal narratives which are translatable into any culture or language.
He also wrote for the full strata of society; he knew his audience and there is always something in his plays for every level of society to identify with, from the highest aristocracy down to the lowly street-worker. It crosses social and cultural divides.
It is all these reasons that a Shakespearean story can be successfully told through the genre of Mak Yong, despite it being a form of theatre that is uniquely Malay in structure, character and personality, with it’s own stock characters and imagery, that has evolved over the centuries to what it is today.
Lately, Mak Yong has been, arguably, in a sad state of decline, for a number of political and religious reasons, but has now perhaps been given a change of air… a fresh dose of oxygen… it is now breathing freely, unconstrained by the strictures of censorship.
For contrary to popular belief, like Shakespeare, Mak Yong is not about it’s stories. It’s about the manner in which the stories are told. Telling a Shakespeare story after the manner of a Mak Yong performance is to me a natural progression of ideas as a culture broadens it’s cultural boundaries, and it’s society evolves and develops as result of it’s enhanced engagement with the rest of humanity. To attempt to suppress it at all is to smother it to extinction.

Though I would nit-pick like crazy if asked for a professional opinion of the production and performance of “Titis Sakti” I witnessed, and would argue many of the choices made by the writers, director, and actors, particularly in terms of the ‘balance’ and ‘rhythm’ of the marriage, I would wholeheartedly support any future conjugations of this nature.

A toast to the Happy Couple!

Dr. Emanio