Romeo and Juliet in Malay
Asia News Network
First Posted 15:52:00 07/19/2008
SINGAPORE -- The Bard's timeless tale of star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet has been adapted into ballets, musicals and even films.
Now, drama group Teater Kami has given it yet another twist -- by setting the play in 1950s post-war Singapore, in Kampong Glam.
Called Romzi And Juleha, the play in Malay will be staged at Singapore’s Esplanade Theatre Studio on July 12 and 13.
It centers on a favored daughter and a dutiful son from warring families. The couple are in love, yet are torn by tradition and the deep divide between their families.
Teater Kami's artistic director Atin Amat says her version “is an adaptation, not a translation of Shakespeare's original text.”
The idea came about when her friend, poet, author and artist A. Samad Said, suggested staging a work by Shakespeare in Malay.
Atin, 51, says she had never thought about this before and decided taking on the popular Romeo And Juliet.
The main challenge was not adapting the script, but taking the actors back to the 1950s where the two families, of Javanese and Baweanese origins, clash.
The actors had to familiarize themselves with the era and learn how to deliver the dialogue in the accent that was prevalent during those times.
"It took a lot of research into the Javanese and Baweanese cultures to get this right," says Atin.
Apart from this, the actresses, aged 16 to 42, had to be taught how to wear the Malay sarong together with a corset and kebaya. Acting in these figure-hugging outfits was uncomfortable at first.
Also, the actors had to sport 1950s hairstyles, which they thought were funny initially.
However, actor Shahril Wahid, 28, who plays the lead role of Romzi, says the key challenge for him was getting "the accent, delivery and intonation right.”
To do that, he not only did a lot of research, but also watched old films from the 1940s.
Actress Sheba Rai, 31, found herself playing 14-year-old Juleha.
She admits acting half her age was quite challenging and it took two months of intense rehearsals to get it right.
She adds: "I also had to work hard to get the language delivery right.
"But the most trying part was a scene in which I have to climb and jump down from a 2m platform while dressed in a sarong." Deepika Shetty, The Straits Times-ANN
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