Last week I had the opportunity to check out and experience a promenade theatre performance for the first time. Accompanied by my friend Gia, we had no expectations whatsoever, as this was a first for both of us. This was organized as a collaboration between Galeri Petronas as the venue and a great group of talented people from Jingga Purnama as the performers, who staged Teater Lukisan Hamba. Set in an art gallery, the premise follows the gallery’s tour guide, Azizah, who suddenly has an encounter with Johan, a man we thought at first was just a genuine fan of the arts.
It’s a story that brings up some of the most important social themes in our society — the freedom of thought and expression, the right to a decent life, and dealing with your own past. One of my favorite things about this play was how interactive it was. Not only did we feel really close to the performers, which added to the intensity as we followed the story, but they also created real interaction with the audience, making it much more fun and thrilling for us.
I’d like to give a massive shoutout to the writer and director, Zuhairah Zamri, and to the whole cast, who performed this so brilliantly that I didn’t feel like it was an hour and a half at all. This was such a great experience, and I was so glad I found out about this event. The crew from Jingga Purnama knocked it out of the park, and I sincerely hope to see their next performance in the future — bringing up important topics of our lives in such an interesting way. What a lovely way to spend a weekend!
