Some of us Singaporeans may already know that when a person shouts out “Kakak Kau Punya Laki” at you, it doesn’t literally just mean “You Sister’s Husband”, it means the person want to F*** you over or thump you very badly; just like how the Chinese would shout out “Your Mother!” Somehow, we Asians prefer to scold other people related to the offenders, rather than to scold the offenders directly.
But when a
renowned playwright, like Alfian Sa’at, decided to use those offensive four words
– Kakak Kau Punya Laki, he literally refer to a mysterious sister’s to-be-husband
that became the centre of discussion.
Your
Sister's Husband revolves around five sisters. Four of them are successful
modern women: a teacher, a real estate agent, an air stewardess, and the wife of
a prominent banker. But their oldest sister, Maslindah, was little bit odd. She
clung on to her superstitions and beliefs in magic stones and spells, and sold
curry puffs at MRT stations. She fed stray cats. She was the outcast, the black
sheep of the family - until she announced that she was in love and getting
married.
Her sisters
were quick to confront and question Maslindah. As they attempted to unearth
more information about her mysterious husband-to-be, they must also come to
terms with their prejudices against her.
The play
starts off with witty conversation between the two sisters, as they reveal more
on the plot- they wanted to sell the house and split the profit equally among
the 5 of them. The conversation was soon joined in by the rest of the sisters,
and as the play climaxed, the audience will also realised that the set shrunk,
probably to reflect the state of mind the sisters shared. Despite being
successful and modern, all the sisters still think in an old fashioned manner-
they all believe in black magic and embedded in their minds, are all the other stereotypical
thoughts that entrapped many Malays in the community. Thoughts and practices
that have hindered them from progressing in this era.
What I liked
most about the play is the touch-and-go method that Alfian has adopted for most
of his plays. Issues were raised but not pondered elaborately or brooded over.
Political issues like how wearing a tudung could be of hindrance in the workplace
but wearing a turban is somehow acceptable or how the Malays are having more
babies than they could afford to, were raised to keep the audience thinking but
at the same time opinions on these issues are
not shoved into the audience’s throat. The lines were witty and light,
but at the same time poignant. The delivery by the veteran actors also helped
the lines to provoke the audience and at the same time entertain.
Also, I’ve
noticed something among the audience. Just like in the words of Alfian Sa’at:
“I was very heartened to see the makciks and pakciks in the audience at 'Kakak Kau Punya Laki', who laughed so generously and sometimes supplied hushed running commentary to the scenes unfolding on stage ('Eh eh, poor thing', 'That's his boyfriend lah calling on the phone', 'I know someone exactly like her'). It made me aware that the concept of 'community theatre' is not something that conforms to certain spatial ideas about elite/grassroots and heartland/city-urban dichotomies. To me, the audience in a theatrical space is itself a community, and thus NAC's ideas about 'bringing arts to the community' is flawed, because the focus should be on 'bringing communities together through the arts'. And really one of the best ways for this to happen is for ticket prices to be heavily subsidised and more theatrical venues introduced (to support longer runs), so that we can cultivate a theatre-going public. The audience is out there, as long as we stop defining it according to its purchasing power.”
Yes. This is
indeed a theatre piece that brings the community together and kept them
thinking of the pressing issues that we faced on a day-to-day basis.
Starring: Maimunah Bagharib, Najib Soiman, Farah Ong, Mastura Ahmad, Noorlinah Mohamed,
