Pentas FM

Tok Perak - a well-known, respected, and aging itinerant seller of Malay traditional medicine - tries to settle down in a kampung in Kuala Kangsar by marrying a widow with three grown-up children, one of whom – Hamid – admires Tok Perak and wants to become a penjual ubat too. This story is set in the 1970s when Malaysia is undergoing rapid developmental changes driven by science and technology. The text is an abridged version of the original Malay play which had its first staging in 1975 in Kuala Lumpur, with the late playwright, Datuk Syed Alwi Syed Hassan, in the title role. Conceptualised and directed by Norzizi Zulkifli Performed by Hamzah Tahir, Walid Ali, and Nor Fadhilah Bt Mohamad Noor Akae Check out more episodes at www.coolerlumpur.com/pentasfm.

Ang Tau Mui is the nickname of a failed actress-turned-public-toilet-cleaner who grew up in the 1960s in Malacca town, whose childhood idol was the tragic Hong Kong movie star Lin Dai. It is about the last day of a woman’s life where she goes shopping, desperately searching something to buy from among the “millions of things for sale”. The text for this audio production is extracted from A Modern Woman Called Ang Tau Mui, written by Leow Puay Tin, first staged in Kuala Lumpur and Adelaide in 1994, with the playwright in the title role. Conceptualised and directed by Tung Jit Yang Performed by Takahara Suiko Music composed and performed by Takahara Suiko (‘Oi, Oi, Ang Tau Mui!’ and ‘People say life is like a dream’) Check out more episodes at www.coolerlumpur.com/pentasfm.

Mat Deris tells the story of his life – how he has managed to turn his life around from childhood poverty in a fishing village in Perlis to becoming a wealthy and respectable man of influence and power in society – through criminal activities that include extortion, arson, prostitution, and killing. Mat Derih Kola Perlih – or ‘Mat Deris of Kuala Perlis’ – is the title of a play written in Malay by Namron (Shahili Abdan). The text for this audio production has been adapted from an English translation of the play by Azzad Mahzir. Directed by Leysha Al-Yahya Performed by Ali Alasri Check out more episodes at www.coolerlumpur.com/pentasfm.

‘Nok’ features two characters of Malay-Chinese parentage, a mother and her daughter, at different stages of their lives. The mother reveals her internal world, speaking about her panic attacks and her fear of passing down an unnamed sickness in her family, while her daughter wants answers to questions she has been afraid to ask all her life, especially the dreaded one: “Were you planning to abort me?”. The text has been adapted from Aku, Kau Dan Dia, a play in English by Leysha Al-Yahya. Directed by Faiq Syazwan Kuhiri Voiced by Suriani Kempe and Sara Hani Check out more episodes at www.coolerlumpur.com/pentasfm.