Gemuk Girls

Do they look fat?


Well, before you think I'm teasing anyone... this is actually the title of play from Singapore's The Necessary Stage.


And again, before you go wondering that this play is about teasing fat people - let me put it straight - it doesn't.

One will think that it is kind of weird to have a play using Fat as the theme, and in with the relatively 'huge' cast. Well, that is because the cast is meant to give 'weight' to the show...

It's A Play Of Weights
The mother-daughter Kartini & Juliana are one loud pair - and obviously huge. And with huge confidence as well!

The scripts by the 2 ladies are funny & humourous at times - where they have the "I don't care what the world thinks" kind of attitude.

The actor & actresses play their roles well... and you'll be surprised that there is a good mixture of Malay, English & Mandarin in between, though the whole cast are Malays actually.

Siti Khalijah who plays the daughter played awesomely well, and was the one who even spoke a fair bit of lines in Mandarin (one could have mistaken for being Chinese!).

*On a side note, she surprisingly lost 15kg to be less Gemuk for the role!

Humour Aside

But apart from humour, there is a dark side to this play - which is in fact the main theme of the whole play. The creators look at the politics of Singapore (& which in a way is close to Malaysia's) - things like the ISD/ ISA.

Interestingly, they show how the family cope with a heavy past, and how the outcomes can turn out to be, by choosing different paths. And this is one makes this play rather interesting as we are quite certain to be in one of the path chosen.

Not Censored?
Gemuk Girls really pushes boundaries and goes quite beyond the ordinary imagination of average Singaporeans.

I, like many in the audience is quite surprised that this play is not censored.... or for that matter banned in rather tight & controlled Singapore!


And when I had the opportunity to meet with the Director Alvin Tan and Playwright Haresh Sharma, I actually managed to get them to clarify.

In fact, they are pleasantly surprised that there are no censors as well. For this theatre company used to be on the close watch list of the authorities (the company was fromed back in the 1980s). But now, after more than 20 years, this company is now not only able to have much more freedom & staying clear from controversies, but is now also recognised by the Singapore's National Arts Council.

Alvin contributes this to the opening up of Singapore - and which something he sees will continue to improve.

Gemuk Girls Are Coming To Malaysia
Despite the thumbs up approval in Singapore, however, Alvin wasn't too sure if he would be getting a go-ahead from the Malaysian authorities for this particular play in KL.

But all things seem to be going fine, and yes, the Gemuk Grils are finally coming to KL!

And that's good news because I'm very sure the Malaysians can relate just as much of it over here because of the very close similarities of the issues.

Venue : Pentas 2 KL PAC	Duration : 4 - 7 December 2008
Category : Drama	Price : RM35 or RM20 (students, sr. citizens & the disabled)

Win A Pair Of Tickets!

The cast - Siti Khalijah, Najib Soiman and Aidi 'Alin' Mosbit

For those interested to watch the opening night, KL PAC (with the association of The Necessary Stage) is giving 1 pair of tickets to the lucky winner. All you need to do - simply say why you want to watch the Gemuk Girls here.

Contest ends: 28 November 2008.