5 October 1999
The New Straits Times (Malaysia): Life & Times
Emily with a gender twist
by Zainal Alam Kadir

EVERY time a poster announcing the staging of Emily of Emerald Hill goes up, the response one hears is: "NOT AGAIN!!!"

The truth is, the play written by Stella Kon first staged in 1984 has been done to death. In fact, the one-and-a-half hour monologue has been staged more than 60 times in Malaysia, Singapore and elsewhere.

This latest poster, however, looks a little different. Instead of Pearly Chua or other names regularly linked to Emily, the poster features a man on it.

His name is Ivan Heng, the man who brought laughter (and tears) to the Actors' Studio Theatre three years ago with his one-man show Journey West.

Now, this version of Emily will definitely be interesting. The character, that of a "lady with balls", will be played through the eyes of a man.

If you're not too familiar with Heng, just be assured that he is one of the more "unconventional" (the Press release describes him as "audacious") performers around.

The Singaporean has been making news in many parts of the world in various theatre performances as an actor and director.

The more "pop-oriented" people might have seen Heng as one of Gary Oldman's sidekicks in The Fifth Element.

"I saw Emily a couple of years ago and found it rather interesting. I kind of relate to her -- I am a Peranakan myself," says Heng. "The idea to stage it came about when I met Krishen Jit."

"We've gone a long way since he directed me in M Butterfly in Singapore about 10 years ago. Since then, we've always bumped into each other and exchanged ideas.

"We somehow ended up talking about Emily one day, and suddenly realised that there're many things that could be done with it. Ideas began to flow.

"You know that feeling you get about a certain discussion that's charged with energy, that something is definitely cooking and something needs to be done? Well, we concluded that we should stage it."

Heng said he relates very well to Emily's character.

"What we agreed not to do for this one is nostalgia. I think nostalgia is cheap. It's easy. For this staging, we are trying to look at things from an anthropological point of view.

"It is also only natural that a man plays the role of Emily, as if in the Peranakan theatre. All the players in the 1920's were men. No woman was allowed on stage.

"Having a man in Emily's role also allowed us to approach Stella's work from a different angle.

"Krishen, as the director, also said: `We don't want to hide behind our eyelashes ...'. I also think that this is a way to celebrate the fight of women and pay tribute to all the women who have played Emily."

The play is also a way to look into things that set the Peranakan apart from others.

"For instance, Peranakan people are very inspirational. They take in and learn cultures and assimilate them into their everyday life.

"For example, they know jazz as well as their own music. They learn different languages and arts. They represent a new people altogether. However, that's what we don't get to see these days."

As a performer, Heng said that that he is more intent on building a relationship with his audience. Therefore, being on stage is not just about expressing himself and presenting his art.

"I take it more like a dialogue with Ivan, or a dialogue by any other theatre company which is staging a performance.

"If that bit does not come across, the whole point is lost. You see, people must be able to relate to what we are presenting to be able to `communicate' with the performer.

"There's always a reason for one to go to a certain performance. After all, art is not just merely entertainment. It is life itself.

"When we start thinking of art as that extra thing -- that luxury that we could acquire after we've covered the rest of the bills -- the whole thing is going the wrong way."

Emily of Emerald Hill is a presentation of Dramalab. It will be staged from tomorrow until Oct 17 at the Actors' Studio Theatre, Plaza Putra, Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur.

Tickets at RM35 and RM20 are available from the Actors' Studio Theatre (03-2945400/2925927), Dramalab (03-7153801/7153802) or Fei Fei Kopitiam (03-2832872).

Go to the Dramalab website archive of Emily of Emerald Hill.