KUALA LUMPUR: After releasing Sepet The Musical online last week, Boh Cameronian award-winning theatre company, Liver & Lung Productions, will present a second musical on its YouTube channel this weekend.
Malaya Relived: The Penang Riots is an immersive historical musical that uses dark humour to explore Penang high life in the 1860s and the famous Georgetown riots between Cantonese and Hokkien secret societies.
It was a part of Liver & Lung's Malaya Relived series, a musical anthology based on iconic events in Malayan history.
Staged at GMBB, a creative hub in Bukit Bintang, the show ran for a sold-out weekend in June last year.
A recording of the musical will be released on May 8 at 9pm and streamed online until 9pm on May 14.
"This is a story of opulence, opals and opium. Last year, our audiences travelled back in time with us to experience 1867 like never before. They dressed up in clothes of the era, ate ang ku kueh and witnessed a sultry retelling of a rarely told event in Malayan Chinese history. If you missed it, now's your chance to see it! We can't wait to share it with you," said Shafeeq Shajahan, founder of Liver & Lung and director/writer of the musical.
Starring award-winning theatre and TV actress Cheryl Tan, The Penang Riots tells the story of Hokkien Lady Hwang as she governs her Great House in Georgetown.
Her Lord has been at sea for almost half a year now and her snooping, yet devoted hand maiden, Opal (Ola Bola's Melissa Ong), is finding it increasingly difficult to soothe her nerves.
Things take a turn when Lord Hwang returns and gifts the Lady with a personal slave, a dark-skinned Eunuch (Titoudao's Phraveen Arikiah) with a prophetic disposition.
The Eunuch relates that Lord Hwang has begun trading opium and may be working with the Red Flags, Georgetown's most notorious Hokkien secret society.
"The reception Sepet The Musical (@ Home) received was incredible. The feedback was electric and extremely humbling. Liver & Lung is now determined to prove its dedication to entertainment during these difficult times with a second digital release," said Hannah Shields, co-founder of Liver & Lung.
This month, Liver & Lung has also released a special COVID-19 podcast, Finding Fabulous, which is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
The performance of Malaya Relived: The Penang Riots was recorded live at GMBB on June 29, 2019.
The 80-minute show will be launched on Liver & Lung's YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/liverandlung), which features other digital theatrical content.
The aim is to bring artists and audiences together in the age of Covid-19 and social distancing.
For more details, visit www.liverandlung.com, email liverandlungproductions@gmail.com or WhatsApp +6010-4029323.