AFTER playing 'Emily of Emerald Hill' 215 times, Pearlly Chua is still ready to bring on the magic of this play.
"It'll be my 40th year in acting," says the 68-year-old, who took on the role of Emily in 1990.
"I am not academically trained in acting, any stage training I had was under Chin San Sooi."
An acclaimed director and founding member of Five Arts Centre, Chin San Sooi's production of 'Emily of Emerald Hill' has been thrilling audiences since he first directed the Stella Kon play in 1984.
The monodrama is all about Emily's life. The Peranakan woman is in her mid-30s when the play opens, and scenes move back and forth through the years of her life.
Elegant in a long coatee over a white tee and polka-dot cigarette pants, Pearlly sparkles as she talks about her stage portrayal of this Peranakan matriarch.
Pearlly took on the role when she was in her 30s.
"Now, there's a whole lifetime of experience to add layers to the role. When I took on the role, my son was 10! Every few years, something happens, and you look at life differently."
For the upcoming production at the Damansara Performing Arts Centre (DPAC) starting Aug 8, Pearlly says there will be a workshop and forum, where the role will be stripped to its bones. It will cater to actors, directors and theatre aficionados.
"When the house lights come on, certain scenes will be done, and even done differently.
"I will not be in costume, there will be no special lighting. It'll be typical San Sooi – minimalistic.
"You will imagine the chatter, the bustle of the scene. The actor will use the voice, and the body, to sculpt and carve out the lines.
"It's about engaging the imagination. If the actor can see it, so can the audience. You don't act the role, you are being the role.
"That's why it's called the Magic of Emíly of Emerald Hill."
Pearlly says being an only child, always playing with dolls, probably laid the groundwork for her venturing into acting. It's not all just stage work for Pearlly as she helps out with mental health associations, drama therapy and coaching.
"I think this sense of volunteerism came from my parents.
"My father and his work as a Chinese affairs officer for the British government probably influenced me. We visited the new villages a lot. I socialised with the children. My mum was a nurse. They worked with the community at large."
Pearlly is also seen in films, including 'Snow in Midsummer', now in cinemas. The movie deals with the personal impact of the May 13, 1969 racial riots in certain parts of Kuala Lumpur.
"Growing up in Johor, I didn't know much about it. In some faraway land, something was happening. It didn't affect me.
"Then as I travelled as an adult, I met people abroad who were traumatised by May 13. All that came to me when I was offered the role of Dou E.
"My son didn't know about this piece of history. So this film was educational, and very emotional for many Malaysians. The outpouring of emotions that this film evoked can be seen on Facebook pages."
She says she took on the role because she wanted the younger generations to know that this racial balance must never be disturbed again.
Nor should such an incident recur.
"We were good as Malaysians before, we can be good still."
Pearlly firmly believes that art has to be used to enhance humanity. Through her portrayal of Emily, the gamut of emotions of being Malaysian, Peranakan, and a woman will come under stark light.
Audiences may indeed take away the real essence of Stella Kon's Emily, with the magic of theatre.
'Emily of Emerald Hill' will be staged at the Black Box in the Damansara Performing Arts Centre (DPAC), Empire Damansara, Selangor from Aug 8 to 11.
The Theatre Forum: The Magic of Emily of Emerald Hill session will take place at DPAC on Aug 11.
The production will also be running at the Auditorium JOTIC, Johor Baru, in Johor on Sept 27 and 28.
For more details and tickets, visit www.cloudjoi.com.