Some time after arriving in Malaysia in November 2018, I received a phone call from my good friend, poet and artist (and National Laureate) Siti Zainon Ismail.
She said, "Victor, I heard that you are in Malaysia now. Would you like to watch the bangsawan performance at the Malaysia Tourism Centre (MaTiC)?"
Would I like to? Of course. Bangsawan is a traditional theater genre not often staged nowadays, though it used to be very popular and was even performed in villages.
Siti Zainon is well-versed in this genre. Her book, Kasih Bonda: Kampung Paya Kami, depicts the excitement of a little girl who once watched a bangsawan show by the group "Algambra Setapak".
The genre is very impressive because it includes drama, comedy, music, dance, singing, and is full of folkloric elements such as pantun and gurindam.
Moreover, the interludes between the acts, which are filled with songs and dances imitating martial arts that are performed skillfully and artistically, add to the appeal of the dynamic show.
Later at MaTiC, I watched Revenge of the Laksamana. The performance was wonderful and a rare case when a quality theatre script and a mature theater troupe found each other. Indeed, Siti Jasmina Ibrahim's script based on the book Masyhor Malaya by Shaharom Husain, about Sultan Mahmud mangkat dijulang, gave the actors of the Pat Ibrahim Project Entertainment (PIPE) group directed by Pat Ibrahim a lot of opportunities for interpretation. And that's why it's a success.
The performance could be considered as a reminder to those in power that justice is important and that the people will not endure injustice.
The actors showcased the nature of the characters they played perfectly. All the actions and dialogues on stage evoked the sympathy and deep consideration of the audience: so realistic were the portrayals by the actors Hairi Safwan, Nadia Aqilah, Anwar Rusdini, Ahmad Iswazir, Naque Ariffin, Azizah Mahzan, Yusof Hashim, Naszally, Tria Aziz, Aidilla Shaffi, Jalaludin Hassan, Megat Shahrizal and Que Rose, among others.
The contributions of artistic and set directors, the stage manager, as well as the dancers and musicians who created the necessary atmosphere, were no less important.
After the performance, I mentioned to Siti Zainon that I liked the costumes of the actors very much.
"Oh, these costumes are the work of Akma Suriati Awang. You don't know her? She is so famous!" Siti Zainon said, explaining to me that Akma is the creator of costume designs for many Malaysian films too.
A significant number of costume designs were prepared by her for theatrical productions, performed by various groups, in particular Merong Mahawangsa, Nostalgia for Her Song, The Voice of the Jungle, Princess Gading Bertimang, Mek Mulung and Awang Sulong Merah Muda.
She designed costumes for mass events ("Citrawarna", Flora Fest, KL Fest, the Southeast Asia Games) and a number of international projects. In 1999, she was a costume design consultant in the movies Entrapment and Anna and the King, produced by 20th Century Fox.
I was later introduced to her. I expressed my admiration for her work in the play and told about the Museum of Oriental Art in Moscow which had received through Professor Tatiana Denisova two dresses from a member of the Perak royal family, Raja Nazhatul Shima.
Akma expressed the desire to contribute some of her work to the museum too.
I returned to Moscow with two Malay costumes and one tanjak from Akma's collection and handed them over to the curators of the museum, Natalia Gozheva and Galina Sorokina, a few days later.
This is how we got to know each other and a bridge of friendship was stretched between the Malaysian and Russian peoples.
The writer, writing from Russia, is a former lecturer of Universiti Malaya
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times