The 2015 staging of Uda dan Dara explores contemporary relevance in a classic Malaysian tale

On Wednesday night, the foyer at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPac) was filled with a good mix of people ready for the show — some very familiar with national laureate Datuk Usman Awang’s celebrated musical Uda dan Dara and a good number of young Malaysians, many of whom were perhaps too young to have seen it when it debuted in 1972. It was definitely not the usual theatre crowd as middle-aged parents came with their children to watch this classic tale’s re-staging by The Actor’s Studio Seni Theater Rakyat.

The musical represented its time with its story of class struggles and social injustice, presented in a localised Romeo and Juliet style love story. Would the theme be relevant today? Perhaps not quite, and that’s what the current re-staging of Uda dan Dara explores — building a bridge between the significant relevance in Usman’s celebrated work and the contemporary world today.

Directed by Datuk Faridah Merican — who played Dara in the original production — the 2015 version sees the story’s hero, Uda, as a young Chinese man living in the urban Kampung Penchala with his single mother. His love, Dara lives just a stone’s throw away in Taman Tun Dr Ismail. Their lives are nevertheless very different as Dara’s late father was a “Datuk”. Enter Alang, the son of a rich developer. He’s set his eyes on the land that is Kampung Penchala and a marriage to Dara.  

Belonging to the young Malaysian category who are not familiar with the original musical, I was nevertheless sold on the idea of a romantic tale of star-crossed lovers, especially one set on a premise that reflects our current cultural climate.

The set was a long wooden platform shaped like a bridge or jetty. In the background was a giant moon that added a contemporary edge, along with several screens projecting abstract images that symbolised different locations. This was Kampung Penchala, or as Alang called it, Kampung “Pendatang” for its mix of migrants and locals of different races.

For the unfamiliar, the storyline gives little background and plunges right in the middle of what is supposed to be an incredible romance. The characters are given little to no time at all to develop their story, leaving it an overly literal re-telling for the most part.

While the leads, played by Mark Lim and Hana Nadira, brought a fresh and almost innocent touch, they could not sufficiently carry the weight of making Uda and Dara’s existence in our world today plausible. Vocally, the actors also struggled to bring depth to their delivery of composer Basil Jayatilaka’s tunes.

A highlight was definitely the Joget battle between both mothers, played by Dia Fadila and Priscilla Wong. Dia stole the show with her sassy portrayal of Datin Zaiton, and both gave solid vocal performances. Gani Karim, who plays Pak Utih, gave perhaps the most polished performance of the show, though the character was borderline clichéd as the old wise man.

Adapted by Omar Ali and well-known scriptwriter Mark Beau De Silva, the production has sprinkles of subtle yet daring humour, though I do wish it could have had more bite. The pacing alternated between rushing and a series of empty pauses where the actors somewhat failed to fill the void.

One of the highlights of the musical is the performances of the ensemble songs, such as Senja and Rampas, which were solidly delivered and a joy to the ears. Supporting actors Muhammad Fudhail and Afham Zainal Abidin, who played Uda’s best friends, delivered commendable performances.

It would seem that Uda dan Dara 2015 is a re-telling of a classic that is intended as a deserved tribute to the laureate. The effort is a valiant one, including a beautiful tribute written by U-En Ng in the show’s programme, but I walked away that evening wishing so much more for it.

Uda dan Dara plays at KLPac until April 11 and then in Penangpac from April 21 to 25. For more information, call (03) 4047 9000 or visit www.klpac.org.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on April 10, 2015.