This following entry is copied from my Xfresh article. Without pictures, though.

What: Anak Bulan Di Kampong Wa’ Hassan
Where: Pentas 2, Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Center
When: 20-23 Sept @ 8.30pm and 23-24 Sept @ 3pm
How Much: RM25 and RM10 (students, disabled & senior citizens); you can get tickets at KLPac (03-4047 9000 / tickets@klpac.com) or The Actors Studio @ Bangsar Shopping Center (03-2094 9400 / tickets@theactorsstudio.com.my)
Who: Writer: Alfian bin Sa’at, Director & Performer: Gene Sha Rudyn

More details here.

Gene Sha Rudyn plays all the characters in this play; various people seen in a Kampung. The kampung is slowly being destroyed, but the play does not talk too much about that; instead, he paints a colorful picture of a merry kampung, with all its characters.

I’ve never lived in a kampung, yet from what I’ve seen on TV, read in Lat cartoons, I could relate. He effortlessly alternates between an Indian ice-cream seller and a Chinese minimart owner in a heated argument. He pokes fun of stereotypes (for example, in that scene, he points at a Malay guy, who is just looking and not doing anything.)

Gene also switches from characters instantaneously and effortlessly. I wondered how the lighting director could keep up with it. He also had very consistent voice imitations. There was also trademark Malay humor; for example, in one scene he puts on a most serious face and goes “Aku menangis, tapi dia tak nampak, pasal hujan lebat.”

Despite the easily accessible entertainment value, there were deeper themes and messages; one gripping scene has him crying, playing a homosexual man who was kicked out of his village because of his sexual preference.

Rating: 9/10

And now, for other pimpage!

What: A Malaysian Affair: A Tapestry Of Malaysian Songs
Where: The Actors Studio, Bangsar Shopping Center
When: 6th-7th October (8:30pm) and 8th October (3:00pm)
How Much: RM30 and RM40 (adult); RM25 and RM35 (12 years and below) + RM2 (Axcess Charge)
Who: The Young KL Singers

Oh, and there are lucky draw prizes on all 3 shows; holiday packages for 2 sponsored by Berjaya Hotels & Resorts worth up to RM4