A Plague Upon Your House, written and directed by Penangite Jayaram Menon, is a interval piece set in a pandemic world comparable to our personal.
The theatre play can be proven dwell at Loft 29 in George Town, Penang from March 4-6, and none apart from William Shakespeare himself serves as the protagonist.
Presented by the Penang Players Music and Drama Society, A Plague Upon Your House is partly funded by the Cultural Economy Development Agency’s (Cendana) Performing Arts Presentation Funding programme. It continues the revival of dwell theatre productions in the post-pandemic Penang arts scene.
The closure of arts area PenangPac in mid-January this 12 months has been a significant blow to the island’s performing arts scene, however the theatre group in George Town is transferring on, attempting to discover methods to maintain exhibits in new areas.
A Plague Upon Your House can be offered at Loft 29, a warehouse idea area. This theatre manufacturing is considered one of Jay’s (as he’s fondly referred to as) makes an attempt at rebuilding viewers confidence, which he says is slowly returning to the island state’s performing arts scene.
Jayaram Menon, retired engineer, has been energetic on the Penang stage as actor and director for each The Penang Players and Cape Poetics for the final 21 years. Photo: Penang Players Music and Drama Society
“I hope to signal to performing arts lovers in Penang to attend and kickstart performances of all kinds in George Town. Hence, the immediate need to perform this play,” says Jay, with optimism.
A Plague Upon Your House (taken from Mercutio’s line in Romeo & Juliet) options a mixture of younger and veteran Penang-based stage actors.
They embody Ivan Gabriel (who performs the Bard), Prabah Ramdass, Joe Napoli, Sharmila Kana, Chris Miley, Philip Yeoh, Jen Leon, Diana Saw, Julie Napoli, Tatiana Breger, Sheryl Lee, Monica Mohan, Jay Menon, Garu Ramon, Ida Suhaini, Afifa Hanafiah, Havela D and Sylvia.
Hustling throughout a plague
A Plague Upon Your House is ready in seventeenth century Britain, throughout a time when London was quarantined due to the bubonic plague. Here a motley group of performing artists are battling for survival in 1603.
William Shakespeare is doing all the pieces doable to preserve his Kings-Players group afloat. He turns into contaminated by the plague and barely survives… till a gipsy drugs girl applies her conventional treatment on him. Both are visited by the High Spirits Khaliban and Ariela (who ultimately find yourself in The Tempest), who uncover in them the reply to the plague’s origins.
“When I found that Shakespeare had to suffer theatre lockdowns for extended periods, I was hooked. Here was a known character, a performer, a small business man, a writer, a go-getter… and the Shakespeare that you will see on stage is nothing like the genius stereotype.
“He is simply a man doing his best for himself, his friends and his art,” says Jay, a retired engineer, whose directing credit embody Death Of A Warrior, Men Without Shadows, Plaza Suite and Underneath The Lintel. He wrote and directed Memes: A Love Story in 2019.
A Plague Upon Your House additionally explores themes corresponding to psychological well being, therapeutic, the human spirit and restoration in tough occasions.
“The 2020 lockdown brought live performance to a complete halt worldwide. Many livelihoods were decimated and very few voices from their ranks ever made it into the ongoing narratives.
“When searching for singers, musicians and dancers in late 2018 for my play Memes: A Love Story, I combed nearly every bar and club in Penang to get acquainted with possible candidates.
“These talented folk enjoyed their nightly stints entertaining and could earn a living doing their rounds here and there. All these activities crashed in 2020. It was heart-breaking to watch them move into other areas to earn a buck. I simply had to write about the wherefore and the why of the pandemic,” says Jay.
Additionally, Jay believes that to ensure that the performing arts in Penang to actually make an affect 12 months after 12 months, it’s crucial to have unique works and a central efficiency venue.
“With the recent collapse of PenangPac as a major supporter for all kinds of performing arts, we do not have a well-located central site to host the performing arts exclusively. It will take some time to reorganise a central location similar to PenangPac.
“In the meantime, I hope to contribute more to the discussion once a feeling of normalcy is felt by more people,” concludes Jay.
More particulars here.
