GEORGE TOWN – When Penang Players Music and Drama Society decided to stage their annual show for 2020, they had no inkling that the comedy show would be on hold for two years, only to find their supposed venue, the Performing Arts Centre of Penang (PenangPac), closed for good in January this year.
Despite the arduous journey, A Couple of Secrets (Acos), an adult comedy about a dinner party gone very wrong, is set to stage at Wawasan Open University from May 13 to 15.
Acos director, Lawrence Chin, told The Vibes that it was a path filled with struggles as the show had to be postponed twice because there was no clear picture of how the pandemic situation would unfurl.
“We were very prepared for the performance, which was supposed to go on March 2020, but we had to postpone it due to the first movement control order (MCO).
“We were still hopeful that we could stage it maybe later in 2020, and hence, we brought the rehearsals online through Zoom.
However, after experiencing the extension of MCO, Penang Players decided to move the show to 2021.
Unfortunately, they hit a roadblock again with another round of lockdown, with nationwide infection numbers soaring higher than what they had been in 2020.
It seemed impossible. By the time 2021 was coming to a close, there were rumours that PenangPac was going to close its doors for good. In December 2021, it was crystal clear, PenangPac was to close come January.
“Performing arts in Penang isn’t mature enough to allow us to pay the actors to wait that long – sometimes we can’t even pay our actors enough compared to their effort and time.
“As the director, I’m so blessed to have four passionate performing arts lovers as my actors. I was worried my actors would be disappointed after such a long wait.
“Fortunately, they were not, and we got together and did some other performing arts works online and offline.”
As for Penang Players chairperson Joelle Saint-Arnoult, 2022 has been really busy. The society has to put on two shows in the first half of 2022, and with no venue, they were also going all out to hunt for potential locations to stage the shows.
“In December 2021, we auditioned for another show titled 'A Plague Upon Our House' to which Cultural Economy Development Agency (Cendana) had granted us a part sponsorship to produce.
“That period revealed to be rather hectic as both plays were being rehearsed simultaneously, something we had not experienced before,” she said.
While their first show of the year told a story of a pandemic during the time of William Shakespeare, linking it to the Covid-19 pandemic, Acos is expected to bring little to no ode to the traumatic period.
Saint-Arnoult believes that the script, chosen back in 2019, serves as a remedy in 2022. Comedy is seen as priority entertainment to relieve the masses from the pandemic-induced stress.
She promises laughter and good fun for the audience, even if it is under a mask. Four amazing and witty actors, Rachel Yeoh, Adrian Chang, Ian Lee and Fariza Ariffin, will take the stage in a play adapted from David Tristram’s The Opposite Sex.
Penang Players was birthed during the 1950s and had a tradition of performing comedies many years ago. They were known for organising dinner shows. Unfortunately, dinner theatre has not been recommended just yet due to the current health situation.
Acos opens on Friday, May 13 at 8pm, Saturday, May 14 at 8pm and Sunday, May 15 at 3 pm at Wawasan Open University. Tickets are priced at RM45 and can be purchased here. – The Vibes, May 5, 2022
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