May 13 appears to have become a footnote in our nation’s modern history, and yet simultaneously it remains a social and political lighting rod. Though the state has hardly ever commemorated May 13 in any meaningful way, the incident is nevertheless frequently brandished by certain figures to warn Malaysians of the consequences of talking about ‘sensitive issues’.
In 1969 was a sensitive attempt to explore these sensitive issues by focusing on a personal story behind May 13. How were ordinary people affected? How did everyday lives actually change? What were people hoping for before May 13? What were they hoping for after?
Based on a short story by Beth Yaph, In 1969 also attempted to explore the possibilities of storytelling in performance. Without a prepared or adapted script for the stage to begin with, the collaborators and performers sought to uncover and discover meanings in the text in order to imagine their own narrative of the story. Through a series of workshops and discussions from January 2006, the collaborators attempted to express themselves through different modes – Mark Teh and his ensemble of performers via choreographed movement, Mac Chan through lighting design and Shanon Shah through music. Director Chee Sek Thim then collected these parallel interpretations to fashion a cohesive piece out of them. Always, however, Beth Yaph’s text remained central in the piecing together of the story.
In 1969 was a work that was till in the process of creation. Think of it not as a staging of an end product, but rather as an initial imagining of a story with multiple possibilities. This is our imagining of how lives were affected during May 13, in 1969.
In 1969 (2006) Teaser
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