The Girl from Ipoh

Wonderful proof that music makes everything come alive! I watched this play last night at KL Performing Arts Centre (KLPac) in Sentul and I was thoroughly absorbed into its story, largely due to the fantastic a cappella performances of the LiT performers.

Like the title says, it's the story of a girl from Ipoh - one who was educated in a Malay school, cannot speak much Chinese, hated anything Chinese and everything loud and rowdy that went with it, wanting very much to leave her Chinese roots in Ipoh, and eventually returning to realise that she cannot leave it all behind.

3 main guys play a role in her life - her typical Chinese father (the one who shouts at her for her uselessness as a Chinese and voices his pride in being Chinese by despising all things English i.e. Christmas presents); her first-love (who makes her realise that to get away from her Chinese roots, she has to leave Ipoh); and the guy she wants to marry (who indirectly eventually forces her to return to where she came from).

The final message of the play is that there's a "girl from Ipoh" in all of us. Particularly apt for those who are often typecast as "PJ girls" or "KL girls" who don't speak Chinese properly and often idolise all things Western. The question : When is a Chinese not Chinese enough? The answer : Never. The Chinese-ness remains, whether in the way you greet the elders at the dining table to eat, the way food remains a big part of our daily conversations, the way that Chinese elements are always all around you no matter where you go.

Plotline aside, the play was made extra memorable by the a cappella singers. They are the little voices and songs in the mind of the girl from Ipoh, Wong Mei Lee. At appropriate moments, they sing to express her thoughts or make her feel better. I particularly loved the opening act where they sang "The Sound of Silence" and the closing act where they incorporated a chant of "Ipoh sar hor fun, ngar choi kai, ..." and got the audience clapping for an encore.

The play is written and directed by Low Ngai Yuen, with the very beautiful Carmen Soo as the title character. A simple script with many underlying messages, undoubtedly brought to life by the strong performances of Carmen Soo, Lee Swee Keong, Season Chee, Tony Eusoff and the LiT performers. All dressed by Melinda Looi (now that is something to drool over - especially the wedding dress Carmen Soo was wearing, gosh). In fact, I never knew Carmen Soo could act - I guess not all models are just looks. And she's really beautiful, and petite.

Anyway, after we exited the hall, my sister and her friends excitedly went around taking pictures with everyone - Ngai Yuen, Carmen, Season Chee, Tony Eusoff. I met a number of friends in the audience, all Amanians. And on the way driving out of the YTL part of Sentul, we passed this huge colonial mansion that looked thoroughly deserted and illuminated by spotlights, making it quite ideal for a haunted movie - or maybe a bridal photo shoot area in the day. I wonder what that building's doing there in the midst of all the construction. A conservation project by YTL?

All in all, good night out. Reminded me of the last time I attended something similar - the KL Young Singers performance at Actors Studio Bangsar, a long time ago. Remind me to support more local theatre because it always seems to blow me away ;)