Written by multi-award-winning writer, Alfian Sa’at, whose previous work with Ekamatra includes the large-scale Causeway 2 (2002) and more recently Nadirah (2009) and directed and designed by Associate Artistic Director, Mohd Fared Jainal, Kakak Kau Punya Laki, with lighting by Anuar Mohd and sound by Anaiz Abdul Majid. To dramatise what many still consider a controversial subject, the most famous fugitive detainee under the Internal Security Act, Mas Salamat Kastari, Alfian Sa’at chose to use comedy and farce to best serve what he saw as a combination of absurdity and hysteria.
Featuring a cast of four women and one man to play the five sisters, Kakak Kau Punya Laki brought together artists whose past collaborations with Teater Ekamatra span its entire history. Though the play's theme is serious, the work was programmed to celebrate and conclude Ekamatra’s 25th season.
Winning numerous awards at The Straits Times LIFE! Theatre Awards and nominated as Theatre Company of the Year by IS:Magazine (2011); Teater Ekamatra consistently performs to sold out houses with average audience attendance regularly at 85%. It has a reputation for being socially conscientious, for experimentations with theatrical form and styles, and for encouraging new writers.
Teater Ekamatra is a not-for-profit organisation and has been a producer of high quality theatre for more than 20 years, engaging thousands of audiences with its social-centric mission. Ekamatra means ‘One Vision’, garnering support from audiences of various races, nationalities and age groups. Its mission is to bring people together, and to invigorate and inject diversity into Singapore theatre.
(Synopsis and Theme)
Playwright Alfian Sa’at was inspired by the mysteries surrounding true-life detainee, Mas Salamat Kastari and was interested in “some of the dynamics operating within the darkness of preventive detention without trial.” He also questions the concept that fundamentalism and extremism are necessarily a drift towards violence; and wonders why we examine serial killers from a psychological lens but choose an ideological lens when dealing with terrorists. Some of the darkness he explores includes “trumped-up accusations, confessions made under threat and duress, and ‘re-programming’ of a detainee”.
Four of the Selamat sisters are modern and successful: the wife of a prominent banker, a Maths teacher, a housing agent and a stewardess. Their eldest sister, Mas, is something else altogether. She is superstitious, old-fashioned, and smells like damp clothes. She sells curry puffs in front of MRT stations and collects magazines filled with stories of mystery illnesses, pontianak sightings and magic stones.
One day, Maslindah announces to her sisters that she has finally fallen in love. Her sisters are intrigued and alarmed, since they are convinced that Maslindah would remain a spinster forever. As they try to discover more about Maslindah’s mysterious boyfriend, they are forced to confront their own prejudices towards Maslindah.
Kakak Kau Punya Laki is a play that raises questions about black sheep, outcasts and sociopaths. What exactly is the dividing line between normalcy and deviance? Who ultimately decides where to draw that line? And how do you solve a problem like Mas Binte Selamat?
Performed in Malay with English surtitles

CAST

Maslindah Bte Selamat ......... Najib Soiman
Hasnidah Bte Selamat ......... Mastura Ahmad
Zuraidah Bte Selamat ......... Noorlinah Mohamed
Junaidah Bte Selamat ......... Farah Ong
Rashidah Bte Selamat ......... Maimunah Bagharib

PRODUCTION

Playwright ......... Alfian Sa’at
Director/ Set Designer ......... Mohd Fared Jainal
Lighting Designer ......... Anuar Mohd
Sound Designer ......... Anaiz Abdul Majid
Publicity Designer ......... Irfan Kasban
Production Manager ......... Shaza Ishak
Stage Manager ......... Nur Shahidah Idris
Assistant Stage Manager ......... Habibah Mohckeram
Esplanade Sound Operator ......... Unidentified
Surtitle Operator ......... Farisha Jubri
Make-up Artist ......... Zulhelmi Bin Hasbi
Dressers ......... Irini, Mimi
Stage Crew ......... Farez Najid, Jamil
Esplanade Crew ......... Unidentified
Front of House ......... Moses Tan