Malaya Relived: The Penang Riots is brought to you by the BOH Cameronian awarded UK & Malaysia-based theatre company, Liver & Lung Productions.
OPULENCE, OPALS AND OPIUM. Travel back in time with Liver & Lung’s new immersive historical musical, a sycophantic, sultry exploration of Penang Hokkien high life and the George Town gang riots of 1867.
Malaya Relived: The Penang Riots
Lady Hwang (Cheryl Tan) is anxious. Her lord has been at sea for almost half a year now and her snooping yet devoted hand-maiden, Opal (Melissa Ong), finds it increasingly difficult to soothe her nerves. There are only two things that give her peace: her unwavering devotion to the Jade Emperor and the good, profitable land in George Town that her father bestowed upon her after his death.
Things take a turn when Lord Hwang returns and gifts the Lady with a personal slave: a dark-skinned Eunuch (Phraveen Arikiah) with a prophetic disposition. The Eunuch accounts that Lord Hwang has begun trading opium and may now be working with the Red Flags, George Town’s most notorious Hokkien secret society.
As tensions increase in Penang and as Lord Hwang leads the Red Flags to riot against the Cantonese White Flags, Lady Hwang slowly turns to the consuming ecstasy of opium. The trio must now face the difficult task of swallowing their pride, maintaining the status and land of their Great House and, more importantly, extinguishing the dark motives of their shared enemy: Lord Hwang.
Brought to life in the form of a three-act musical, the show invites you on a time-bending journey as you are given the rare opportunity to visit 19th Century George Town. Strung together with original music inspired by Chinese opera and the dulcet tones of early technicolor cinema, Liver & Lung promises a colourful journey with familiar sounds, smells and tastes.
Audiences are invited to dress in their best traditional wear, enjoy the kueh and witness Malaysian history unfold before their eyes.
Liver & Lung is a critically acclaimed and award-winning international theatre company. Stylistic and didactic, their plays, musicals and events in London, Edinburgh and Malaysia have reached a wide audience.
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In 2017, their original musical, Mahsuri and Other Peculiar Tales won Malaysia’s Boh Cameronian Arts Award for Innovation in Musical Theatre. We are proudly partnering with GMBB, a retail creative hub at the heart of KL city, an exciting new ecosystem for creative growth and collaboration.
Starring Ola Bola’s Melissa Ong as Opal, KLPAC’s Norm & Ahmed’s Phraveen Arikiah as the Eunuch and Singaporean-based award winning theatre and TV actress Cheryl Tan as Lady Hwang, The Penang Riots is effortlessly directed and written by Shafeeq Shajahan, alongside Ian Skatu in the role of musical director and composer.
For more information, please visit www.liverandlung.com
The Story – Malaya Relived: The Penang Riots
Act 1:1864 – Lady Hwang is anxious.Her lord has been at sea for almost half a year now and her snooping yet devoted hand-maiden, Opal, finds it increasingly difficult to soothe her nerves.
Meanwhile, the arrival of a dark-skinned, prophetic eunuch from India upsets the ladies when they also discover that Lord Hwang may have opium- related ties to George Town’s most notorious Hokkien secret society, The Red Flags.
Act 2:1866 – George Town suffers wide-spread famine, but the House of Hwang stands strong, enjoying the fruits of Lord Hwang’s opium trade.
As the Eunuch prophesizes civil unrest in Penang, tensions heighten. Lady Hwang underestimates the role Lord Hwang plays in the rising conflict between The Red Flags and the Cantonese secret society, The WhiteFlags.
Act 3: 1867 – The Lady is mad. As opium has consumed her, she refuses to listen to the Eunuch and Opal’s warnings that riots are taking place on the streets of George Town.
In the process of seeking refuge, Lady Hwang, Opal and the Eunuch discover a shared secret which turns them against a shared enemy: LordHwang.
Show & Venue Information – Malaya Relived: The Penang Riots
GMBB Gallery, No 2, Jalan Robertson, 50150, Kuala Lumpur
Dates 27-30 June 2019
Time 20:00
Ticket prices : RM70 (BOOK Now!)
