review If the adage about life imitating fiction holds true, then Rumah Anak Teater (RAT) artistic director Shamili Abnan’s play ‘Tanda’, is a dark foretelling of a doomed Malaysia.

In his work, Shamili 39, better known as Nam Ron, reflects on the apocalypse that many claim will occur come the ‘galactic alignment’ of 2012.

Indeed, the jealousy and institutional constipation that caused it to be staged it at the PJ Live Arts Centre - away from its original venue at the National Arts Academy - is a tale worth telling, another time.

NONE Drawing upon Hollywood’s cache of apocalyptic movies, ancient Mayan lore, as well as the religious tradition of Judaism, Christianity, Islam and others, as Nam Ron himself puts it, “the play sought to portray the ‘signs’ of an impending end of days”.

Aptly titled ‘Tanda’, which is the Malay equivalent of the word ‘signs’, the play begins by exploring the disintegration of the family via the portrayal of beached whales that have ‘lost their way’ by virtue of being separated or having left their pod or family unit.

Superimposed upon this is the breaking up of a rural family by the departure of a young man seeking his fortune. This breaks the back of his family who depends on him.

It is uncanny the way this mirrors how the family is being neglected in our own society where elders are abandoned at nursing homes and hospitals and children are abused almost on a daily basis.

Next on the list is the portrayal of ambitious leaders who freely sacrifice the populace to achieve their egoistical goals.

This is something we are quite familiar with in Malaysia, having being on the receiving end of Sukarno’s ‘Konfrontasi’.

More recently, we have troublesome politicians like Ibrahim Ali and his right-wing NGO Perkasa, who are agitating the Malays towards a confrontation for their own ends, potentially risking disharmony and chaos in the making.

Familiar scenery

‘Tanda’ also portrays the mechanisation of a society, going through the routines of a busy itinerary, something we busy Malaysians are beginning to appreciate. This was done by putting on display a clockwork society driven by machine-like movements of mindless drones. An all too familiar Malaysian scenerio.

The play also touched on how we are turning more and more into an insular society unable to truly express ourselves, via the convoluted attempts of two individuals to share their heartfelt secrets.

Unfortunately, the only empathy they manage to garner is from a gossip-starved society whose ‘fly-on-the-wall’ attitude is more tuned to the sensational than an understanding of deeper issues. With the sales of gossip newspapers soaring and sensational news making headlines, it is perhaps an apt depiction of today’s society.

Latching on to the rat-race, the play then spices things up with an examination of the very modern attitudes of a consumer society, where everything is kosher in the pursuit of riches and happiness, even if it leads to the destruction of the earth.

Parodying this is the very cute but highly serious portrayal of three clueless herders who prostitute nature and pollute the environment to the selfish tune of commercial profit. How many burnt hectares of Malaysian rainforest and blackened rivers stand testament to that?

drug abuse What follows next is a progressive display of substance abuse and entertainment abuse culminating in an all out cacophony of an orgy. It’s a true depiction of our own gradually increasing hedonistic tendencies. Some open-minded liberals might defend drugs and wild parties - but only until their children are involved.

A depiction of the recent debacle at Copenhagen climate change conference was also included, showcasing how countries bicker instead of coming together to solve problems and end up fighting one another and playing the blame game.

‘Tanda’ also questioned that perhaps nature is seeking to rid itself of the troublesome humans that are slowly killing it. Self-preservation of the natural kind indeed.

Lonely trumpet

The play culminates with the end of days, displaying how a lethargic society is caught unprepared, and with the confusion caused by religious doctrine. The anti-Christ or Dajal leads everyone astray, before God destroys his entire creation.

An indictment perhaps, of our very own unmindful society and the dangers of hijacking religious doctrines.

   

The play ends with a solo trumpet note echoing the ‘Sangkakala’ of Islamic lore, the final trumpet which will awaken everyone after the apocalypse to face God’s judgement.

It’s an apt ending as it calls the audience to brood on the possibility that we are indeed the ones contributing to the apocalypse, that it is our damaging actions which may make the End of Days a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Hopefully, ‘Tanda’ will remind us to be mindful of our actions, its ‘signs’ serving as reminders for us to care for our self, our country, our world and our future.

As stated in the programme booklet, by RAT managing director Faisal Mustaffa, “our ignorance of the various forces of nature may disrupt its delicate arrangement; it is our collective responsibility to care for nature and to maintain its balance”.

HAZLAN ZAKARIA is a member of the Malaysiakini team.