Saturday 16 July 2011

University of Otago's Malam Malaysia : Mahsuri

It was a superb event and I truly enjoyed myself very much. The crowd was s supportive and most of all, the actors, dancers, singers and crews were top notch.

The night started off with a welcome note from the 2010/2011 President, Mr Imran Fauzi followed by the committee video. The choir then did an acapella to bring the crowd's attention to the stage and hence simbolise the beginning of an awesome play.

Mahsuri was one of the folk tales in Malaysia where she was a very fine maiden from Langkawi (one of the islands in northern Malaysia). She was accused of adultery and pleaded her innocence but no one believed her. She was stabbed to death but before dying, she laid a curse on Langkawi and indeed, Langkawi had bad luck for 7 generations. The blood that flow out of the wound was white and it was believed that the white blood signified her innocence.

However, the play tonight was blended with some other folk tales and had a taste of cheekiness to entertain the crowd.

Here are pictures from the play. Credits to Nik Tee for taking these photos.

The President (Imran Fauzi) making his opening speech and welcoming everyone to the Malaysian Night 2011.

Tuan Laksamana (left) and Tuan Bendahara (right) greeting each other before the arrival of the Sultan. The both of them are the right hand men of the Sultan.

The Sultan (middle) and his assistants in deep conversation.

The dancers entertaining the crowd with their first dance whereby Mahsuri (not in picture) is portrayed as a beautiful maiden and that was the first time she danced in front of the Sultan.

Mahsuri (right) dancing to the song "Hatinya tak tahan" by Noraniza Idris.

Orang Kaya Derawan (middle) pushing away Wan Darus (left) as Derawan tries to win Mahsuri's heart.

Orang Kaya Derawan (middle)and his friends discussing about the pretty Mahsuri. The crowd loves it when Chris calls himself Orang Kaya Derawan. Probably it was because the way he said it and he carried the character well.

A happy looking Mahsuri as she gossips away with Sri Jinjang (not in picture).

Derawan (middle) tries to woo Mahsuri (in white kebaya) as a jealous Sri Jinjang (in red kebaya) looks on.

The fantastic choir singing the song "Lelaki Ini" led by Mohd. Fadzrel.Fadzrel was good at entertaining the crowd with a little temper when he tried to sing the song "Semua Untukmu" by Anuar Zain twice but failed because he got intercepted by Derawan. Fadzrel has the potential to become a superb singer.

Sultan Mahmud tries to read the list of requirements before Mahsuri agrees to be his queen.

Mahsuri and Sri Jinjang talks about how heart broken Wan Darus is when Sri Jinjang lets slip that the Sultan proposed to Mahsuri.

Wan Darus and Mahsuri in love. It was such a sweet scene accompanied by Fadzrel singing the song "Lelaki Ini" by Anuar Zain.

Derawan proposes to Mahsuri but was rejected by Mahsuri because the one that Mahsuri truly loves is Wan Darus.

An angry looking Derawan. He was rejected by Mahsuri when he proposed to her but instead Mahsuri accepted Wan Darus' proposal. Derawan was sad that after all he had done for Mahsuri, he still couldn't have her.

The hooligans of the night. These 3 are supposed to be the black sheep amongst the villagers.

These 3 boys tried to rape Mahsuri but failed when Wan Darus came to Mahsuri's rescue.

Wan Darus fighting off one of the hooligan to protect Mahsuri while Mahsuri onlooks.

The dancers performing to the song "Forget you" and "Grenade" sung by the choir.

Zariq leading the choir to perform the "Forget you" and "Grenade" mashup.

Michelle Vincent doing a duet to the song "Sudah kahwin ka belum" by Anita Sarawak with Fadzrel (not in piture). Do not judge her by her wee figure and the young looks. This young lady has a killer voice.

Imran Fauzi (right), Catherine Fletcher (middle) and Mr. Dick Chou, the owner of Chopsticks 101 (right) givin away the $10 meal voucher from Chopsticks 101 for the lucky draw winners during the intermission. There are other prizes such as 10% discount vouchers from Taj Mahal and $15 and $20 meal vouchers from Asian.

The gorgeous dancers dancing to traditional Chinese music to entertain the Sultan.

Sultan Mahmud (left) seduced by Puteri Hang Li Po (right) as she entertains him with a traditional Chinese performance.

Mahsuri and Wan Darus in love (after marriage). This couple had to separate when Wan Darus commita himself to becoming a soldier during the war between Melaka and siam. However, when Wan Darus was protecting his country, Derawan seized the opportunity to seduce Mahsuri. As always, Mahsuri rejected him but lust took over and Derawan raped Mahsuri. What was shocking was that Derawan accused Mahsuri of throwing herself at him and Mahsuri was punished for adultery.

Derawan bribing the imperial guard during the execution of Mahsuri.

Derawan (left most) making remarks about how Mahsuri tried to seduce him as Mahsuri remained helpless at the brink of the execution.

Derawan getting angry when the villagers tried to defend Mahsuri.

An emotional Mahsuri cursed Melaka to have bad luck for 7 generations.

Mahsuri bled white blood and this was proof that she was innocent The true adulterer was Derawan. A dejected Wan Darus cried over Mahsuri's dead body. Mahsuri's curse worked and not only Melaka lost the war to Siam but also had bad luck for 7 generations.

The play ended with an energetic performance by the dancers who performed an Indian dance routine.

One of the lead dancers for the Indian dance enjoying her last performance on stage that night.

The other lead dancer for the Indian dance also enjoying herself on stage. They gained superb applaud from the crowd afterwards.

Ken as one of the imperial guards showing off his silat skills.

The director who made all of this happen - Miss Yang Safia. All the hard work, diligence and time put into this play was definitely worth it.

Everyone in the Teacher's College Auditorium enjoyed themselves that night. They could not stop talking about the performance afterwards and the proud committee could not help but smile. All the VIP enjoyed themself very much and applauded OMSA for putting up a splendid show.

Cheers
Min ^^

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