North East Malaysian Night 2013 (2)

A Slice of Malaysia in Newcastle (One Night Only).

- by Alvin Chua 

Greetings from Durham,

I’m Alvin Chua, a second year student of Ancient History and Archaeology at Durham University. Here is an article on the North East Malaysian Night, which was held at the Northumbria Students Union on the 24^th of March 2013. Basically, the event can be divided into 3 parts – the play, ‘pasar malam’, and more performances.   

The Play

Adnan Rahim gives a uniquely Malaysian twist to the age-old tale of star-crossed lovers in "Beautiful Pretence". Two figures from diametrically opposed backgrounds are brought together by fate. A harmony of contradictions, or a recipe for disaster…? 

Jet Kee, a member of the notorious “Super Sepet 808” gang, meets Nur Ain, daughter of the “minister in charge of the state police”(if one ever existed). Love blossoms between the two (obviously). 

Alas, “The course of true love never did run smooth.” Jet is eventually caught in a dilemma, and has to decide between loyalty to the gang and love. 

I missed the ending, unfortunately (duty called), but I understand that the audience is left to guess whether Jet was killed or not. In a proper tragedy, he’d be dead.

In all honesty, the play was not my cup of tea, though there were many who loved it. (A more thorough piece of writing on the play will be on the DUMAS blog.) 

The ‘Pasar Malam’

From what I can tell, the ‘pasar malam’ was a great success. Great Malaysian food (When you’re in the UK, more so in Durham than Newcastle, ANY Malaysian food is likely to be great.) Perhaps the only thing lacking, atmosphere-wise, was the open-air setting. With the UK weather, though, you’d think twice before selling or indulging in ‘nasi lemak’ or ‘teh tarik’ outdoors. The pleasure soon turns to pressure, I can assure you. 

The Other Performances

Unfortunately, the last train heading to Durham was the 2145 one, so quite a few Durhamites had to leave early. From what I’ve heard, though, the various performances were spectacular. One particular act (so I’ve been told), which involved female dancers, generated a vast amount excitement amongst the audience, so much so that, to quote a spectator (not in verbatim, but more or less) “I shout until my throat sore.”

Well, there’s my take on the North East Malaysian Night in about 400 words. I hope you enjoyed reading it.

P.S. Durham is pronounced “Dar-em” (ˈdʌrəm), and not Dar-ham. 

(Try inserting the former into the ‘Pink Panther’ tune, if that helps.)

Posted in: 2013,May,Special