Play staged in memory of murdered student
KOTA KINABALU: Local community theatre NGO Green Leaf Theatre House staged a two-night play entitled ‘Firsts and Last’ in memory of murdered student Yaacob Nasran.
The play, which was performed to sold out audiences on both nights of August 5 and 6 at Black Box KK in Suria Sabah, chronicled the life of protagonist Jacob (inspired by Yaacob) from birth, following his growth as he progressed through school, family life and relationships.
Principal director Hazli Bojili explained the concept of the play as wanting to celebrate the ‘firsts’ of Jacob’s life (birth, entering school, making friends), portraying the character as one with boundless potential, before it all comes to an abrupt end.
“What makes life meaningful is when you wake up every morning and have something to look forward to. Those are the ‘firsts’ highlighted in the play, portraying the promises of tomorrow and the exciting things that have yet to happen for you.
“We wanted the flow of the play to reflect on the character Jacob’s transitions as he embarks on his many ‘firsts,’ capturing the moments he established with the people in his life. We also wanted to draw a parallel between Jacob and Yaacob, who, in real life, was experiencing many firsts himself.
“He had just started college and met a beautiful girl. He had many more firsts ahead of him, but someone came along and robbed him of all that.
“We called the play ‘Firsts and Last’ because while firsts can be very exciting, it can also make you anxious because everything eventually comes to an end.
“When someone has run out of firsts and has nothing else to look forward to, they become very bitter because they feel as though they have reached the end of their rope, the very ‘last’ chapter of their book, and it irks them to see others who still have so much ahead of them. That was what we tried to get across in the play,” Hazli explained.
From the first scene, Jacob is accompanied onstage by a mysterious person holding a balloon. The same person reappears consistently throughout the play, each time bearing different coloured balloons.
This person, Chaim, signifies Jacob’s memories both good and bad, appearing especially during crucial moments when new ‘firsts’ are introduced to the audience, said Hazli.
“‘Chaim’ is a Hebrew word which means ‘life.’ In the play, the character Chaim is seen carrying balloons of different colours at different points, and each balloon represents the memory or moment that is being played out onstage.
“The interactions between Chaim and Jacob illustrate the latter replaying each memory and reliving them,” he said.
The play closed off with a tribute video to Yaacob, comprising pictures and short clips of him with family and friends, before capping with a few words from his father Nasran Harun @ Nigel.
“As we go forward, I pray that Yaacob has inspired you to do great things with your lives, but if you cannot do those great things, do small things with great love,” he said, as he is joined by the rest of his family along with the cast onstage.
Yaacob’s brother Nabiel, who played the character of Billy (Jacob’s brother) in the play, thanked Green Leaf for staging the production and said he was ‘grateful’ to have them.
“Hope all of you will continue making beautiful art. Remember: relax, life is short and do small things with great love,” he said.
‘Firsts and Last’ was supported by the Society of Performing Arts, Kota Kinabalu (SPArKS) as the closing act of the KK Arts Festival.
Cast and crew included Juan Amri as Jacob, Koshigan s/o Guvalakrisnan as Chaim, Rodney Disimon as Chaim II, Fahtiha Nasarudin as Sara, Kristy Tanduyah as Mom, Zeke Stidi as Dad, Nickholas Justinus as Darrel and Nabiel as Billy, with Jasmine Rajah as co-director and Rendall Ian and Jaramier Joibi as technicians.
Yaacob, 19, was stabbed to death in an attack at Asia City on December 15, last year.