Bound for America
Contemporary Malaysian theatre production Thicker Than Water is all geared up to take on New York.
PEOPLE the world over chase after the elusive American dream. For homegrown performing arts company TerryandTheCuz, that dream will be coming true soon.
Its latest offering Thicker Than Water will premiere this May at The Public Theatre in New York.
This will be the first fully-produced Malaysian show to premiere off-Broadway.
The play, starring actor/comedian Douglas Lim and filmmaker/ writer/director Gavin Yap, delves into the pursuit of the American dream. It centres around two Malaysian screenwriters, played by Lim and Yap, who set out to write the perfect American film.
“In the midst of it, they realise that they are losing their identity as Malaysians and they realise it’s better if they remain true to being Malaysians and stick to what they know best,” says Terence Conrad, co-founder of TerryandTheCuz, during a media conference at the Malaysian Tourism Centre (MaTic) in KL on Friday.
Tan Sri Norliza Rofli, the director-general of National Department for Culture and Arts (JKKN), who was present at the media conference, mentioned that the strong and engaging Malaysian element in this show makes it an ideal contemporary arts export.
Conrad, in discussing the pertinent themes in the play, says it all started over a conversation about how Malaysians are so Americanised.
“The British may have colonised us but we also have been colonised through American pop culture. That is what we set out to do in this play. Do both the characters go on to sell the perfect American show because that’s how they have been indoctrinated, or do they write an American show based on their experience of being Malaysians?” says Conrad.
Thicker Than Water aims to explore and dissect how Malaysians, from the outside, consume American pop culture, which leads us to form different opinions about the true America. More than that, it is a study on the pursuit of identity, dreams and ambition.
TerryandTheCuz and The Public Theatre crossed paths back in 2015 at the International Society of Performing Arts (IPSA) Congress in New York.
“They approached us and we had a conversation. They asked us what we’re doing next and we gave them some ideas.
“They originally liked a different show that we pitched, a musical, but we asked if we could try out something smaller. That is how this show came about,” recounts Conrad.
The play was presented to Malaysian audiences last November in KL.
The script has undergone several rewrites since and Conrad says the final version will be sent to The Public Theatre at the end of this month.
“The audience feedback here was important. Some scenes were shortened and some musical numbers made more prominent,” he explains.
While The Public Theatre will cover all the production costs (set, design) in the staging of the play, Conrad says US$85,000 (RM332,699) is needed to cover the transportation, accommodation and daily costs, on top of paying a fee to the actors’ union in New York.
“At the moment, the stage manager and me will be in New York by early April. Rehearsals will start once the actors arrive in late April. That’s the timeline we have now,” he concludes.
Thicker Than Water premieres at Joe’s Pub, The Public Theatre, New York from May 18-20. FB: TerryandTheCuz.