Teater Culik blends emotion, comedy and tragedy

By Rosli Mansor Ahmad Razali

IPOH: The story of two friends who resort to kidnapping a wealthy businessman’s child in a desperate bid for survival will be brought to life through Teater Culik at Insider Satellite Ipoh on May 23 and 24.

The situation turns tragic when the ransom plan descends into chaos after the kidnapping victim dies unexpectedly while still being held captive, triggering a series of conflicts and disasters for the kidnappers.

The comedy-tragedy play, written by Walid Ali, will be directed by Ard Omar and staged in a black box theatre to create a more relaxed, intimate connection with the audience.

Ard said the production team deliberately chose a smaller performance space outside conventional auditoriums to make theatre more accessible and attract new audiences, particularly among Ipoh’s creative and hipster communities.

“If staged at JKKN, the venue is much larger and more formal. This time, we wanted a setting that feels closer to the community.

“We also hope to engage new communities such as musicians and creative groups because Ipoh is one of the cities that embraces arts and hipster culture,” he said in a media statement.

He added that the play highlights themes of family, love and humanity through a mix of humour, sorrow and emotional conflict rooted in economic hardship.

The one-hour-and-30-minute production is organised by the Larut Matang Selama District Cultural Association in collaboration with the Perak Theatre Artists and Stage Technical Association (STEPS) and INSPIRE IPOH.

Tickets are priced at RM15 for general admission and RM30 for exclusive seating.

Earlier this year, STEPS gained attention through its Panggung Kotak 4.0 programme, which featured six black box theatre productions staged at Ipoh Central Market and received encouraging audience support.

Refer to the poster below for more information and ticketing.