Following sold-out shows of her first full-length performance in Malaysia last year, leading Japanese choreographer Un Yamada continues her love affair with the country through the premiere of People without Seasons. Running for a limited time from 20 to 22 October at The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (klpac), this dance-theatre hybrid will gather a mixed ensemble of homegrown talent and members of her professional troupe Co. Un Yamada.
The cross-cultural production is a locally reimagined version of Yamada’s earlier work. First performed in 2012, it unfolds a narrative inspired by Shugoro Yamamoto’s novel A Town without Seasons as well as Akira Kurosawa’s cinematic adaptation Dodes’ka-den.
Backed by the stirring music of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, the tragicomedy brings to life her kinetic interpretations of hope, using the bodies of the cast to express such emotions as joy, anger, pathos, and humour with relation to the lives of residents of a shantytown.
Fauzi Amirudin and Jabar Laura were invited to Japan in March this year to present a revival of the original piece in conjunction with the 50th anniversary since Yamamoto’s death. There, Jabar recounted tales of his hometown in Sabah, which shares a number of similarities with the play’s slum setting. Intrigued, Yamada visited the state in August with set designer Hiroshi Fuji and costume designer RYOTAMURAKAMI, where she received the idea to transplant the story to Malaysia after encountering a small village.
Both Fauzi and Jabar will be a part of the new cast featuring eight fellow Malaysians who made the cut after a series of competitive auditions. Notedtheatre practitioner Janet Pillai completes the group alongside Yamada herself and four company dancers.
Dates Friday, 20 October, 8.30 p.m. Saturday, 21 October, 8.30 p.m. Sunday, 22 October, 3.30 p.m.
Admission RM55 | General RM28 | Students, senior citizens, disabled, TAS card holders, JFKL library members
Ticket Purchase klpac Box Office| Call 03 4047 9000 or visit from 10.00 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. daily TicketPro | Call 03 7880 7999 or visit ticketpro.com.my
Venue Pentas 1, The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (klpac) Sentul Park, Jalan Strachan, Off Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah, 51100 Kuala Lumpur
Syed Haziq Afiq Mohd Zulkarnain Sueki Yee Yap Chiw Yi Janet Pillai
Trained in gymnastics, ballet and butoh, Yamada started her career as a choreographer in 1996. Her works are described as sensitive, energetic and dynamic; drawing inspiration from everyday gestures and actions. She first stamped her mark in the dance world in 2000 when she won the French Embassy Prize for Young Choreographers at the Yokohama Dance Collection. Two years later, she formed her own professional dance troupe Co. Un Yamada.
