Musical 'Dendam Laksamana': Pekin showcases his hidden talents

KUALA LUMPUR: Film and theatre actor Pekin Ibrahim took three weeks to learn to sing, read poetry both in 'pantun' and gurindam' (traditional forms of Malay poetry) and the silat martial art to perfect his portrayal in the musical titled 'Dendam Laksamana'.
Despite the short time given, Pekin whose his real name is Mohd Iznan Ibrahim, 36, and Best Actor award recipient at the 2016 Malaysian Film Festival, was determined to portray his character Laksamana Megat Sri Rama to the best of his ability.
"It is not easy because 'Dendam Laksamana' is a 'bangsawan' (traditional Malay musical ) that requires us to sing, perform silat apart from learning how to deliver the 'pantun' and 'gurindam' the correct way, so I need to understand the script well," he told Bernama after last night's performance at the Kuala Lumpur City Hall Auditorium.
Pekin said the musical also required him and his cast mates to understand the script well because it was different from the modern theatre style.
Known for his acting in films such as 'Hantu Kak Limah Balik Rumah' (2010), 'Bunohan' (2012) and 'Munafik' (2016), the musical saw Pekin branching out into 'bangsawan' stage and learned to play flute as well.

The three-day 'Dendam Laksamana', beginning Friday, marked the maiden collaboration between the Department of National Culture and Arts (JKKN), Association of Seni Silat Pusaka Sendeng Malaysia Association and the Pat Ibrahim Project Entertainment (PIPE).
The two-hour musical, also featuring actress-singer Nadia Aqilah, actors Megat Sharizal, Anwar Rusdini and Hamzah Tahir, narrated the story of Sultan Mahmud who died while being carried in his royal litter, and based on the book titled 'Masyhor Malaya', which was written by Shaharom Husain and published in 1978.
Its director, Taufik Ibrahim, or better known as Pat Ibrahim, 51, said he faced many challenges to direct his debut in 'bangsawan', as it has certain 'formula' to follow through, made it very different compared to other musical theatre performances.
Despite his 25 years experience in performing arts, Pat who was involved in musicals namely 'Puteri Gunung Ledang the Musical' and 'P.Ramlee the Musical' considered 'Dendam Laksamana' to be very challenging but took it on with the hope to revive 'bangsawan' that has now been forgotten especially by the younger generation.
Meanwhile, Fauziah Nawi, renowned director and actress, in her Facebook account praised the ability of actors involved in the 'Dendam Laksamana' on stage.
Australian film director Virginia Kennedy, who has resided here for the past 20 years, found the musical very entertaining, with her favourites being the witch part, the production, the lighting as well as the intervals, apart from finding the story powerful and painful at the same time, which reminded her a little bit of Shakespeare. – Bernama