Instant Cafe Night Live! Edisi X - Program Book

WRITERS FOREWARD

Writing comedy is hard. Writing comedy in the New Malaysia is even harder.

In Old Malaysia it was much easier. For 34 years, ICT thrived on satire and succeeded not only through wit but also by tapping into the anxieties of the moment. There was plenty of fodder – putting verbatim headlines and statements onstage performed by any of our iconic characters was already funny. Although we did always avoid the easy targets.

But now things are less clear cut.

What is the zeitgeist of this second time hopeful Malaysia? Who are we now? What are we trying to say? Have we evolved? Are things REALLY better? Or is it the more things change, the more they stay the same? These were just some of the issues we faced in writing this show.

Like all Malaysians, we were trying to come to grips with issues and suspicions that not only permeate our complex society but are all too often fanned by old and new politicians doing everything they can to survive.

The role of satire is to keep those in power on their toes. To question and hold them accountable. It is done to bring attention to issues in a way that we know best - through comedy.

With this show, we really had to examine what was happening on a daily basis. What we wrote one day, was no longer valid the next. We relooked at our present and as we did so we discovered that, the truth is, our past is not separable from our present. But we realised that despite that, it would not hold us back in raising the bar to create our future.

This show, more than ever, questions where we all are today, because it links us from the past to the present, the present to the future, because it forces us to think about the good and the bad, the false and the true, because it suggests explanations but no solutions, because it continues to experiment, engage, debate and collectively develop a nation which we all love and fight for.

We are watching. Malaysians are watching. The World is watching. Even bloody Singaporeans are watching. So please sit back, laugh and dream for the best for our beloved Home.

Together we will play. Together we will create.

Together we will form a better Malaysia.

Jo Kukathas, Zalfian Fuzi, Kam Raslan, Na’a Murad

A message from the presenter...

Shiraz Projects is proud to present Instant Café Night Live! Edisi X at the prestigious Plenary Theatre. Theatre was my early stomping ground and I initially met Zalfian and Jo whilst working on M! The Opera in 2006. We have been in discussion about collaborating for a long time and I am glad that it is finally happening.

Thank you to our sponsors, friends from the media, the team at KL Convention Centre and all who have supported Shiraz Projects and Instant Café Theatre. It has always been my wish to promote and elevate the status of local theatre. I hope to do more in future and I hope we have your support in upcoming ventures. Shiraz Projects is committed to organising and presenting events of excellent quality. My team and I are a passionate group who are always prepared to go the extra mile, giving you the very best.

Thank you for supporting Malaysian theatre. Enjoy the show!

Shirazdeen Karim Shiraz Projects

The Instant Cafe Theatre Company is back -  with its very own late night talk show INSTANT CAFE NIGHT LIVE! EDISI X.

Watch Jo Kukathas as her iconic characters YBeeee, the MP of Ulu Katak and the Deputy Minister of Kickbacks and Comebacks in the new kickass coalition government, and the bold, beautiful, badass from Sentul, Curry Spice, star of the Netflix show, Keeping Up With The Coomarasamys and her upcoming biopic Ini Kari Lah.

Catch them as they talk about everything from AI, flood, famine, quinoa, kelp, help, unity, salary, bikini, bribery, MADANI, MACC, LGBT, MYOB, 1MDB, WFH, WTH, TL;DR, Sheraton moves, nepotisi, despotisi, korupsi, recessi, opresi, YBnomics, chicken shortages, comebacks, kickbacks, coalitions, collusions, chopsticks, knives out, spoon fed, getting forked, new hopes, old dreams, Malaysia for Malaysians, everything, everywhere, anyhow, donno wai. And whether ChatGPT wrote this show. Who knows. Maybe.

Hosted by Malaysia’s West End singing sensation, the inimitable Sean Ghazi and the cutest standup comedian this side of the Straits, Kuah Jenhan.

Two guests, two hosts, twice the fun.

March 18, 2023, 8.30pm PLENARY THEATRE, KL CONVENTION CENTRE

Created by Jo Kukathas and Zalfian Fuzi with Kam Raslan and Na’a Murad.

JO KUKATHAS

Co-Founder and Artistic Director of The Instant Café Theatre Company

Writer, Creater, Performer

Jo Kukathas is an actor, writer, director, comedian, co-founder and Artistic Director of The Instant Café Theatre Company (1989), best known for its political satire and theatre reflecting Malaysia’s diverse ethnic, linguistic, religious, migratory composition. Instant Café Theatre was a pioneer in the Malaysian political comedy scene. Jo’s work tackles issues of race, religion, politics, gender, censorship, climate change, migration and xenophobia. She has run arts spaces, produced/curated festivals, staged productions, run workshops in Malaysia and abroad and toured work to Singapore, Japan, Australia and Indonesia. In 2022 she and Instant Café Theatre collaborated with Parastoo Theatre, a local theatre company for refugees run by Afghan theatre director, Saleh Sepas. She believes in the need for a more egalitarian, empathetic society and believes humour and telling stories is one way to create that. She has performed in a number of one woman shows written both by herself and others. She is an API and DDS Fellow.

ZALFIAN FUZI

Writer, Creator, Director

Zalfian Fuzi has worked in the creative industries producing shows and videos for award winning theatre productions, online media, and brand campaigns. Over the past 20 years he has been a director, arts manager, digital content producer, dramaturge, teacher and PR professional. Zalfian holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Drama from Philadelphia. Later, he was awarded a Chevening Scholarship by the British Government and graduated with a Master of Arts in Theatre Directing from London and Moscow.

As the former Associate Director of the Instant Café Theatre Company he has directed new works and shows with Jo Kukathas. Notable successes include award winning productions ‘Air Con’, ‘Hero’, ‘Instant Cafe Kurang Manis’, ‘Sex Money Scandal’, ‘1S1M1S’, ‘The Girlie Show’, ‘D’State Of D’Nation’, ‘The May 9 Show’, ‘Instant Cafe Night Live Edisi Banjir’ and countless corporate shows with the company.

NA’A MURAD

Writer, Creator

Na’a Murad is a founding member of the Instant Café Theatre, which meant writing and collaborating with some of the funniest people the KL stage has ever known. The Najib era became too unfunny eventually and Na’a stopped writing political satire. However, ICT is like the Mafia, just when you think you’re out... they pull you right back in, but he is glad to be making the world safe for fans of political satire again. Na’a mostly writes for TV and film (also directing and acting when needed - often doing all three at once). Speaking of acting, Na’a performed in ‘Transitions’, an original Malaysian play at KLPAC.

KAM RASLAN

Writer, Creator

Kam Raslan is a writer and radio broadcaster. He’s had a long running column in The Edge, wrote for The Economist, Men’s Review (back in the day), a novel “Confessions of an Old Boy”, was Editor of Esquire and now hosts “A Bit of Culture” on BFM Radio. Kam has been writing for ICT for 20 years and in that time has written at least five jokes.

SEAN GHAZI

Writer, Creator, Performer

Sean Ghazi is the first Malaysian to play a leading role on the London West End stage, having appeared in ‘MISS SAIGON ,‘RENT’ & ‘THE KING AND I’. His previous work with The Instant Café Theatre Company include the improvcomedy ‘Survival’ and several comedy revues , notably ‘Instant Café Night Live – The May 9th Show’.

As a singer - Sean’s concert appearances have been with US-based group Pink Martini - at the Hollywood Bowl, the Seattle Symphony, Pacific Symphony in Orange County, The Esplanade in Singapore and here at The Dewan Filharmonik Petronas in Kuala Lumpur. Other work as a solo vocalist include two Broadway-themed concerts with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and The Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra – both of which were conducted by Gerard Salonga.

Sean’s film work include C.O.G directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez starring Jonathan Groff, ‘Anna and the King’ starring Jodie Foster and Chow Yun Fat and the much delayed ‘Spilt Gravy’ adapted from the play ‘Spilt Gravy on Rice’ by Jit Murad – which went on to win Best Film at last year’s Festival Filem Malaysia.

Across The Causeway Sean has recently featured in leading roles in both ‘La Cage Aux Folles’ and ‘Urinetown – the Musical’. Sean is currently the Artistic Director of popular entertainment venue BoboKL and is the proud creator and lead singer of TARAKUCHA! – the retro inspired Malaysian big band.

KUAH JENHAN

Performer

Jenhan has been a comedian by profession since the age of 18. Over a decade since, Jenhan has been nominated for numerous awards including Best Comedy Show at the Perth Fringe World 2016 and has sold out shows in Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, and Hong Kong. Since the pandemic (which was so scary), Jenhan had to even sell himself out and work as a Creative Content Director at The Chariot Agency, where in just one year of working, Jenhan has won numerous awards (for advertising, still none for comedy).

On top of that, Jenhan has written and produced 5 solo comedy/theatre pieces that have seen premieres internationally and Jenhan also co-wrote the awardwinning ‘Lat Kampung Boy - Sebuah Muzikal’ that played at the Istana Budaya.

TRIA AZIZ

Guest Performer

The warmest introvert you would have ever met, Tria has been performing ever since she could remember, but turned her passion into a profession in 2004 after bagging the Audience Choice Award for the talent competition she joined on NTV7. Many years later, she has performed in more than 25 musicals and plays; brought home various awards such as the Boh Cameronian Arts Award for Best Musical Performer 2014, Best Supporting Actor in a Musical 2018 and Best Vocal in Music 2018. She was awarded Best Female Actor for Short + Sweet Musical in 2013 and Short + Sweet Theatre in 2017. Tria performed in the ‘The May 9 Show’ and just recently played Melur in ‘Melur The Musical’.

YBEEEE

He’s Malaysian Official 63, he may have lost the last election but he didn’t lose HIS equanimity, he’ll dress up as a dog and attack his own lawyer if he has to, he’s the only former Deputy Minister whose name you can still remember: He’s YBeeee! And he wants to Make Malaysia Great For Him Again (MMGFHA)

#ybeeeeku

#apamaluybeeeeku

CURRY SPICE

She’s the only member of her own girl band The Asian Spice Girls, she’s the star of ‘Keeping Up With The Coomarasamys’, she spent two weeks in London so she’s all, like, “in your face” and “know what I mean” and she plans to be the next PrimeMinister of Malaysia. That’s right, she’s the bi-sexual, bi-pedal, bi-nocular woman from Sentul - Curry Spice!

#inikarilah

#innit

PRODUCTION TEAM Instant Cafe Theatre & Shiraz Projects

SHERRINA KRISHNAN Producer

Sherrina is the founder of ARC Rhinowrites Productions, and has been producing and directing corporate film documentaries for the last 20 years. Believing that each company has a unique story to tell, Sherrina jumped at the opportunity to work with Yasmin Ahmad, flourishing under her mentorship and developing her own style that demonstrated a gift for drawing out people’s stories. Sherrina has been following ICT for all of their 30 years. Her desire to keep good theatre in Malaysia, led to her involvement in this production. Barking mad in her spare time, Sherrina has been instrumental in the Independent Pet Adoption Network for the last 12 years, and has rescued and rehomed over 5000 stray dogs and cats.

FARAH RANI Stage Manager

FARAH RANI is an actor based in Kuala Lumpur. In her career spanning 17 years, Farah has been an avid theatre practitioner. A six-time recipient of The Boh Cameronian Arts Awards, Farah is most known for her roles in Instant Café Theatre’s ‘Parah’ (as Melur), ‘Nadirah’ (as Maznah), ‘Gold Rain & Hailstones’ (as Amy), Playground Productions’ ‘Projek Disko Baldi’, and The Actors Studio’s ‘Kandang’ (as Bintaga). Her film credits include Dain Said’s ‘Iman Untuk Bulan’ (as Ida) and Liew Seng Tat’s ‘Flowers In The Pocket’ (as Cikgu Dara). She is currently exploring long form improvisation with the improv troupe AIIA Improv.

REZA ROSLI Multimedia Designer

Reza Rosli is a software architect who enjoys coding, live comedy and role-play games – a combination of interests that inevitably led him to dabble in theatre. He has collaborated with the Instant Café Theatre Company to create multimedia content for various productions including Instant Cafe Kurang Manis, Hero, Air Con, Sex Money Scandal:The Pandemic, The Girlie Show, and D’State of D’Nation.

EE CHEE WEI Lighting Designer

Chee Wei has been lighting the Malaysian arts scene since 1998. Locally, he lit Ola Bola, P.Ramlee, Super Mokh, Cuci the Musical, Kita The Musical, Kampung Boy, Sinbad, Chow Kit Road, and more. His versatility in lighting design extends to plays such as Cuckoo Birds, The Whole Beast, Full of Jit, The Coffin is Too Big For The Hole, Monkey Business and Tari Festival, and internationally in productions in USA, UK, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan. Chee Wei has received five BOH Cameronian Awards for Best Lighting Design, as well as the Anugerah Bakat Muda from The Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage. He was invited to be a part of the Cultural Visitors Program for Theatrical Designers administered by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington D.C, bringing the Malayan arts to American soil.

NISH THAM Music Director & Keyboardist

Nish Tham graduated from the prestigious Berklee College of Music and holds a Bachelor of Music Degree Summa Cum Laude in Performance and Arranging. Nish’s theatre credits include, 1Sex 1Money 1Scandal: The Virus Returns (2010 - Instant Café Theatre), Broadway Bites (2012 - Farah Sulaiman & Friends), Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along (2014 - PAN Productions), Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years (2014 - PAN Productions), Kander and Ebb’s Cabaret (2011 & 2015 - PAN Productions) and Made In America (Former titles: The Bee Project, Thicker Than Water -2012, 2017~2019, Terry and The Cuz). Nish also music directed the 9th,10th, and 15th Boh Cameronian Arts Awards, and is a 3-time nominee for Best Musical Direction in the Musical Theatre category. Nish’s music credits include - Music Director/ Arranger/ Pianist for Tarakucha! featuring Sean Ghazi & Ida Mariana, Music Director/ Keyboardist for Bihzhu, Keyboardist for NJWA, and Keyboardist for Joe Flizzow.

EDDY LIM

Saxophonist

Eddy Lim is a Kuala Lumpur based Saxophone player and has performed actively in the country and internationally. Some of the notable shows and festivals he performed in are Legend Festival (UK), HuaYi Festival (Singapore) and Taipei Lantern Festival (Taiwan). He is the member of JSY, a Mandarin based jazz band and Frankie Sixes, a Malaysian swing jazz band. Apart from small band, he is also a member of JCJO(Julian Chan Jazz Orchestra). Currently, he teaches saxophone at UiTM Malaysia and Bentley Music Academy

LAURA LIM

Bassist

Laura Lim has an impressive background in music, having started with the violin at age 7 and later developing skills on the bass. She’s had experiences performing with local and international artists and studying entertainment management in Melbourne. Currently working as an assistant managing director, she’s excited to start her own music business and contribute to the growth of Malaysia’s music industry.

MELISSA SASA

Guitarist

Melissa is a versatile singer and guitarist who has been hopping from stage to stage around Malaysia, sharing her love for music with anyone and everyone. The UCSI graduate in Contemporary Music has performed at various music festivals, concerts and corporate functions with her band Crinkle Cut, a four-woman ensemble. She has had the privilege of working with many well-known producers and music directors, singing backing vocals for artists like Siti Nurhaliza, Jaclyn Victor, Dayang Nurfaizah and Kris Dayanti. Her voice can also be heard on various media from Netflix to local radio stations. Check out the Bahasa Melayu dubbing for Baby Shark, Netflix’s Cuphead series and Over The Moon.

KAE VIN Drummer

Hailing from the sleepy town of Alor Setar, Kedah, Kae Vin began playing the drums at age eleven. Initially kicking a fuss at every attempt to get him to drum lessons, he gradually fell in love with the instrument over the next five years.

Having worked with a variety of local artistes and musicians both pioneers and upcoming, the groove-heavy drummer has over the years established himself as a familiar face in the local music scene.

Artistic Director Jo Kukathas

Show Presenter Shirazdeen

Director Jo Kukathas

Zalfian Fuzi

Writers Jo Kukathas

Kam Raslan

Na’a Murad

Zalfian Fuzi

Cast Jo Kukathas

Sean Ghazi

Kuah Jenhan

Tria Aziz

Producer

Sherrina Krishnan

Production Manager Foong May

Stage Manager Farah Rani

Assistant Stage Managers Kelynn Ng

Tarrant Kwok

Enbah Nilah

Lighting Designer Ee Chee Wei

Multimedia Designer Reza Rosli

Multimedia Editor Azim Ariff

Sound Engineer Bernard Gomez

Asst. Sound Engineer

Alan Ambrose

Audio Technician Megat (Bob)

Set Designer Afiq

Shiraz Administrator Delnah

ICT Administrator Emanar Alaya

Marketing & Publicity Team Sabrina

Media Team Opie

Social Media Team Prahveen

Nisshanathan

Makeup & Styling Patrisya Anggun

Shegar

Graphic Designer Syamil Shawal

Ticketing Manager Hisyam

Rehearsal Studio Tate Studios

Liquid Light Studios

The Advent Studio

Photographer Tate Mario Ghazi

Mohd Sudasan

Backline Maya Backline

Production Team The Mahmeens

INSTANT CAFÉ THEATRE

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

The Merchant of Venice

Pulau Antara

THE INSTANT CAFÉ THEATRE COMPANY

30 years means a complex half remembered history. Here is a version.

The Instant Café Theatre Company was formed in 1989, so you can expect that between then and now, it’s ratcheted up its fair share of history. We started Upstairs at Bon Ton, and then performed our way through KL’s lost landscape with seasons everywhere from The Prince Hotel, to The Musictheque, to The Continental, to 12SI to KR Soma to the MAS auditorium.

We’ve performed in bars, restaurants, shopping centres and community halls. We’ve performed in Penang, Ipoh, Kuching, JB, KK, Kuantan, Kota Bahru, Melaka, Seremban, Miri, Langkawi. And Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and Australia. We discovered venues and turned them into theatres and cabarets and built venues from scratch. All this born of a desire to take our theatre to places where it wasn’t wanted, and also because back then there were only a handful of theatres. So if you wanted to do a play you had to create your own space. And so we did.

We built a stage and bleachers from scratch at Carcosa and did Shakespeare; we took over a club and put Oscar Wilde on trial. Instant Café’s Theatre Upstairs was built because we felt KL needed a good music, comedy and small theatre bar. CHAI, or Instant Café’s House of Art and Ideas, was built because we felt we needed to put conversation and process back into art making, and to connect artists, thinkers and audiences in a convivial setting. Dramalab and FIRSTWoRKS and Almost True Stories - Instant Café’s various writing platforms - were conceived because we wanted to prioritize new Malaysian writing that wasn’t satirical comedy. Because we were born of satire.

Instant Cafe was born out of the aftermath of Operasi Lalang. Those were dark days and we thought they couldn’t get any darker. We were wrong. They did. The last decade got even more grim and, worse, people were battle fatigued. Malaysia seemed always in a state of crisis. But despite that people rallied: Bersih marches, Lynas, marches against repressive laws, the ISA, the OSA, the Sedition Act, against many wrong doings. But then the unprecedented happened on May 9, 2018. and suddenly we were in a brave new world with all its attendant fears, exhilarations and expectations. Suddenly we were quietly, cautiously optimistic but also very worried. Because we know it’s a delicate balance.

So as we approach 2020 we have to ask ourselves what created the society we live in now. A society where many fine institutions that were once strong have become weakened, where corruption is a bad joke and where the moral police who were unleashed upon us some 25 years ago are still causing havoc and a splintering of our society. Things aren’t changing as quickly as we may want them to, and the democratic compass wavers in the political wind (Sedition Act anyone?), but we have to stay the course. Hopefully one day we will have that boring plural democracy we all crave.

Pulau Antara

“Unless you bite the hand from which you’re fed/It will pat you on the head.”

In the meantime, maybe satire and political burlesque is still needed. We set out to be clowns unafraid to say that the Emperor had no clothes; to be people who celebrated the dismantling of sacred cows and pigs and who reveled in the importance of mocking those in power. “Unless you bite the hand from which you’re fed/It will pat you on the head.” So as satirists we have to continue to speak truth to power wherever power may lay. And power is a tricky creature. It still lies with those who are not technically in power as well as those who are.

The worst thing is to live in a society where those in power condescend to you. You need to bite them once in a while to remind them that you are your own animal and not their lap dog.

But have we made a difference? Who knows. Peter Cook was once asked if satire had a political effect. He wryly said that, yes, he too hoped to do comedy like those great influential satirists of the Weimar Republic who were so instrumental in stopping Hitler in his tracks. We too harbour no illusions. So why do we do satire? Because we must.

We set out to create THE MAY 9 SHOW to satirise but also to celebrate. Because no matter our individual political affiliations, the change of a 60-year old government was democracy in action and who knows what the future holds. All we know is that there has been change. Will there be greater change? We don’t know.

Adrian Mitchell’s anti-war poem To Whom It May Concern begins:

“I was run over by the truth one day / Ever since the accident I’ve walked this way / So stick my legs in plaster / Tell me lies about Vietnam.”

The poems goes on to list the ways we avoid the truth about war and so many other things. It makes you laugh and think. And I think that is what black comedy and satire does – it makes you think. If you want to make someone listen, make them laugh. Thinking follows. Thinking, questioning, questioning our own set of prejudices is important for any nation. It makes you less judgmental. And being able to laugh at yourself as well as those above you is healthy. It makes us less feudal. And honestly feudalism is soooo last year.

So the election of comedian turned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been fascinating. As Curry Spice embarks on her quest to become the next Prime Minister of Malaysia maybe she will look to the Ukraine for inspiration. Because what started off there as a joke turned into the real deal. Zelensky is the punchline to decades of misrule and as one magazine called it “the poster boy for the antiestablishment trend currently sweeping world politics”. The world is changing and maybe this vote of no confidence in current politics and politicians and political systems is a wake-up call for those in power. But then those in power are notoriously sleepy heads so it may take them decades to catch up to the fact that things are changing and that they may need to change with it. As with all things evolutionary there will be turmoil. We can’t wait to see what happens. There and here.

Jo Kukathas

Nadirah

Instant Café Theatre –Celebrating 30 years of merrymaking and daring for more.

Parah

INSTANT CAFE THEATRE PRODUCTION HISTORY

1989

Instant Café founded upstairs at Bon Ton. Our first political satire is born. Untitled shows performed to packed house weekly. Countless more untitled shows performed here and over all KL. Much to everyone’s surprise we are NOT shut down.

1990

Black Comedy by Peter Schaeffer directed by Zahim Albakri and The Lesson by Eugene Ionesco directed by Andrew Leci and Jo Kukathas. A double bill at Panggung Bandayara. Our first show that isn’t a political satire.

1991

First visit to the Ministry of Home Affairs for a ‘discussion’ on our comedy.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare. Directed by Jo Kukathas. In collaboration with Sutra Dance Company. Performed at Carcosa Seri Negara at a specially constructed outdoor amphitheatre.

1992

As Is by William Hoffman. In collaboration with Actors Studio. Directed by Joe Hasham.

1993

Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman. Directed by Zahim Albakri.

Gold Rain and Hailstones by Jit Murad directed by Zahim Albakri and Happy Families written and directed by Ann Lee under Instant Café’s newly formed new writing platform Dramalab.

1995

Laughing Wild by Christopher Durang. Directed by Andrew Leci. Starring Huzir Sulaiman and Jo Kukathas.

Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare. Directed by Jo Kukathas.

The Long Bar sketch by Indi Nadarajah and Allan Perera is performed for the first time in an Instant Café revue. The first appearance of Singam and Loga.

1996

Haze Alert ICT political satirical revue. Finally we start naming them.

The Theatre Upstairs opens in downtown KL. We pay protection to the local gangs. A multidisciplinary venue for music, theatre, dance, comedy and the exchange of ideas. Outside political tensions rise but, as we have our own space, the satirical revues flourish.

Love Child by Joanna Murray Smith. Directed by Jo Kukathas. Starring Paula Malai Ali and Sukania Venugopal.

Oleanna by David Mamet. Directed by Jo Kukathas.

1997

Lest the Demons Get to Me by Russel Heng. Directed by Jo Kukathas.

Res Ipsit Loquitor by Indi Nadarajah and Allan Perera. At the Theatre Upstairs. The first fulllength show by Singam and Loga.

1998

Bullish on Bouncing Back After the closure of the Theatre Upstairs, Instant Café bounced back with a satire on the Asian Financial Crisis. Special Branch pays a visit.

1999

Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Dario Fo. Following Anwar Ibrahim’s famous black eye incident and inspired by the necessary anarchy of the Reformasi Movement. Adapted in rehearsal and directed by Jo Kukathas.

Double Vision During this show an attempt was made to file a police report against Instant Café. Attempts were also made to pressurize and intimidate the MAS Auditorium to revoke permission to perform in their hall. They refused. Special Branch presence throughout the show. The SB officers found the show hilarious but continued to harass nevertheless.

I Have No Gun But I Can Spit Political satire to celebrate 10 years.

2000

Millennium Jump Things can only get better we thought. We were wrong.

Millennium Jump 2.

The Island in Between by Jo Kukathas and Kam Raslan. Premiered in Tokyo. Played in KL. Directed by Jo Kukathas.

The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare. Directed by Rey Buono and Jo Kukathas. Race and religion in Malaysia collide in Shakespearean iambic.

2001

Tea by Velina Hasu Houston. Directed by Edwin Sumun.

Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde by Moises Kaufman. Directed by Rey Buono. Performed at Orange Nightclub.

Mass Hysteria Terrorism at home and abroad in this political revue. The world was changing.

2002

The 2nd First Annual Bolehwood Awards Giving Golden Dugongs to the good, the bad and the dangerous.

The Baltimore Waltz by Paula Vogel. Directed by Rey Buono. Permission denied for this performance on the grounds that the main character was gay, plus use of ‘inappropriate material’. Show heavily censored. Show went ahead with slides and actions informing and educating the audiences on the acts of censorship.

Survival! A Fully Improvised Theatrical Spectacular. With Fire. New every night.

2003

The 2nd First Annual Bolehwood Awards The Director’s Cut The comedy revue that created all the controversy.

Instant Café’s short-lived ban after the uproar following the show. Following a complaint in Berita Harian and a subsequent investigation, Instant Café was directed to make cuts at their own discretion. Believing that no cuts were necessary they continued to perform the show as is. DBKL officers arrived to shut down the show and enforce a ban on future shows. Instant Café made the front page of The Star. It was subsequently unbanned following a lengthy debate in the press and a show of public support.

Raise the Roof: A Festival of Art and Ideas Talks. Exchanges. New Works. Works in Progress.

2003 & 2004

Flies and Foreigners by Ridzwan Othman. A new play developed and directed by Jo Kukathas under the newly formed new writing platform FIRSTWoRKS.

2004

Instant Café’s Road Trip Taking 15 years of comedy to 6 cities in Malaysia.

2006

Happy Days by Samuel Beckett. Directed by Chris Jacobs with Jo Kukathas as Winnie.

2006 & 2007

Break Ing/Ka Si Pe Cah A collaboration between Jo Kukathas/Instant Café, Loh Kok Man/Pentas Projects and Nam Ron/Rumah Anak Teater. An omnibus work directed by all three. Performed in KL, Tokyo and Singapore.

2007

A Playwrights Exchange Malaysia, Indonesia and Iran: Women, Writers and Activists.

2008

Instant Café Kurang Manis Bitter times. Less sugar in your Café.

Hero by Arun Subramaniam. A new play developed and directed by Jo Kukathas and Zalfian Fuzi as part of FIRSTWoRKS. Winner of the New Zealand Adam Playwriting Award.

2008 & 2009

Air Con by Shanon Shah. A new play developed and directed by Jo Kukathas and Zalfian Fuzi as part of FIRSTWoRKS.

2009

1Sex 1Money 1Scandal A satire on everything 1Malaysia.

2010

Instant Café opens The Instant Café House of Art and Ideas (CHAI).

A multidisciplinary venue for the incubation and exchange of art, ideas and new work across all art forms.

1Sex 1Money 1Scandal The Virus Returns More sex, more scandals, less money.

2011 – 2013

Parah by Alfian Sa’at. Written in residence while at CHAI on the FIRSTWoRKS platform. Directed by Jo Kukathas. Premiered in Singapore. Staged in KL 4 times in 3 years. Invited to Brisbane World Theatre Festival and Adelaide OzAsia Festival.

2011

The Girlie Show Jo Kukathas and her female Instant Café alter egos take centre stage.

2012

Nadirah by Alfian Sa’at. Directed by Jo Kukathas.

Delusions A collaboration between Jo Kukathas/Instant Café, Loh Kok Man/ Pentas Projects and Nam Ron/Rumah Anak Teater.

2013

The Morning After and Going to the Dogs by Jo Kukathas. ALMoST TRUE SToRIES and FIRSTWoRKS. Directed by Jo Kukathas and Ghafir Akbar.

2014

White Rabbit, Red Rabbit by Nassim Soleimanpour.

Raj and the End of Tragedy by Jo Kukathas. Directed by Natalie Hennedige in collaboration with CAKE Theatre Singapore. ALMoST TRUE SToRIES and FIRSTWoRKS.

2015

D’State of D’Nation As the nation wondered at the 2.6 billion dollar donation, Instant Café celebrated 2.6 decades of political satire. Zeitgeist? Yes.

2016

Nadirah by Alfian Sa’at. Directed by Jo Kukathas. Invited to The Festival Tokyo, Japan.

2017

Ribena Berry and Curry Spice On The Sofa At Bobo KL with Sean Ghazi.

2018

Ribena Berry’s Survival Guide to the Malaysian Elections. Curry Spice’s Manifesto for a Better Malaysia At Bobo KL with Sean Ghazi.

2019

Gold Rain and Hailstones by Jit Murad. Directed by Gavin Yap. A restaging of Instant Café’s first full-length Malaysian play.

... and countless unnamed political revues in hotels, bars, nightclubs, fundraisers, and ballrooms all over Malaysia.

2019

Instant Cafe Night Live, The May 9th Show

2020

Zoom Parah - online live performance Nadirah - online screening of ICT’s iconic play

2021

Air Con Season - online reunion, screening and conversations of ICT’s well-loved production

‘You Can’t Say That’ Documentary on YouTube

2022

Instant Cafe Night Live Edisi Banjir @ Bobo KL

And Then Came Spring - collaboration with Parastoo Theatre an Afghan theatre group

SHIRAZ PROJECTS PAST SHOWS

2019

Dato’ Sri Siti Nurhaliza On Tour

21st February

Istora Senayan, Jakarta

Indonesia

Dato’ Sri Siti Nurhaliza On Tour

2nd March

Singapore Expo

Singapore

Dato’ Sri Siti Nurhaliza On Tour

16th March

Axiata Arena, Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

Dayang Nurfaizah

DAYANG DUA DEKAD

21st July

Istana Budaya, Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

St Petersburg Ballet Theatre

SWAN LAKE

26th - 28th July

Istana Budaya, Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

Tulus

SEWINDU TOUR KL

3rd August

Plenary Hall, KLCC

Malaysia

Exists

EXISTS REUNION

28th September

Stadium Malawati, Shah Alam

Malaysia

Exists

EXISTS REUNION

5th October

The Theatre at Mediacorp

Singapore

Dato’ M. Nasir

SATU HIKAYAT

23 - 24th November

Plenary Hall, KLCC

Malaysia

2019

Boys II Men

TOUR OF ASIA

1st December

Plenary Hall, KLCC

Malaysia

Dayang Nurfaizah

DAYANG DUA DEKAD

28th December

The Theatre at Mediacorp

Singapore

2020

Dato’ M. Nasir

SATU HIKAYAT

4th January

The Theatre at Mediacorp

Singapore

2022

Slam

MENTARI MUNCUL LAGI

12th February

Plenary Hall, KLCC

Malaysia

Fabulous Friday Presents WINGS

12 - 15th July

Dewan Filharmonik Petronas

Malaysia

Kembara

PANORAMA JINGGA: 1444 HIJRAH

31st July

Plenary Hall, KLCC

Malaysia

Fabulous Friday Presents

KUNTO AJI

19 August

Dewan Filharmonik Petronas

Malaysia

Fourtwnty

HELIOTROPISME TOUR

1st & 2nd October

Zepp Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

2022

WINGS

6th & 7th October

Esplanade Theatre

Singapore

Fabulous Friday Presents

MALIQ & D’ESSENTIALS

14 October

Dewan Filharmonik Petronas

Malaysia

Fabulous Friday Presents

RUTH SAHANAYA

14 October

Dewan Filharmonik Petronas

Malaysia

2023

Fabulous Friday Presents TULUS

5th & 6th January

Plenary Hall, KLCC

Malaysia

The Harder Than It Looks Tour

SIMPLE PLAN

8th March

Zepp Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

THANK YOU