{"id":69942,"date":"2022-07-22T10:50:18","date_gmt":"2022-07-22T02:50:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/?p=69942"},"modified":"2022-07-22T11:05:40","modified_gmt":"2022-07-22T03:05:40","slug":"bringing-dont-call-him-mr-mari-kita-to-the-wild-rice-stage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/bringing-dont-call-him-mr-mari-kita-to-the-wild-rice-stage\/","title":{"rendered":"Bringing Don\u2019t Call Him Mr. Mari Kita to the Wild Rice Stage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How would you describe Don\u2019t Call Him Mr. Mari Kita<\/em> in one sentence?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a joyful, moving, inspiring tribute to the life and legacy of Pak Zubir Said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What compelled you to bring this production to Wild Rice?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I first saw the show in its earliest incarnation at the National Gallery in February 2019, when Julian presented it as a 40-minute concert. It blew my mind, it touched my heart, I couldn\u2019t sleep the whole night. At that time, Wild Rice was in the throes of building our own theatre in Funan, a home where we can continue to fulfil our mission of bringing people from all walks of life together, and giving them a sense of pride, of community, of belonging. So I gave Julian a call, and I asked him if he would consider expanding the piece into a full-length musical and performing it in our theatre. He said yes, and the rest is making history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you tell us more about how you brought Zubir Said\u2019s story to life? How has the show grown since you first saw it?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The first thing I did was to get Alfian on board as a script advisor and consultant to help develop the text, which is now 30 minutes longer than it was. So that\u2019s a whole lot of material \u2013 new songs, new ideas, an opportunity for us to really dig deep to try and understand Pak Zubir\u2019s life and his music and his legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the process of doing so, I had in my mind this idea of presenting it as a 1960s television variety show, because that was the heyday for Singapore as a centre for entertainment in Southeast Asia \u2013 it was a very fabulous era. Our multimedia designer, He Shuming, mined these old Shaw Brothers and Cathay-Keris films for footage. Together with our lighting, set and costumes, we\u2019ve beautifully recreated that time. I think you\u2019ll find that it has all the production values that audiences have come to expect of a Wild Rice show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is one thing from this production that has really resonated with you?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Because Julian wanted to write a story to honour his teacher\u2019s teacher, four generations of musicians are represented on stage in Don\u2019t Call Him Mr. Mari Kita<\/em> \u2013 from Pak Zubir and the late, great Cultural Medallion winner, Iskandar Ismail to Julian\u2019s own students, who are on stage performing with him. As a result, every time I\u2019m in rehearsal or watch a performance of this show, I’m reminded about our obligation to pass on our knowledge, our stories, to the next generation. This is our culture, our heritage. This is who we are. And if we don\u2019t do this, we\u2019re lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you could have dinner with Pak Zubir today, what would you say to him?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I would say: Pak Zubir, I\u2019m sorry we didn\u2019t give you the love, the recognition and the respect you so deserved during your lifetime. And then I would say thank you. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your music, your compositions, which have brought so much joy, that have united a nation, that continue to inspire us moving forward. Terima kasih<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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