‘Everything Goes Haru-Biru’: MNight in Review
Image Credit: Pi TV
On the 21st and 22nd of February, Malaysian Society’s Biru came to Bloomsbury Theatre. The story of a cursed rural community subject to a fatal storm, MSoc addressed intergenerational trauma with delicacy, nuance and poise.
The first thing that struck me was the sheer amount of flowers in the crowd, it seemed almost everyone had contributed to MNight’s composition. Flowers were not the only feature fragrancing the audience however, as their good natured jeering throughout the entirety of the performance extended Otomou’s community all the way to the back of the theatre.
This communal presence elected one leader and it wasn’t the chief - Ding Xi’s Uncle was undoubtedly the favourite. Providing comical lightness to what was a rather dark plot (with multiple stabbings and storm sacrifices), his nagging presence offset a lot of the production’s emotional heaviness.
Such heaviness was also displaced beautifully throughout the Maginatip, Chinese, Malay and Indian dance recitals. The Indian dance soloist especially was exceptional and the Maginatip’s bamboo routine overflowed with joviality and life. Described by Aiman, part of the ensemble and dance teams, as an opportunity to ‘heal my inner child’, MNight is at its heart not just a show about the community, but fundamentally for the community.
While on the subject of commending, the vocals of Heidi as Jia Yang twinkled much like the stars she sang about - an anchor in the storm, she gave the ‘unforgettable and meaningful experience’ she’d told me MNight would be. The only shame was not seeing more of her performance in the second half, which appeared to wander a little like its characters lost in the forest.
It was incredibly fortunate then, that they found Ghina’s Bomoh, a hermit witch expelled from the village, out there. A voice both velvety and twangy, her cutting sarcasm raised the important point that legend is made by those who are left, not those forced to leave.
The music composed its own untold story. As a woodwind player myself, their sheer endurance across the three hour stint, let alone the faultless playing, was a show in itself. Also of note was the set design, which was far superior to some professional theatre I’ve seen. In main castmate Thesya’s words, MNight was a way to ‘keep in touch with my Malaysian identity’, as everything might have gone haru-biru, but Otomou’s spirit survived the storm.