encore melaka

made a weekend trip with my friends to melaka to watch "encore melaka". was rather disappointed by the whole experience...

frankly, i think melaka is not ready for such a performance. the production was positioned and touted as a high-end performance that brings out the origins and culture of melaka. my friends and i decided to dress up for the performance - just like how we would do if it was a performance in the singapore esplanade or the sydney opera house.

i started feeling something was not right when we arrived. many were dressed very casually - in round neck t-shirt and berms. there were even a few who looked like they were dressed for the wet market. and we got the brunt of the bad behaviour when the show started and people starting clapping for no reasons. to make it worst, a lot of people in the audience whipped out their mobile and video-ed the performance throughout the show - and they didn't even dim their mobile lights! anyway... it was such a negative experience!

but to be fair, i must say the production started off really well. the visuals, the use of technology, the drums, the performers... it was really good. the story of melaka's origin was put across superbly! then everything went downhill after that. the depiction of the nonya and babas, and the re-enactment of the peranakan wedding was a huge disappointment. there was no grace in the nonya's movements, the behaviours of the bride and groom was anything but respectful. the whole segment came off very colourful but totally flat and inaccurate culturally. things got worst as the show progressed.

the whole unfolding of scenes were bad, the sound system was inconsistent - at times too loud, and at times, there were awkward silences.