Theatre
Atap Genting Atap Rumbia
Not translated into English
Kala Dewata · 1963
Synopsis
Tile roof, thatch roof: Shamsuddin, a young man from the village, comes to the town to ask Encik Jamal for the hand of his daughter Shamsiah, whom he loves. But Cik Hindon, the girl's mother, despises this suitor of modest means and opposes the marriage. To receive the delegation from the village, Mak Temah and Pak Abu put on the clothes and manners of townspeople and pass themselves off as Shamsiah's parents.
Context
The play was performed in 1963, the year of its first printing, and this performance is said to have opened the era of realist theatre in Malaysia. The author breaks here with the sandiwara, with its curtains raised and lowered and its interludes unconnected to the plot; he prescribes as the set the drawing room of a stone house, furnished in three dimensions and not painted on canvas. The comedy rests on misunderstandings and on short, direct dialogue, which slips the question of class beneath the laughter. The text is among the thirteen plays of the 1990 collection, and a new staging was given in May 2026 at the auditorium of the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.
Who it is for
A comedy in Malay, short and lively, which troupes still perform; it exists neither in French nor in English.
Prizes and reception
Regarded as the country's first modern realist drama, and still staged by Malaysian troupes.
Sources for this page 8
The pages consulted to check this page.