SINGAPORE – The threads of fantasy and actuality intertwine in Rupa co.lab’s newest play Rindu Di Bulan, which mixes the Chinese language legend of the moon goddess Chang’e with the story of a Malay lady and her adopted son.
Playwright Raimi Safari, 34, says he considered the concept when he was sitting on his balcony and glimpsed the moon.
“It was a full moon, and it struck me that after I was rising up I used to be very a lot intrigued by the story of Chang’e and the rabbit on the moon. Wasn’t that attention-grabbing? I used to be a Malay boy who was in a position to entry these tales. That could be very Singaporean, I really feel – the connections we’ve throughout cultural boundaries.”
The play is a part of the M1 Singapore Fringe Competition, which runs from Jan 12 to 23.
Within the play, Mak is making ready to go on the mini pilgrimage often known as the umrah, whilst she has to confront the truth that she has been dwelling along with her non-mahram adopted son for years.
In Islam, a mahram is a member of 1’s household with whom marriage is forbidden. Ladies should not obliged to hide their our bodies with a hijab from people who find themselves their mahram.
Adoption is a subject that resonates with the Malay group, says Rindu Di Bulan’s director Adib Kosnan, 36, who can be an affiliate artist at Checkpoint Theatre.
“In our solid, in our manufacturing staff, everyone knows of people that have gone by means of adoption. It isn’t a taboo topic, it isn’t one thing that is spoken whereas strolling on eggshells. However on the identical time, we additionally do not know precisely what the individuals who undergo this each day undergo,” he says.
Adoption is a subject which Raimiis deeply accustomed to. When he was two days previous, he was given away to his paternal uncle’s household.
“Rising up, you assume you might be on their lonesome and that adoption will not be a standard factor all people goes by means of,” he says. “However after I was reaching my teenagers and younger maturity years, I discovered I had some mates who have been additionally adopted. After discussing this with my fellow actors and Rupa co.lab members, I discovered that a few of their grandmothers have been additionally given away throughout instances of battle.”
Adoption can current issues, he provides. “With my foster mum, I wasn’t breastfed, so technically, I’m nonetheless non-mahram to her. Does she have to put on the headdress in the home when I’m round? Do I have to cowl sure components of my physique?
“For males, the world that must be coated in entrance of those that are non-mahram falls between the stomach button and the knees. So I can not even put on shorts in the home in entrance of her. It is one of many difficult issues we take into consideration after we are older. Are we doing issues proper? Are we on the appropriate path?”
Rupa co.lab, based in 2019 by members of playwright collective Primary Tulis Group, seeks to reshape up to date conversations by means of the lens of Malay folks.
Rumah Dayak (2019), as an example, shone a lightweight on troubled youth in a safehouse, whereas Pandan (2021) explored the problem of homosexuality within the Muslim group.
