After
25 years, Emily Gan, the character featured in Malaysia’s longest-running
monologue, Emily of Emerald Hill, was back again to enchant audiences in
Johor Bahru.
Pearlly Chua as Emily Gan in Malaysia's longest-running monologue, Emily of Emerald Hill |
When
the play was first staged with Pearlly Chua in its title role and directed by
San Sooi, they took the play from Malaysia to appreciative audiences in Singapore,
Canada, China and Australia.
As
Pearlly continued to reprise her role as Emily in this play, she
inevitably became synonymous with the title character.
Audience entering the auditorium at JOTIC to enjoy, Emily of Emerald Hill |
So
this second staging of Emily in Johor was like a home-coming for Pearlly
where her family, friends and former schoolmates had the pleasure to enjoy her highly
acclaimed performance of this title role, in Johor Bahru.
Looking
back, this Emily show being staged in Johor Bahru all happened on 15
October 2017 when I met with San Sooi, at the 200th staging of this
play in Kuala Lumpur, with the incomparable Pearlly Chua in the title role.
Among the early arrivals were Pearlly's former schoolmates in SSI Kulai and former Art Teacher, Abdullah Yusof [Right] |
It
was a matter of, Better late than Never, because years later in November
2023, San Sooi wrote to My Johor Stories, seeking to partner with a
producer in Johor to present Emily of Emerald Hill here. I did not
hesitate to reply and when San Sooi wrote back, he said (and I quote):
“Dear
Peggy,
Thank
you for reading my appeal for a producer for Emily. My wish is for the
world to see Emily. Since you last saw it, we have re-interpreted the
play in some parts.”
Director, Chin San Sooi, putting his personal touch to the stage setting before the show starts |
Meanwhile,
I am familiar with Elizabeth Louis and her work in Stagecraft Johor Bahru. In
December 2019, I had the pleasure to experience a live musical show staged here by Theatrethreesixty Kuala Lumpur in collaboration with Stagecraft Theatre
Productions.
As
such, I shared the proposal from San Sooi with Elizabeth for her consideration.
I assured her that fans of Pearlly Chua as Emily on both sides of the
Causeway, will certainly support this show, if and when it was staged here.
When
Elizabeth expressed interest in producing Emily in Johor Bahru, it was
my privilege to connect San Sooi with Stagecraft for them to start discussions
on a possible collaboration.
The props for the play are simple but effective |
Then
in January 2024, Elizabeth updated that San Sooi was coming to Johor Bahru to
view possible venues for the show. This, I thought, was a positive sign that
something was really happening.
On
31 May 2024, when I spotted a promotional poster on social media for the Emily
shows that were going to be staged in Johor Bahru, I started sharing it with
all my contacts who enjoyed live theatre shows.
Emily in a scene, sewing a patchwork quilt |
She
happily declared, “We are proud of her!”
Aware
that Emily on Emerald Hill had a predominantly older fan base,
Stagecraft had a huge challenge to reach out to them through social media so a
great deal of personal messages were sent out to create awareness that Emily
was back in town after 25 years.
When
the shows opened in September, it was not just fans, family and friends of hers
but I believe Johor was proud of Pearlly Chua who performed her 220th,
221st, 222nd shows in Johor Bahru.
As
the lights dimmed in the theatre for the start of the show, I observed that San
Sooi was on the stage, putting on the final touches to the stage setting before
the show opened.
Emily in sorrow when she received a telegram from England that shared tragic news |
The
show was like a walk down the proverbial Memory Lane for the audience who could
warmly appreciate the Nyonya-Baba culture and life in a bygone era, where a
family matriarch shares her personal experience with flashbacks to life as a
young girl when she was married to a wealthy, older man as a second wife.
The
duration for the two-part show was one hour and 45 minutes with a brief
intermission for a few adjustments to the simple stage set and for Pearlly to change her costume.
Pearlly Chua in her element as Emily Gan |
When Pearlly took a bow at the
end of the performance, she proudly announced that this was her 222nd
show after her first showing in Johor Bahru some 25 years ago.
Then theatre lights came on and
chairs were set up in front of the stage for Pearlly, San Sooi and Stella Kon
to sit down for an interactive time with the audience.
Pearlly Chua taking a bow after the show |
From
the audience interactions, I soon discovered that in addition to Pearlly’s
former schoolmates, former Art teacher and family friends from Kulai, the
audience included Stella’s classmates from the Lasalle College of the Arts in
Singapore as well as members from Friends of the Museums, Singapore.
When someone in the audience
addressed Pearlly as Emily, Pearlly did not hesitate to correct her with
a reminder that she was Pearlly. This drew much laughter as it proved that Pearlly
had grown synonymous with her Emily character.
San Sooi, Stella and Pearlly [Left to Right] |
There was hardly a pause when
Chong LH, her former classmate, stood up and shared that Pearlly had a bubbly
character and was dramatic since she was young.
Pearlly’s former Art Teacher, Abdullah Yusof, was overwhelmed with emotion as he congratulated Pearlly on her
performance. He brought his grandchildren along to watch the show and expressed
his desire for them to learn the English language.
“Malays must know English to
survive,” said Abdullah. “I love Bahasa Melayu but I also love English. The
more languages we know, the better,” he added.
Stella responding to queries in an interactive time with the audience |
She said this play was written in
1982 for the Singapore Play Writing Competition so it did not feature much
Hokkien dialect or Baba Malay language. When asked if she would make any
changes to the play, her reply was short and simple: “Nothing!”
By all indications, this interesting
interactive session could go on and on until someone tactfully moved to set up
the stage for the audience to capture photo mementoes with Pearlly and treasure
their experience of Emily of Emerald Hill in Johor.
Meanwhile,
the team at Stagecraft Theatre Productions was much encouraged by the audience
response to the staging of Emily and aims to build on this to stage more
shows here.
Live
theatre and Shakespeare fans, please stay tuned for updates on the next exciting
shows, possibly Othello by the KL Shakespeare Players, coming soon in
April 2025.
For
more info about Stagecraft Theatre Productions and show updates, visit their
social media pages on Facebook and Instagram.