The Final Farewell

The Final Farewell

The Sutra Dancers

The Final Farewell

The Actor’s Studio Bangsar’s last standing ovation

The Final Farewell

Douglas Lim and Harith Iskandar putting singing a song in their usual comical fashion

The Final Farewell

The Young KL Singers serenading the crowd

The Final Farewell

The stage that inspired all

The Final Farewell

From right: Rashdan Harith, Izzy Mohamed, Ronny Tan and Kevin Brokenscar performing their last song for The Actor’s Studio


By Kamelia Shamsuddin

I read the article in the newspapers a few weeks before the Actor’s Studio (TAS) at Bangsar Shopping Centre (BSC) was scheduled to close.  It was to be closed down for good. Thus, many years of procrastination had finally caught up with me. Years of always intending to see that play I had heard on the radio, or to watch that theatre performance I had read about in the newspapers. I have always been fascinated by these people: passionate people, who want nothing more than to garner applause and recognition from a 260 seat hall. And it was not as if I could not afford the tickets to attend all the shows at TAS. Most of the time, they were free anyway!

A friend of mine who is an independent artiste told me that he would be at TAS’s final concert. Kevin Teh aka Brokenscar who is based in Melbourne, Australia, was in town to perform at the final concert. When we had dinner the night before the concert began, he reminisced about when he used to perform at the Actor’s Studio during his early days as a musician. “Faridah and Joe were always able to accommodate any budding artiste: so it was no different when I was starting out. I am grateful for the opportunities they had given me,” Kevin said, referring to Datuk Faridah Merican and Joe Hasham, the husband and wife team who started the Actor’s Studio Bangsar about a decade ago. In 1989, Faridah and her husband, Joe Hasham, co-founded The Actors Studio. As the first privately-owned and operated theatre venue in Malaysia, The Actors Studio was instrumental for the growth of the performing arts in the 1990’s.

I attended one of the farewell concerts at BSC about a week before the place was scheduled to close down. I haven’t been to BSC for quite a while. The place has certainly changed a lot from the time when it was first built. Lately, many of the shopping centers in the city that were built around the 80’s are going through dramatic facelifts to get out of a slump as more and more shoppers choose to flock to bigger, newer and more modern shopping complexes. Even the iconic blue Jaya Shopping Mall had just closed down that month. Being at the new BSC, with its new glass décor and “too-white” posh interior, was like seeing another piece of my childhood memory disappearing.

The concert I attended was a “Singer-Songwriter Concert”, where some of Malaysia’s very own independent singers paid tribute to TAS. The concert was part of the Gala Farewell; a one and a half week event where old friends of TAS and artistes who began their careers on its stage came together to say goodbye for one last time. That day, special songs were written especially to say goodbye to the establishment. So deep were their feelings towards TAS!

I found out through Kevin that there was going to be another concert later that week that was going to have performances by some of my favourite actors; Douglas Lim, Harith Iskandar and Afdlin Shauki. I turned to my friend, Huzaifah who was with me. “I want to go to that concert too!” It was guilt from all the years of procrastination. But mostly, I wanted to be there to say goodbye as well. We found out that the Farewell Gala was free except for the very last night, where tickets for a cancer charity, were selling up to RM100 plus. Already running low on expenses that month, we decided to show up for the free concert, and asked the gentleman at the ticket counter whether tickets were still available. “I’m sorry; we’ve run out of tickets. But you’re still welcome to the concert. You may find a comfortable spot on the staircase to sit,” he said with an apologetic smile. We agreed immediately.

Later that week, we were back at BSC with Kevin. We made the trip to the top floor in the modern and brand new glass elevator. We were there for about five minutes before the show was to start, and politely waited outside while those with tickets made their way in. As the time arrived for the show to start, Mr. Joe Hasham himself came out to greet us, and ushered us in. There were still seats available from those who did not make it to the show. So we sat and waited for the show to begin.

Douglas Lim, now a professional standup comedian, had the crowd in stitches while he did his bit. So did Afdlin Shauki and Harith Iskandar; all considered to be the “big guns” in the local film and television industry. The Young KL Singers (YKSL) performed a few songs, after their choir leader did a short, but moving speech on how YKSL performed their first show at TAS. Almost all the performers lamented that KLPac, (Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre) which was to be the replacement venue for the country’s modern performing arts was too far and simply too difficult to find. (Afdlin Shauki even wrote a song about how people always seem to end up near the market, no matter how detailed were the directions!)

As the show came to a close, the mood in the hall had a definite somber note. No one wanted the “Theatre at the Top Floor” to close down. But what rubbed salt into the wound was having it replaced by a Gymnasium. What an ironic ending to a place that had seen so much talent, art and love.

Perhaps there was a silver lining in Joe and Faridah’s statement that did not deny the possibility of the Actor’s Studio being revived in another venue. What is certain is that as long as the local performing arts scene continues to thrive, we will always be able to see TAS’ soul in it.
     
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