Rebab Berbisik Performance

Rebab Berbisik is a tale of loss. Paksu Mat, an aging mak yung practitioner, laments the twin deaths of his wife and his beloved mak yung, the ancient dance-theatre of Kelantan. His sorrow intermingles with his guilt at not being able to pass on the art of mak yung to his two sons: Mimi, a cross-dressing cabaret performer, and Azri, an Ustaz who graduated from the Al-Azhar University in Egypt.

The banning of mak yung in his home town of Kelantan resulted in the loss of livelihood for Paksu Mat and made him an outcast in his own village. Paksu Mat can only take comfort in mak yung music and the memories of his wife. His sense of isolation is rendered complete when Azri rejects him for practicing an art form that is considered Syirik and un-Islamic admist a tide of rising conservatism.

Organised by The Malay Heritage Centre. For more information go to www.malayheritage.org.sg. To register, please mail NHB_MHC_Programmes@nhb.gov.sg or call 6391 0450.​