Five Arts Centre - Baling

This is the second time going to the field trip for is subject. We are going to Five Arts Centre to watch theatre. This theatre is named ‘Baling’ which is directed by Mark Teh.

‘Baling’ is a documentary performance that reconstructs these historical negotiations between Tunku Abdul Rahman, David Marshall and Ching Peng, where various visions on building a new nation were imagined, discussed and discarded. Reading from publicly available transcripts, the performer-researchers relook at the meanings of freedom, loyalty, terrorism, reconciliation, surrender, sacrifice and independence, and consider how the phantoms of our history continue to haunt our present.

This is the first time I’m watching theatre in my life. It’s a quite interesting experience, because in this theatre we need to move around to different angle and going upstairs for another section. We are watching some video and the performance that present by the performers. 

Actually I'm not really understand the overall performance, because my knowledge of history is very bad. But I try my bst to understand what the performers trying to tell us. The psrt that I remember the most is tearing papers during their performance. I can feel their anger and desire while they are performing.

The most impressive section for me is the performing about Chin Peng. The whole room hanging with a lot of Chin Peng's photo, and also have an interview video that showing us. For the interview video, I feel that Chin Peng is too old, maybe he already forgot many thing that he had done in his young age, so he cannot answer what the interviewer was asked. Chin Peng needs a lot of time to think a question, but ended up still doesn't answer anything. In the Q&A section, I did not ask any question, because I really don't know what overall is about. I just sat quietly and listen to others.  

This is what I have observe in in this theatre. Lastly, coming with the group photo that we had took after the discussion section.