KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – A brand new play comes to town, with the premiere of Fault Lines at the Petaling Jaya Performing Arts Centre (PJPAC) this November. The debut full-length play by Adriana Nordin Manan will be brought to the stage by a line-up featuring some of the most respected names in Malaysian theatre, with a seven-person cast headlined by Fatimah Abu Bakar and Putrina Rafie, who will play the mother-daughter duo of Habsah Aziz and Shereen Rahman.

Directed by Ghafir Akbar, Fault Lines follows Habsah and Shereen after years of separation, where they reunite when Habsah and other family members travel from Kuala Lumpur to New York City, Shereen’s adopted home. The two leads will be joined by cast members Xavier Reminick, Reza Zainal Abidin, Sabrina Hassan, Aloeng Silalahi and Catherine Leyow. Serving as the backdrop, New York City becomes a site of joyful reunion, a setting for clashes fueled by family dysfunction and a place of possibility for the cast of characters.

Adriana describes Fault Lines as a Malaysian family drama set in the diaspora and with a lot of heart. “I chose to set Fault Lines overseas as I think reunions of family members separated across oceans carry an element of urgency, which works well for dramatic effect. The need for people to say what they truly want and expect of one another becomes more pressing in such situations,” shares Adriana, herself a former member of the Malaysian diaspora during her student days in the USA, including a year in New York City.

A personal connection to the play’s themes is also expressed by director Ghafir, who spent a significant time in the USA (including New York City) as a student and theatremaker. “During my time over there, sometimes I had to take up acting and directing roles that wouldn’t usually be assigned to me. The is the first time a play I’m directing resonates with me in my personal life as well. Fault Lines is a play that is in my wheelhouse, you could say,” he says.

Story is a key element of the play, which was workshopped between 2019 and 2022. In 2021, an earlier version of the script was a semi-finalist in the International Scratchpad Series organised by The Playwrights Realm, an off-Broadway company dedicated to new play development. “That draft of the script was a semi-finalist from a pool of around 1,000 submissions from around the world. The version staging in November is a result of extensive workshopping since then. It’s a lot tighter and better paced,” adds Adriana.

On her starring role in the play, Fatimah Abu Bakar says: “A reunion of sorts, Fault Lines is about a family of hurt souls who miss each other and are reaching out to each other. They come with many questions. Where did we go wrong? How can we be better, how can we be stronger? If I did something wrong, how can I make it better?”

For Putrina Rafie, family and community obligation stand out as a theme. “Fault Lines deals with the sense of obligation, indeed the weight of responsibility placed on us when interacting with people different than us. These things make us wonder how much of our life are we leading on our own terms as opposed to fulfilling community expectations. The struggle is about how much to expect from our community, and how far we should chart our own path to find ourselves.”

The complexities of living far away from family are a leitmotif cited by Reza Zainal Abidin, who plays the role of Razak ‘Ray’ Aziz, Habsah’s younger brother and longtime resident of New York City. “When you’ve been away from the country and family for so long, you have to negotiate so many things. For one, how much of your life in your host country do you share with your family back home? Some things may be difficult to share with family, so many choose to share with friends instead. In the play, characters grapple with who they were before, who they are now and how they will work things out in the present.”

Fault Lines is produced by Protagonist Studio, with story development by Cocoon Creative Lab. The production also acknowledges the support of online furniture retailer CUURA Space for the generous sponsorship of the main fixtures in the play’s set, brought to life by acclaimed designer Raja Malek. Presented in English and Malay, all Malay dialogue will be accompanied by English surtitles.

As the Aziz family reunites in New York City, nobody leaves their baggage behind. For a quintessential Malaysian show that speaks to the heart of anyone who’s ever left home, this is the show for you.

Fault Lines runs from 16th to 19th November 2023 at Nero Event Space, PJPAC, 1 UTAMA E. Tickets available here

Production Credits:

Playwright/Executive Producer/Producer: Adriana Nordin Manan Director: Ghafir Akbar Cast: Putrina Rafie, Fatimah Abu Bakar, Xavier Reminick, Reza Zainal Abidin, Sabrina Hassan, Aloeng Silalahi, Catherine Leyow Assistant Producer: Azmi Hud Stage Manager: PH7 Production Management Set & Costume Designer: Raja Malek Lighting Designer: Ee Chee Wei Graphic Designer: Dannyhan Miskam Surtitles Translator: Adriana Nordin Manan