Mama Looking for Her Cat 寻找小猫的妈妈

阿妹.......阿弟.......你有没有看到我的猫？

只会讲方言的老妈妈不见了她的小猫，她向自己的孩子求助，可是，孩子们各自忙着寻找自­己的完美生活，谁都不愿意帮忙。有一晚，老妈妈离家了，要在这个早已遗忘了她，一个繁­荣昌盛， 步伐快速，抹掉传统，没有携老扶弱的现实世界里去寻找小猫。

郭宝昆在1988年创作的《寻找小猫的妈妈》以新加坡一个多元种族的社会为背景，探讨­了两代人之间沟通的差异与关系疏远的问题。二十多年后的今天，这个剧本依然生动贴切，­在情感上一样令人震撼。

Girl ah... Boy ah... can you help me find my cat?

An old dialect-speaking mother has lost her only companion -- a cat. She asked for help, but was snubbed by her grown-up children. One night, the old lady left her house looking for her cat in a world that has left her behind -- a world obsessed with progress and prosperity, which has forgotten the traditional, the old and the frail.

Mama Looking For Her Cat is a play about the communication differences and the estranged relationship between a mother and her children. Written by the Late Kuo Pao Kun in 1988, the play revolves around the theme of Singapore being a multiracial, multicultural and multilingual society. Two decades later, this poignant piece remains as powerful, as relevant and as emotionally hard-hitting as ever.

Director notes:
In 1988, the late Kuo Pao Kun wrote and directed Mama looking for her cat, the first multilingual play in Singapore.  This play focused on the theme of Singapore’s multiracial, multicultural, and multilingual society.  I was just a young lad then this show impacted me so much that I decided to pursue a career in theatre.  The only thing I felt wrong was that it was just one sided, the voice from Mama's point of view.  What about the voice of the children? Something must have happened between the mama and her child to lead to such a situation.  Thus, in 2012, I devised a new version of Mama Looking for her cat with voices collected from my actors.  It was also the year that I discovered that I don't own a single picture with my mum.  The work also forced me to look within me, am I guilty just like the children in the play or is there more beneath the tip of the iceberg.
 
35 years have passed since I watched the play, but the images were still strong in my mind.  To me, it was a surprise that such a sensitive topic and yet could be done in such a simple way that was so powerful.  I believed the scene where Mama and the old Indian man conversing about their cats in their own native language was the peak of the performance.  It compounded one idea that drama has no language barrier.  There’s not English, Malay, Chinese or Tamil drama.  There is just drama.  It is not the understanding of the meaning of the words used in drama but rather the willingness to communicate to each other.  Thus, this forms the foundation of my approach to drama – to communicate heart to heart with the audience.
 
As Malaysia and Singapore are very similar, I believe that this play will work wondrous.  I can also continue to explore the idea of a multilingual theatre. To continue where Kuo Pao Kun has stopped, to continue searching a theatre that is true to our hearts.  I will like to influence those to really hear, really see, and finally really feel.  So that the work we present will be sincere and true and hopefully impact another youngster while watching my version of “Mama Looking for her cat”.
 
1988年，已故的郭宝昆创作并导演了《寻找小猫的妈妈》，这是新加坡第一部多语种剧目。这部戏剧聚焦于新加坡多元种族、多元文化和多语种社会的主题。当时我还只是个年轻的小伙子，但这个剧目对我影响深远，使我决定并追求了戏剧事业。唯一让我感到不满的是，它只从妈妈的角度讲述，而孩子们的声音呢？一定是妈妈和孩子之间发生了什么事情才导致这样的局面。因此，2012年，我与我演员收集不同孩子对妈妈的声音进行创作了新的版本。那一年，我也发现自己没有一张和妈妈的照片。这个作品也迫使我自省，我是否像剧中的孩子们一样有罪或者在冰山一角下还有更多东西自己还没被挖掘。

35年过去了，但这部戏的画面在我的脑海里仍然非常清晰。对我来说，令人惊讶的是这样一个敏感的话题竟可以用如此简单的方式表现得如此强烈。我相信妈妈和老印度人用各自的母语交谈关于他们的猫的场景是演出的顶峰。这一点强调了戏剧是没有语言障碍。没有英语、马来语、中文或泰米尔语的戏剧，只有“戏剧”。理解戏剧中所使用的词语的含义并不重要，重要的是愿意相互交流。因此，这形成了我对戏剧的基本理念——与观众心与心的交流。
马来西亚和新加坡非常相似，我相信这部剧会有很好的表现。我也可以继续探索多语种剧场的想法。继续从郭宝昆停止的地方开始，继续寻找真正符合我们内心的剧场。我希望能够影响那些真正听、真正看、最后真正感受的人。这样我们呈现的作品将是真诚和真实的，希望能够在观看我版本的《寻找小猫的妈妈》时影响另一个年轻人。

Advisory: The show contains mature language and scenes relating to self-harm. Viewer discretion is advised.

Tickets Price: 

Tickets	Regular	Super Early Bird Promo (ends 30 Apr)	Early Bird Promo (1-14 May)	Eslite Malaysia White Card Members / Tiffin at The Yard & Yamatatsu Customers **	Eslite Malaysia Gold/ Black Card Members **
Category 1	RM 98	RM 68	RM 78	5% off normal-priced tickets	10% off normal-priced tickets
Concession – Student	RM 48 (Limited tickets available)	RM 48	RM 48	N/A	N/A

**Eslite members: WhatsApp us at 018 227 7212  with a screenshot of your eslite member card to get a promo code.
#Please apply the promo code upon check out.

* Student Price: WhatsApp us at 014-8232365  the name & contact details (name, designation, phone and e-mail) to get a promo code.

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Covid-19 Related SOPs
klpac has Covid-19 measures including Covid-19 testing for the cast and crew, sanitisation and disinfection, and going contactless. Mask-wearing is recommended. Venue reserves the right to deny entry if you’re found to be Covid-19 positive or High-Risk status on MySejahtera. No refund will be made to those who have purchased tickets.

For the latest Covid-19 & SOP guide, go to https://www.klpac.org/about-us/your-visit/.

Buy Tickets 
Online Purchase: https://www.cloudjoi.com/
No phone sales and over the counter sales. E-tickets only.

klpac & TAS’ Covid-19 Relief Fundraising
klpac & TAS’ losses due to Covid-19 have exceeded RM2 million and its venue has been deprived of audiences for 377 days. It requires a minimum of RM130,000 per month to stay afloat. Each ticket sold goes toward this immediate cause. You can also make a donation of any amount via https://www.klpac.org/donations/.

Enquiry / Students Booking
WhatsApp 014-8232365 / Email: mamalookingforhercat.2023@gmail.com

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Creatives & Crew

Written by Kuo Pao Kun 郭宝崑
Director: Benjamin Ho 何家伟
Production Design: Benjamin Ho 何家伟
Production Manager: Amelia Tan 爱美丽亚
Stage Manager: Hendrix Heng 王子航
Assistant Stage Manager: Karman Lee 李嘉雯
Dramaturg: Amelia Tan 爱美丽亚
Graphic Designer: Joel Wong 

Cast: 
Faridah Merican
Tammi Tam 譚小虹 

Ensemble:
Chech
Debbie Yim 严佩璇
Eugene Ng 黄商权
Fred Chan 曾永凭
Hendrix Heng 王子航
Natalie Makulin
Ng Yuan Ci 伍苑慈
Niko Hugh 邱蕴能
Skylar Lim 林家怡
Toh Shir Ling  杜雪菱

The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (klpac)
Executive Producer: Dato’ Dr. Faridah Merican
Artistic Director: Joe Hasham OAM

Group General Manager: Ian Chow 
General Manager (Marketing Communications): Ang Yue May 
Assistant General Manager (Theatre & Technical Management): Lawrence Selvaraj 
Assistant General Manager (Admin, Finance & Production): Easee Gan
Assistant Technical Manager: Mathanakumar Murthi
Senior Technicians: Mohd Helmi Md Khairi & Wan
Junior Technician: Yogesh
Front of House & Theatre Supervisor: Harsvini Loganathan
Production Stage Managers: Catherine Lee & Yeo Kok Wei 
Assistant Stage Manager: Hendrix Heng
Production Assistant: Agnes Chong Khai Lee
Orchestra Manager: Soo Choy Wah
Publicity & Marketing Manager: Maggie Ong
Senior Art Director: Joel Wong 
Publicist: Vishallini Vikram Gopal
Donor Relations Manager: Aishwarya Adaikalaraj
Multimedia Content Creator / Videographer: Isma Najmi
Assistant Box Office Supervisors: Jennifer John & Vaideggy Vijayasagaran 
Assistant Account Manager: Esther Kuan 
Admin & Account Executive: Amanda Chan
Head of Academy: Kimmy Kiew
Academy Administrator: Agnes Chong Khai Lee 
TUTAS Coordinator: Xavier Chen
Personal Assistant to Artistic Director: Farah Nadia
Personal Assistant to Executive Producer & Group General Manager: Catherine Lee
Assistant Maintenance Manager: Selva Rajoo
Maintenance Officer: Jayaganesh Ramankrishnan
Security Manager: Mahendra Karuppiah
Security Supervisor: Balasubramaniam Ganapathy
Senior Security Officer: Shandre Sakran Kumaravale
Security Officers: Balasivasubramaniam Arunasalam, Nadarajan Maruthamuthu, Ram Shah Osali