Spring in Los Angeles means a lot of things, hiking in runyon canyon, just north west of hollywood, where you can let the dogs run free and have the whole county at your feet.
Eating, drinking, chatting, rehearsing and more outdoors, the wonderful climate here is truly perfect.
And it also meant a time to connect with fellow cantabrigians at a pot luck party at the lovely home of Glen Shadrake in Venice Beach.
Complete with a grand piano, a russian singer pianist, and then some of us singing and playing along as well, lots of great food and wine, and even a remarkable reconnection with a dear chum from who I had not seen since we treaded the boards as undergraduates a couple of decades ago(!!), Linda Slade, actress and producer from London, now in LA too! All in a fun friendly evening. Syabas to Prem Sundaram0 (http://www.cantabsocal.org) for making it all happen.

Ishq is reminiscent of an eating haven straight out of an Arabian nights fable. Solid matte wooden floors complement the array of colourful cushions which adorn the old-fashioned wicker chairs. A lovely water feature runs through the restaurant and adds a touch of blithe, just as, in a similar vein, the mixed collection of tableware lends a festive air to the eatery.

The Dine Around Dinner at Ishq saw guests bursting with anticipation and excitement at the thought of sampling some of the finest Indian/Indochinese victuals in town. The radiant Chef Orathai Srianekkhun was also on hand to welcome diners, infusing warmth and joy with her infectious smile and effortless charm.

Many of the guests were very taken with the dinner for the night. “It’s been an interesting fusion of food. I really liked the presentation of the dishes, in terms of the assortment of colours and the way it was arranged,” said the lively television personality, Chacko Vadaketh.

Others were simply blown away by some of the spectacular dishes on offer. “It’s been a very interesting combination of different flavours from around the region, but I must say that I had an especial affinity for the Kai Takrai dish. I liked the lemongrass in it and found the overall flavour to be something that one seldom encounters,” said Peter Tham.

The Gang Jeud Look Geaw soup was also a pleasant surprise for many. The Executive Chairman of Beneton Properties Sdn Bhd, Datuk Chan Sau Lai said “I quite enjoyed the soup. It had a very nice taste.” He went on to say “It’s been a wonderful evening!”

The Patiala Shahi Chicken also seemed to garner a wide fan base, with many raving about it ceaselessly. “I really enjoyed the chicken. It was very tender and tasty,” said the gorgeous Roberto de Simone, who hails from Germany. His views were echoed by Director of RBK Sdn Bhd, Dato’ Ramli Kalam, who was bountiful in his praise. “The chicken was smooth and the gravy was very good as well,” he said.

Actor and former beauty queen, Ms Jasmina Jacinta Lee was simply elated with the Grilled Salmon with Golden Chilli Paste Sauce. “The salmon was very good – it was tender, juicy and brimming with varied flavours,” she said. Another self-confessed salmon lover was Zulbahrin Ahmad who said “I really liked the salmon. The sauce was simply delicious!” he exclaimed. He went on to commend the chef for the fabulous dinner, saying “The chef has really done a great job.”

But it was the elegant, perennially wellmannered Governing Director of Jedecadi Sdn Bhd, Mr Jeremy Diamond who said it best when he described the dinner as “a marriage of flavours, one where each dish was interesting, tasty and completely unique.”

I am at KLIA in the Cathay Pacific Lounge, about to go to Hong Kong and to catch my flight to LA! Some exciting developments:
I was invited to audition to be an affiiliate of The Ariel Group of Boston, which I did last September in Sydney. The Ariel Group are actors who do corporate leadership training using acting skills. From the audition I have been invited to join the Ariel Group and am on my way to Boston to get certified to conduct their workshops. They are looking to expand their work in Asia.

At the same time, the O1 visa, for people with exceptional talent to work in the USA, which I had applied for in 2006(!) came through on October 31st after a final interview at the US embassy in KL. This is to work through my LA agent, Baier Klienman International in Studio City, Los Angeles. So here I am, looking forward to 3 weeks of snow in Boston and learnining how to conduct The Ariel Group’s fantastic Leading With Presence and other programs and then onto LA and exploring options of working there from time to time! All extremely exciting albeit very daunting as well! Will have a couple of days in LA now, before I hit wintry New England, staying with a friend in West Hollywood, which should be a charming reintroduction to the City of Angels.

Untril then, Happy New Year and be well.

… at the 2008 Wellness Summit, an  international gathering of the movers and shakers in the spa, preventive medicine, anti-ageing and medical tourism. At The Palace of the Golden Horses, Kuala Lumpur; 15-17 October 2008 http://www.wellnesssummit.com/

I will be directing a short play entitled COFFEE SHOP and acting in another piece entitled AS THE BELL RINGS in exciting festival of short plays: SHORT + SWEET at KLPAC 6 to 17 August. do check out  www.klpac.com, www.shortandsweet.org/malaysia for full details.

It has been exciting to be directing for a change and also to see so many fresh new plays and fresh new actors working alongside more jaded old hams like me! I got to adapt Cofffee Shop which was originally set in Dublin, to be work in Kuala Lumpur. It has some interesting ideas and themes, about migrant workers about class and economic divisions as well as just loneliness and the search for love. As The Bell Rings is a fun little piece about two boys getting caught playing truant at the shopping mall by their Headmaster.

I have a regular column in Men’s LIfestyle Magazine, HOMME, the editor, Nick Pinder lets me write about pretty much anything.
Here are some recent articles published there. Enjoy (I hope!)

Koh Lanta, Island of Dreams (PDF file)

What’s With The Name (PDF file)

Driven Round The Bend (PDF file)

Aladdin was an amazing experience, a truly magical show with an amazing cast, of some of the top theatre personalities of Kuala Lumpur. I was the evil wizard Abanaza who had a a big wicked cackle and a penchant for wearing women’s underwear! Indy Nadarajah was Widow Twanky, Aladdin’s ,mother who had a thing Mary Quant and Tina Turner outfits and for Abanaza! Joanna Bessey made a charming Aladdin, Doreen Tang a lovely Princess Paris (as in Hilton!), Joanne Kam Poh Poh was her mother The Empress of China while Monty was the Emperor, Sham Sunder Binwani was the Genie of the Ring, the talented and very little Badrul was the Genie of the Lamp, Nell Ng was Won Ton and Douglas Lim was the whacky Wishee Washee plus a gorgeous talented ensemble. Kids loved it, lots of audience participation, Booing and cheering and shouting and singing a long, and lots of risque and political humour for the adults. A clever, fun and joyous piece of music theatre.

You can see more great pictures from this feature film here.

By JASON CHEAH

KLPac straddles Christmas and the New Year with a fun take on
popular children’s tale Aladdin.

FROM one Aladdin, to another. Soon after Istana Budaya’s children’s
theatre version ended its run, the Kuala Lumpur Performance Arts Centre’s
(KLPac) staging of Aladdin – The Pantomime began at the Pentas 1,
KLPac on Monday.

So popular indeed, is the tale, that taking influences from other
genres of music and theatre and adding it to the mix might seem irreverent

but don’t get yourself confused, that’s all part of pantomime.

Written and directed by the same
“panto” mastermind who brought the hilarious and outrageous Cinderella
(2005), Paul Loosley has once again adapted a traditional British
panto for the Malaysian stage.

“The Panto tradition is about fun,” Loosley said during a press launch
recently. “Nothing compares with the laughter and excitement on kids’
faces when they see the fabulous and mostly silly costumes, hear and see
the craziest gags.”

And because it was 40 years ago today that Sgt. Pepper taught that
band to play, Aladdin – The Pantomime will pay homage to the
wonderful music of The Beatles and the swinging 1960s.

“When KLPac did Cinderella we used, with great success, the
music of Elvis and the whole look and feel of the 1950s. This year with
Aladdin – which in itself is full of hippy atmosphere and eastern
magic – we chose to have music by the ‘Fab Four’ and theme everything
60s.

“This was not really a very hard decision given the great tunes
(perfect to sing along to), the great fashion (cute and, looking back,
fairly ridiculous), and the setting (big strong shapes and psychedelic
colours).”

To help realise this psychedelic vision is artistic director Joe
Hasham, executive producer Datuk Faridah Merican, musical director Mervyn
Peters, choreographer Pat Chan, costume designer Dominique Devorsine, set
designer Loo Jia-Wei and lighting designer Lim Ang Swee.

To bring the show bursting to
life there will be a star-studded cast of some of the funniest stage
personas from the Malaysian scene, including Indi Nadarajah, Douglas Lim,
Joanna Bessey, Chacko Vadaketh, Doreen Tang, Joanne Kam Poh Poh, Monti,
Nell Ng, Sham Sunder Binwani and Badrol Shah Manan.

So whether it’s Aladdin (Bassey), his mother Widow Twanky (Nadarajah),
his dim brother Wishee Washee (Lim), the evil magician Abanaza (Vadaketh),
or Princess Paris (Tang), her parents Emperor Chun Dek (Monti) and Empress
Ho How (Kam), Won Ton (Ng) or even the two genies – of the ring (Binwani)
and the lamp (Badrol), it should be a fun show to watch.

The main cast will be joined by a chorus of boys and girls who sing and
dance as townsfolk, prisoners and skeletons. And there’s even the
possibility of some guest stars sneaking in from time to time. To top
everything off there’ll be a totally live, totally rockin’ four-piece band
singing songs such as A Hard Day’s Night, Ticket to Ride, I Want to
Hold your Hand, Something, Help, Can’t Buy Me Love, Yellow Submarine,
Yesterday, She Loves You, Hey Jude, From Me To You and All You Need
Is Love.

With all the ingredients for a great show, there is no other reason
than to live up to the heartfelt promise from Sgt. Pepper – “a splendid
time is guaranteed for all!”

From “The Sun”, 14 December 2007