Keluarga Besar En. Karim (The Karims)
Meet Keluarga Besar En. Karim (The Karims). From sotong masak hitam dinners to heart-to-heart chats between sisters, they are your typical family of four. But when new son-in-law Aqil moves in, the shifting dynamics re-open old wounds and surface new tensions.
With Encik Karim determined to remain the centre of his newly-expanded household, how far is each of them willing to compromise for the sake of family?
Written with wit and affection, playwright Adib Kosnan weaves an intimate and strikingly recognisable look at family, in all its joys and messiness. With a bit of rewang from all sides, and many gatherings to attend, the Karims have to find a way to come into their own, without growing apart.
Performed in Malay and English (with surtitles in English).
A commission by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, as part of Feed Your Imagination (F.Y.I) and Pentas 2021.
The Karims was shown online between 29 Sep – 31 Oct 2021.
It was available for school bookings from 3 Jan – 1 Apr 2022 as part of Feed Your Imagination (F.Y.I) by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay.
Creative Team
- Playwright
Adib Kosnan
- Director
Claire Wong
Joel Lim- Cast
Rafaat Hamzah
Dalifah Shahril
Rusydina Afiqah
Farah Lola
Adib Kosnan- Set and Lighting Designer
Petrina Dawn Tan
- Sound Designer
Shah Tahir
Reviews
- Press
A thoughtfully fluid translation […] respecting the live theatre roots of the work. Playwright Adib Kosnan's warmly observed family drama is small in scale, but, like Jane Austen's two inches of ivory, it is finely wrought… [D]etailed character portraits etched out by the actors [are] aided by Adib's sweetly scripted vignettes.
The Straits Times, SG
[The Karims] is a nuanced and endearing 82-minute family drama… Unlike other filmed theatre plays that have made very few adjustments for the camera, [it] looks like a real film with close-ups, mid-shots, long shots and the appropriate lighting and acting styles.
The Business Times, SG
Pementasan itu sendiri mempunyai jiwa yang kuat dengan lakonan cemerlang kesemua pelakonnya yang berjaya menyampaikan bait-bait manis dialog tulisan Adib [Kosnan] yang ringkas, tepat mengena sasaran.
Berita Harian, SG
[M]any ticket holders’ decisions to invite others to watch this show together was oddly fitting, a testament to its accessibility and relatability to the community... Even as the camera invites us into the family, the work isn’t intrusive as it is intimate and almost gentle, in selectively showing us parts of the Karims’ emotional labour in ways that invite us to empathise and invest in the characters’ journeys.
Arts Equator, SG