Atomic Jaya, a politically satirical and comedic play centered around the hypothetical situation of Malaysia deciding to build an atomic bomb was brilliantly executed and the myriad of characters, exemplifying every single stereotype available was ridiculously entertaining and had audiences hooting with laughter. Doing away with physical identity markers, the sheer versatility of Karen Tan and Claire Wong amazes, as it impresses, as the duo effortlessly shifts from character to character just by tweaking their accents, speech mannerisms or by adopting little idiosyncrasies- my absolute favorite being the impossibly deluded Malaysian fat cat diplomat.
I have to admit I initially had my doubts as to how two actresses- granted they are seasoned theatre veterans, were going to sustain a play of almost two hours while negotiating between sixteen different characters, but boy was I proven wrong. The energy level was electrifying and never once did it dip.
What I loved most was the sheer unpredictability of the play, you had two women seamlessly navigating this whole host of zany unexpected characters, and the catchy pop song was the cherry on top of the cupcake. With Tan instigating audience members to sing and clap their hands along to what was clearly a jibe at propaganda, the culmination of a gloriously (and gaudily) lit up palm tree descending on stage was almost absurdist in nature and so, so brilliant.
My only qualm was that the ending seemed too tidy. For a play that was continuously warning us of oversimplification, the happily-ever-after ending seemed to be exactly that. Still, it definitely made my Tuesday night, and it’s no wonder Atomic Jaya has been reproduced many times since it’s birth.
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Image credit: Zakaria Zainal; courtesy of Checkpoint Theatre.