The Yayasan Sime Darby Arts Festival 2016 will kick off this August with its first Satellite Show entitled “Main Wayang: Hikayat Sang Kancil”. Bringing together the playfulness of the traditional ‘wayang kulit’ or the shadow puppet show combined with digital animation, live acting as well as visual and sound effects, it is the brainchild of DAM Interactive under the direction of Fairuz Sulaiman, an active purveyor of the local arts scene.

For Main Wayang: Hikayat Sang Kancil, DAM Interactive will join forces with the children of Yayasan Chow Kit (YCK) – an NGO working with at-risk children and youth in Malaysia, starting with the area of Chow Kit. “After a successful showing at DPac, we have organised three workshops at secondary schools across the country under the Rakan Muda Mentorship programme. The opportunity to work with the children of YCK and to perform as part of the Yayasan Sime Darby Arts Festival satellite show is a truly fantastic continuation of the journey we have had so far with this piece,” says Fairuz.

With its origin still wrapped in mystery, the ‘wayang kulit’ took root more than 250 years ago and is most popular in the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, particularly Kelantan, which is known as its heartland. While urbanisation and modern entertainment has contributed to a decline in its popularity over the years, there has been a surge of exciting efforts to bring the art form back into the spotlight. DAM Interactive is part of this revival, constantly looking for new ways to approach the art of wayang, this time by putting a fun spin on the beloved and well-known Sang Kancil fable.

Supported by Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia, ‘Main Wayang: Hikayat Sang Kancil’ is scheduled to be performed on 22 August (Saturday), 8.30pm at Laman Standard Chartered Kuala Lumpur. With its grand outdoor setting across KLCC and performed under the moonlight true to the tradition of ‘wayang kulit’, Hikayat Sang Kancil promises to take storytelling to a new level with its mash-up of the old and new element of the arts. The show is open to the public and is free of charge. For those who have always been curious about this art form and local heritage, be sure to catch Hikayat Sang Kancil and get ready to be charmed all over again.