Celebrating Kaun

May 5, 1987: Lee Soo Tian
May 5, 1987: Teoh Tee Ming
May 13, 1987: Chan Li-Shia

May 5, 1987: Tan Kee Aun


In the spirit of indulging the self of another, this entry is dedicated to the one and only...

Kaun!

* * * * *


We stormed the burnt-down Experimental Theatre in UM. Officials may bar us, but no metal wall will!

Labourers have no airs and will often engage you in constructive conversation; high-ranking officials with less clout than they think they have seldom--if ever--will.


It's a truly amazing place. Chambers below the stage, space for an orchestra pit, stalls and a gallery which seem to have been abducted from Istana Budaya...

The big question is: why is UM taking so long to rebuild it?


The next day, we went to Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) to watch a play in which Ai Wei's friend Dickson was performing. It was called Day I Met the Prince and was an adaptation of the classic, The Little Prince.

This is a shot of the final scene.


It was an excellent performance theatre-wise, with very clever usage especially of props (transforming building block-like structures that became everything from an aeroplane to flower beds) and costumes (each character has a certain garment which is worn in different ways to suit the particular scene).

Towards the end, in a scene with the roses, they even sprayed rose perfume into the air of the tiny Stor Teater in which the performance was staged.

(The group picture above wasn't planned; I was taking a picture of Dickson, Ai Wei, Kee Aun and Jon when the rest of the crew decided to crash the photo session. :-P)


Eng Foo (in red) drove Ai Wei, Kee Aun, Jon Chu and me there. It was raining and we had to do some climbing to get from the main DBP building to the Stor Teater.

I didn't know Eng Foo was Meng Zhen's brother and that he did his Form Six in the VI. When he introduced himself as 'Wah' (their surname), I subconsciously felt something was somewhat amiss, as if there were something more to this character. Then he said his sister is in 3rd College.

The world really is small.


Given our usual bouts of mad inspiration (and the fact that we'd turned Ai Wei's trips to the toilet into high-security covert operations), this group picture seems rather insipid by our standards.


Carl's Jr at Mid Valley on the birthday itself. This is half the group.


This is the other half. I am represented by my Grilled Chicken Salad and Super Star with Cheese. Suit Lin will never forget that day.


Jane and I worked on the placard beneath the pokok tanjung in my college, after I recorded U2's 'One' and 'With or Without You' with How and Yi Wooi in my room.

Some 50+ motorists honked, including three motorcycles! Some of the memorable ones were the Malay man in the red Viva on the way back from Mid Valley, the pillion rider who shouted "Happy Birthday!", the uncle in the Estima near the Taman Bahagia LRT station, the yuppie in the Kancil on our way to (or was it from) The Curve, and the uncle who gave us a sustained honk on the way out of The Curve.

To all who honked, here's a big THANK YOU FOR MAKING OUR DAY!

* * * * *


You know how movies often end with cliffhangers or open-ended conclusions to make way for sequels? This is one such photograph.

It is Kee Aun, but his face is not visible. Just as well, because this particular adventure wasn't about his face; for that matter, it wasn't about him or any of us.


Up next: an RM28 close-up photography technique, an adventure with colourful winged creatures and a journey through one of the oldest parts of KL.