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Teaching Drama in Malaysia: vertical and horizontal perspectives [1]
Reviewing the teaching of drama in a Literature in English curriculum in Malaysia is propitious at this time given that there has been a renaissance of Malaysian drama written in English in recent years and, simultaneously, a re-energised English-language theatre in the country. In the light of these phenomena, coupled with the ever-widening canon of world drama warranting attention, many Malaysian educators are advocating a structured and rigorous approach to the teaching of drama in higher education. This viewpoint outlines what we mean by Malaysian drama, suggests an appropriate method of teaching this and considers the importance of Malaysian theatre in the future of the subject.
Malaysian Drama
The teaching of Malaysian drama should be of special interest not only to drama educators in this country but also to educators abroad who may wish to include Malaysian drama in their course syllabi or curriculum. However, what do we mean by `Malaysian drama'? Does the term refer only to `national drama', that is, drama written originally in Bahasa Malaysia (or Malay), the national language? Could the term `national drama' itself be expanded to include works written originally by a Malaysian playwright but in a language other than Malay and then translated into Bahasa Malaysia? Or might Malaysian drama refer in some educators' minds today to national drama and plays written by Malaysians in languages other than Malay, whether translated or not? [2]. Perhaps, for academic convenience, the term Malaysian drama could simply mean drama written by Malaysians in any language. For example, one can study drama written originally in Malay and the three other languages frequently used in local arts/media (English, Mandarin, and Tamil), as well as plays occasionally performed in Cantonese, Malayalam, Bengali, Kadazan and so on from different traditions.
However, for an inclusive drama curriculum, drama educators also need to address further variants. Malaysian playwrights who now live and work abroad (for example, Lee Joo For in Australia) should be considered, perhaps. In addition, should we be teaching plays written by Malaysians abroad and about non-Malaysian issues such as Madame Mao's Memories by Henry Ong (1990)? As Ong said, `As a native of Malaysia ... I am anxious to share this play with...