The Creative Overview...

The Objective

To produce a uniquely south East Asian stage musical that is directly inspired by Puteri Gunung Ledang the film, Malaysia's first attempt to stage it's very own West End scale production.

The Approach

Puteri Gunung Ledang the Musical will be structured along the lines of a traditional Broadway or West End musical with scenes of spoken dramatic dialogue, punctuated with songs highlighting the emotional moments and dance sequences adding spectacle and excitement to the narrative.

The Direction

In order to create a truly entertaining and theatrical experience for the audience, we aim to provide a contemporary look and feel to the musical while remaining true in spirit to the historical and cultural background of the story, throughout the innovative use of music, choreography, set design, art direction and staging.

The Music

The music will of course be the key element and intrinsically south East Asian in its atmosphere and sounds cape. A combination of the beautiful and lyrical melodies of Dick Lee’s composition with the rich and robust world music feel of Roslan Aziz’s musical direction, it will incorporate a unique blend of traditional and rock, choral and orchestral making it sexy, dynamic and most importantly, unexpected.

The Set Design & Art Direction

A large part of the Puteri Gunung Ledang musical is rooted in the reality of the historical settings of the royal courts of Majapahit and Melaka and the set design will reflect this. It will draw on architectural and cultural references of the respective empires and of the period. The stone friezes of Borobodur. The intricate wood carvings of the Malay istanas. Ornate. Elaborate. Iridescent.

The more mystical aspects of the story allow for more theatrical abstraction. The magical realm of Gusti Putri’s forest in Gunung Ledang is one such setting. Therefore, the scenes will be a combination of the realistic and the abstract while capitalizing on one of Puteri Gunung Ledang’s strongest assets, its truly south East Asian personality.

The Staging

The universe of Puteri Gunung Ledang The Musical will be a sensory experience that not only engages sight and sound but also smell and touch. From the moment the audience enters the auditorium they should be transported into a different time, place and atmosphere. The sounds o the night forest, the smell of exotic incense. The goal will be to bridge the separation between the audience and the performance space.