ZAHIM ALBAKRI
Artistic Director
Executive Producer
Zahim Albakri is the artistic director/executive producer and founding member of dramalab, as well as a recognised actor in the Malaysia. He has appeared in a number of acclaimed television, theatre and film productions, and is a regular voiceover talent. Trained as an actor at the Academy Of Live And Recorded Arts in London, Zahim also holds an MA in Theatre Directing. His theatre performances include As Is; The Skin Trilogy Scorpion Orchid; The Accidental Death Of An Anarchist; Art, If I Get AIDS; Padan Muka; Lear; Notes On Love, Life And Painting; A Flight Delayed; Pulau Antara: The Island In Between; Spilt Gravy on Rice and 7TEN. In 2004, Zahim appeared in A Man for All Seasons, the critically acclaimed one-man show of a Huzir Sulaiman double-bill, Notes on Life & Love & Painting and The Smell of Language and two plays in Singapore, Mardigras and The Good Citizen. His television and movie credits include Mat Gelap; Selubung; Sutera Putih; Kuala Selangor; Mastura and Sara. Most recently, he appeared as the lead role Adam Kamaruddin in the sitcom, Talk About Love, and in the popular soap opera, Astana Idaman 2. He received the Best Actor award for his role in the TV drama Odissi at the TV3 Anugerah Skrin in 1999. As artistic director of dramalab, he has been responsible for Gold Rain And Hailstones, The Storyteller, One By One, Talking AIDS, A Flight Delayed and Spilt Gravy On Rice, for which he received the Best Director award at the inaugural Cameronian Arts Awards in 2003. Spilt Gravy on Rice was also performed at the DBS Arts Centre in Singapore in February 2003.
JIT MURAD
Director
Writer-in-Residence
Jit Murad is a celebrated actor, a favourite stand up comic and one of the founders of dramalab. His acting credits are prolific, with appearances in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo & Juliet, The Merchant Of Venice, Death Of A Salesman, Death & The Maiden, Black Comedy, An Actor’s Nightmare, Art, As Is, Talking AIDS , Gross Indecency: The Three Trials Of Oscar Wilde and A Man for All Seasons. He is also renowned as one of the most gifted playwrights in Malaysia.
The first play he wrote, Gold Rain And Hailstones was a success. Between its first showing in 1993 and its final performance in 1999, the comedy – directed by Zahim Albakri – played to full houses in KL, Penang and Singapore. He also wrote The Storyteller based on Southeast Asian spoken traditions, and the resulting production was a musical spectacular with Jit himself cast as the title character. Co-directed by Zahim and Krishen Jit, with music by Saidah Rastam, The Storyteller was consequently picked by The Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board for Malaysia Fest 1996. In 2001, while writing a new script, Jit also reworked a three-monologue effort from 1993 into a feature-length play for Ida Nerina’s directorial debut. Titled Visits, the comedy performed to packed houses during its weeklong run in January 2002. Then in August 2002, Spilt Gravy On Rice directed by Zahim, proved to be another successful collaboration – acclaimed by reviewers and a box-office hit, the play received four awards at the inaugural Cameronian Arts Awards 2003 including Best Original Script.
2003 also saw the restaging of Visits and the Singaporean premiere of Spilt Gravy On Rice. Jit’s one man show Jit hits the Fan played to packed houses in October 2003. dramalab is at present looking at publishing Jit’s plays.
