Sisyphus No.9

"I heard nothing…
and I heard nothing again…" - Beethoven to his brothers

Sisyphus No. 9 is inspired by two stories: the myth of Sisyphus, punished by the gods to eternally roll a boulder up a hill only to have it roll down once more for him to start all over again; and the story of Ludwig van Beethoven, who, at the juncture of total deafness, composes and (eventually) conducts his acclaimed 9th Symphony in Vienna, Austria. 

From silence to symphony, intertwined by the happy absurdity of labour in vain, again, again, and again…

Sispyhus No.9 features multidisciplinary performing and fine artist Liew Chee Heai, and the duo of Francoe with live ambient music. Bryan Chang production designs. This project is conceived and directed by Tung Jit Yang and is supported by Sunway University’s Department of Film and Performing Arts.

Content warning: Sispyhus No.9 utilizes loud music, moments of darkness, and flashing lights. Audience discretion is advised. FOR MATURE AUDIENCES.

Buy more, save more: Tickets to all Theatresauce’s productions this year are RM55 (Standard), RM45 (Bulk purchase of 4 tickets), and RM35 (Bulk purchase of minimum 20 tickets for university/college students only – a free workshop is included. Email mia.mahadir@gmail.com for details.)

theatresauce.com
Facebook/Instagram @theatresauce

The duration for each performance is approximately 120 minutes without intermission.

Getting to Sunway College's Rooftop Theatre

Sunway College and Sunway University are on the same grounds but are two separate buildings. Paid underground parking is available at Sunway University. The Rooftop Theatre is on the fourth floor of Sunway College. Do look out for signs that will guide you there. Security guards are on standby to assist as well. Alternatively, do check out a directional video (that we've used since our first EDL batch in 2018) that will get you to the space: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1P5e8lD6S34YtVT1w0YPr4NitcyvPLthc/view

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COVID-19 SOPs

All production team members are vaccinated and boosted. Audiences are highly encouraged to be boosted with a third dose. Mask-wearing is recommended. Theatresauce reserves the right to deny entry if patrons are found to be COVID-19 positive. No refund will be made to those who have purchased tickets.

Despite all safety and prevention measures taken, the risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present. By visiting Sunway College Rooftop Theatre and its grounds, audiences assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19. 

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The Production Team

Featuring: Liew Chee Heai x Francoe
Production-Stage Managers: Mia Sabrina Mahadir & Emma Martin
Scenographer: Bryan Chang
Season Designer: Jazzie Lee Jin Jye
Season Archiver: Abdul Sami Shahid
Directed by Tung Jit Yang

Producer-Director
Tung Jit Yang

Tung Jit Yang is a theatre performer and director. His past works have largely been devised, original works that explore theatrical and film forms, investigating themes that are personal and relevant to the artists he collaborates with – memory and history, reactions to socio-political events. He also ventures into texted work, adapting contemporary and classical texts, from plays to children’s stories. These works have been presented in spaces and festivals in Malaysia, and he has been invited to work in countries such as Indonesia, Russia, and Japan. He is a graduate of the Tisch School of Arts, New York University. Jit was also Director-in-Residence at The Actors Studio Malaysia @ KLPAC.

Scenographer
Bryan Chang

Bryan Chang is a designer – a generalist, his work revolves primarily around graphic design, scenography, and media arts. He has worked with, among others, The Bangkung Row Restaurants, British Council Malaysia, KLPAC, Theatresauce, and The Cooler Lumpur Festival. Recent highlights include Mixtape for Maz; A Listening Body; Switchblade Operation: The Longing; Dari Pinggiran vol.1: SK Danau Perdana; Langkawi Walk The Doc 2022; Kaleidoscope Japan: Every Thought I’ve Ever Had; Hubs For Good Toolkit; MayWe Exhibition: Belas Masa; and Unity (1918). He is also a co-founder of sans collective, an interdisciplinary art and design collective.

Production-Stage Manager
Mia Sabrina Mahadir

Mia Sabrina Mahadir is a multidisciplinary artist. She acts, directs, writes, teaches, makes resin ashtrays and soy candles, reads Tarot, and rescues cats. She recently produced and directed Saturn Return, her first full-length devised piece also from Theatresauce’s 2023 season. It has been 11 years since Mia first stepped on stage, and despite the sisyphean ups and downs, she has managed to find meaning in the pieces of work she creates. Follow Mia on Instagram @kutufutubom.

Production-Stage Manager
Emma Martin

Three gap years and a year in the jungle later, Emma returns to the theatre by stage managing Rapunzel (2022) by KL Players, Melur the Musical (2023), A Hen-Made Tale (2023) and Triple Bill (2023), both with KL Shakespeare Players. This is Emma’s second Theatresauce production of the 2023 season, after production and stage-managing Saturn Return. 

Performer
Liew Chee Heai 

Liew Chee Heai is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice includes photography, performance art, installation art, and short video. He has held solo photography exhibitions in Tokyo and Kuala Lumpur. In 2019, he made his directorial debut and performed in Seni Tiga #03: Void in Void. In 2022, he exhibited My Island, a site-specific installation, as well as directed and performed in khakkhakkhak, a performance art piece. Doing hands-on work every day makes his cells happy.


Musician
Francoe

After working on various performing arts productions together as well as sharing multiple stages through deceased post-rock quartet, GLASS, and fractional math-rock outfit, The Filters, Coebar Abel and Ian Francis decided to formalise their musical partnership in the form of Francoe. Francoe wants to bridge the divide between art disciplines through the openness of their music. This allows them flexibility in fluidly moving from one genre to another with different demands from project to project as heard through theatrical productions such as OCD (2018), IN/OUT (2019), Rakaman Emosi: KATA (2021), Dead Water (2022), and EARTHSHINE (2022).