The OFA centenary show

 My wife and I spent a wonderful evening last Saturday at The OFA Centenary Show. For two hours, we sat enthralled with performances by the Old Frees who were once involved with the Music And Drama Society of Penang Free School. 

The Centenary Show opened with the father-and-daughter duo of Lee Eu Beng and Karen Lee. Karen Lee was one of the participants of the Leadership Workshop in the past and I was delighted to see her singing on stage with her father accompanying her on the guitar. Yong Kok Fooi had made his way back from the United States to entertain the audience with some nostalgia which included Don McLean's American Pie, Monty Python's Brighter Side of Life and Sam Cooke's What A Wonderful World. 

We saw an inspired performance by stand-up comedian Abdul Raqib Karim who brought the house down with his jokes. Roshini Thilegachandran took to the stage to present some wonderful rendition of songs from plays that the Music And Drama Society had performed in the past, and she then gave way to Ang Teng Chye for the final singing session. To wrap up the evening, Kean Yin Phing had also made her way back from Florida to dance for the audience. For this, she was well supported by the ballerinas from the Greenapple Ballet Academy.

Amidst all this, Andrew Lim Tatt Keong made a dedication speech at the start of the Show, paying tributes to the past teachers who had played big roles in the development of the Music And Drama space at the school. Special mentions were made of Gerard Reutens and Cheng Hin. The latter had been most persistent in wanting a Bicentenary play presented in 2016 but the idea fell through. Andrew also commented that Reutens had been most inspired by the inspirational poem, Invictus, by William Ernest Henley, when he penned these lines for the School Rally: It matters neither how strait the gate, Nor how charged with dangers the goal. 

The Centenary Show wouldn't be complete without the involvement of some Present Frees who put up three short plays. There is a need to revive the Music And Drama Society to its former splendour and range of activities - they must reorganise themselves to put on school plays - these Present Frees and their teacher advisor have a big task before them. But from what what I saw on Saturday night it is not an impossible task. For a start, the boys and girls put up three short plays and I was impressed by the students' energies. In my opinion, two of the boys stood out, Mohammad Mikhail and Muhammad Nazim, but then I realised that this wasn't the first time that I had seen them speak. They had participated in the Centenary Elocution Contest in the School Hall only last May, They were eloquent then and they were eloquent now.

In the background I must single out Cheong Lai Fong who is in charge of the English Language Department of the School, Despite her portfolio not covering the Music And Drama Society's activities, she had played a big role in arranging the logistics for the Centenary Show. It's just that we do not know much of it, There's also theatre director Chee Sek Thim who spent time coaching the students in the three plays. Philip Yeoh, the creative director, was the  force behind the show and the success of the evening was all to his credit.