KUALA LUMPUR: A fresh new take on the musical play Puteri Hang Li Po will be one of three main programmes put on by Istana Budaya at the Encore Melaka Theatre this October.
Istana Budaya director-general Zubaidah Mukhtar said the musical, which depicts the golden age of the Malay Melaka Sultanate, had been performed in Panggung Sari, Istana Budaya in 2004, and was revived in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of Malaysia-China diplomatic ties.
“It retains the original storyline with several improvements, and will mark the strategic partnership with Encore Melaka, which has become a well-known international performance venue.
“Istana Budaya will serve as a catalyst to government efforts under the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry (MoTAC) to promote cultural tourism through the musical play Hang Li Po, which has symbolic significance to the countries’ diplomatic ties,” she said during her speech at the launch of the IB2024 programme here yesterday.
The other two main programmes are the Traditional Malaysian Orchestra: Sounds of Malaysia, and the Lambang Sari Series, last year’s sell-out performance.
“Special performances by the National Symphony Orchestra will also take place at selected venues in the country,” she added.
Zubaidah also shared the successful implementation of 29 programmes with an collective audience of 154,607 attendees at Istana Budaya with a media publicity value of over RM750 million.
At the ceremony officiated by MOTAC deputy secretary-general (culture) Mohd Yusri Mohd Yusoff, Istana Budaya also launched costume design books on the Hang Li Po and Cheng Lok musicals, along with the Ali Baba and Sinbad children musicals that can serve as reference for costume preparation for theatrical performances at Istana Budaya.
Highest Media Publicity Value 2023 appreciation certificates were also handed to the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama), Harian Metro and Berita Harian at the ceremony.
In other developments, Zubaidah shared that building maintenance and improvement work to Istana Budaya that began in June were going on smoothly.
The Istana Budaya building has been closed and will not host any event or performances till Jan 5, 2026 and will expect to be reopened the same year in line with Visit Malaysia Year 2026. – BERNAMA
