Somehow it took me six months to realise that there is a new musical in town that is suitable for all ages. Mud – Our Story of Kuala Lumpur is a large production that is meant to draw visitors and locals alike and will run for three years in the old Panggung Bandaraya in the corner of Merdeka Square.
Taking advantage of the holiday traffic (rather the lack of it!) and a great offer (all tickets 20 RM) we set out to an afternoon of music and colour.
Mud is a story of three friends in the spirit of 1Malaysia: Mamat, Meng and Muthiah. The story is set in the 1880s, the time of the mining boom that attracted hopeful people from all over the region to this muddy estuary of two rivers.
The music, dancers and colourful costumes are the highlights of the show and had the kids glued to their seats. The lead actors are charismatic and skilled and some cool digital effects are used in the set.The lead actors are charismatic and skilled and some cool digital effects are used in the set.
Some of the dialogue is not in English, but although we missed a few jokes even the kids got the gist of the simple storyline: homes and livelihoods destroyed by fire and floods, all too close to home at the moment.
History of KL serves more as a frame for the story of the three friends, but older kids could benefit from doing a recap of the early history of the city. I imagine the production would work well for school groups and home schoolers. At just under an hour, Mud our story of Kuala Lumpur is a perfect length for even the little ones to sit still, although the old-fashioned moving theatre seats seemed to be almost as entertaining for some.
The music is pretty loud, and the scenes with fire and storm can be a bit scary for the youngest viewers. We had a team of 4 and 6 year olds that were not bothered at all, though. The show is quite interactive – will not tell more lest I spoil the surprise! And for those Instagram moments: the cast will stay on stage for photo ops after the show.
Mud KL Facebook page
Panggung Bandaraya, Jalan Raja, Kuala Lumpur.
Shows daily at 3pm and 8pm at Tickets RM60 and RM45 (with MyKad). School holiday offer running until 11th January: all tickets RM20 if there are school kids/students in the party. This offer is also open to residents without MyKad.
Note: Mud is streamed online here!
Parking is easy at the Dataran Merdeka underground parking across the road.
3 Responses
Looks like some interesting entertainment. 🙂