“All the characters accept their situation and can’t wait for it to end,” writer-director Joe Hasham told FMT Lifestyle. “They want to go, get out of here. It’s not frightening for them – and I don’t think it will be frightening for the audience, either.”
Kicking off this Thursday until Feb 1 at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (klpac), “God’s Waiting Room” stars Malaysia’s first lady of theatre, Faridah Merican, veteran performer Patrick Teoh, and seasoned theatre actor Anne James.
Set in a retirement home, the play centres on Ms Effie, Ms Pansy and Mr Chong as they navigate ageing bodies, endless waiting, and quiet days.
They reminisce about first loves, lost memories and long-gone parties, bicker relentlessly, joke freely, and lean on one another – forming an unlikely but steadfast companionship.
“This is what life is about,” said James, 71. “You learn to accept and be grateful for what you still have. It’s acceptance with joy, not depression.”
She added with a laugh: “And one privilege of being old is that we don’t need filters anymore. You get to say what you like.”
Hasham, 78, revealed the play began as something deeply personal. “I wrote this as a love letter to Faridah,” he said. “Most mornings I wake up and watch her sleep, thinking, ‘How long will we still have this?’
“One day it’s going to happen where we’re not going to be around. I realised I needed to write about growing old.”
The title came by chance during one of the couple’s annual trips to Australia. While passing through Sussex Inlet, a friend casually remarked that the town was known as “God’s waiting room” – a paradise where seniors spend their later years.
“Faridah turned to me and said, ‘That’s the name of your play’,” Hasham recalled. Only then, he said, could he begin writing.
For the cast, the play resonates deeply with their own lives. Faridah, now 86, shared that two years ago, both she and Hasham were hospitalised for an extended period.
“It was terrifying,” she recalled. “I used to celebrate every birthday with a big party. Now I tell Joe, ‘Maybe we don’t need to party tonight.'”
Teoh, 79, admitted that ageing crept up on him quietly. “I never felt old. Then one day you discover you can’t walk that fast anymore, or you can’t eat as much as you would like to. That’s when it hits you.”
James, who spent years as a physical actor and dancer, said accepting physical decline was her biggest challenge.
“The next stage of ageing for me was learning how to cope with that structural breakdown of your body. I’ve come to accept it now that it is what it is,” she said.
Ultimately, Hasham reasons that “God’s Waiting Room” is about embracing, rather than having a fear of, ageing.
“People think old folks are timid and inactive, just watching TV… that’s not true. Many are feisty, funny, and full of life – and that’s exactly who these characters are.”
‘God’s Waiting Room’
When:
- Jan 22-24, 27-31 @ 8pm
- Jan 25 & Feb 1 @ 3pm
Where:
Pentas 2 @ Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (klpac),
Sentul Park, Jalan Strachan,
51100 Kuala Lumpur
Tickets, priced from RM68-RM150, can be purchased here.