Page 54 - Fireflyz Issue 3

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52 | FireFlyz
Theatre
Jo Kukathas:
A Passion for Performing
W o r d s :
N a j u a I s m a i l
W
hile
she
didn’t get
the gig at her
first audition,
Jo Kukathas
made the
most of her
humble beginnings in local theatre
to launch a successful career as one
of Malaysia’s most prominent stage
personalities. Instead of nabbing a role
in a play called Caught in the Middle,
Jo was invited to help out during
rehearsals which included tasks like
sweeping the floors and exterminating
mosquitoes. The perks of the job
included the opportunity to learn about
and participate in vocal and physical
warm ups. As fate would have it, a cast
member dropped out, Jo was asked to
step into the role, and a star was born.
When Caught in the Middle was
performed at the then fledgling
Singapore Arts Festival, Jo recalled
that “it made someone laugh so hard
he broke his chair!” The success of
her first play as a professional actor
whet her appetite for performing. She
continued to hone her craft in a wide
variety of roles in plays and musicals
like Alan Ayckbourn’s Absent Friends,
Frank Loesser’s Guys and Dolls, Kobe
Abe’s Friends, KS Maniam’s The
Sandpit, as well as Shakespeare’s
Macbeth, and Romeo and Juliet. Today,
Jo is perhaps best known for characters
of her own creation including comedic
alter egos YB - Deputy Minister in the
Ministry of Breaking Records, uncivil
servant Puan Badariah Tudung Periuk,
and former beauty queen Ribena Berry
(aka Ambrosia Lala).
Her commitment to the arts is
manifested not just through her passion
for performing, but also her dedication
to fostering a thriving Malaysian arts
scene. In 1989, she established the
Instant Theatre Cafe Company with
contemporaries Jit Murad, Andrew