Are you a fan of cultural performance? If you are, you’ll certainly appreciate one that’s coming up soon; Mek Mulung: Putera Cahaya Bulan.

Not quite familiar with Mek Mulung?

As oppose to the famous Mak Yong from Kelantan, Mek Mulung is a traditional Malay theatre dance drama unique to the northern state of Kedah in Malaysia.

Developed from original folklore legends, Mek Mulung grew in popularity since the late 18th century as it incorporated most elements of Mak Yong, Menora and Hadrah into its repertoire.

The basic dance movements are mainly focused on hand gestures. The orchestra consists of a variety of traditional drums and gongs. The only melodic instrument is the oboe. The singing parts are performed by the musicians themselves.

The Mek Mulung begins with the bertabuh ritual where all the musical instruments are played simultaneously, followed by a song called bertabik sung in chorus as the dance movements develop.

After bertabik, stories from the Hikayat are recited and synchronized to the dance. At various points the sequence is interrupted by dialogues in poetry known as pantun to indicate change of scenes. Performed in a series of stories, a typical Mek Mulung theatre can take up to 3 nights to complete.

Staged performances will begin on Feb 28, 2015 and March 1, 2015 at the Theatre Sari, Istana Budaya Kuala Lumpur. Tickets will be on sale starting at RM23, RM53 and RM83 and available online by accessing www.airasiaredtix.com or by purchasing them at the ticket counter Istana Budaya box-office or at the following locations:

Rock Corner
The Garden, Mid Valley (03-22014893)
KLCC (03-21815560)
Subang Parade (03-56131139)

Victoria Music
Sg Wang (03-21487208)
Lumina (03-79560592)
Tropicana (03-77222955)