Tiara Jacquelina answers Questions on ‘Why Should You Watch Puteri Gunung Ledang Season III’

1) Why should the first time theatre goer, who has never been to Istana Budaya or a musical before, come & watch PGLM3?

Puteri Gunung Ledang is a story that every Malaysian knows by heart: Hang Tuah, the greatest Malay warrior, and Puteri Gunung Ledang, mystical keeper of the mists.

This legendary tale is brought to life by Tiara Jacquelina (Best Actress 50th Asia Pacific Film Fest 2005) as Gusti Puteri, Stephen Rahman Hughes (West End lead in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Bombay Dreams) as Hang Tuah, Adlin Aman Ramlie as Sultan Mahmud and AC Mizal as Gusti Adipati.

The musical is directed by Zahim Albakri , who won the Best Director Boh Cameronian Arts Awards in 2003, 2005 & 2006.

Puteri Gunung Ledang The Musical also won 8 Boh Cameronian Arts Awards for
- Best Director
- Best Music & Sound Design
- Best Set Design
- Best Lighting Design
- Best Costume Design
- Best Actor in a Supporting Role
- Best Original Script Bahasa Malaysia
- Audience Choice Award

Puteri Gunung Ledang is an all-Malaysian musical with international standard production values, that all Malaysians can be proud of.

2) What about the 60,000 people that have watched PGL during Season 1 & 2? Why should they come & see it again?

People who come to watch the show this time will see many things they haven't seen before in the past seasons of PGLM.

1. A different staging of some of the scenes. Additional sets throughout the show to make it more ornate, a few added details to the sets here and there.

2. Music - it's much more dynamic now, more Malay elements. Roslan Aziz’s best work to-date, I feel

3. Video Projections –we’re using a lot more 3D in our video projections. History, legend and folklore in high tech!

4. Costumes – some brand new costumes especially for the Kraton dance. Royal Terengganu Songket has given us some gorgeous songket that will surely add a glamorous Malay touch to the show.

5. Lighting design is different too, we have a new lighting designer this season - this will make the show look very different again.

6. Illusions and special effects - this is the biggest new element we’ve added to the show. We are working with an illusionist and will be using special effects to show Bayan, Adipati, Putri and Sultan's mystical powers!

If you have watched and enjoyed it before, you will enjoy it even more this time. Every member of our team is committed to do better than they did before.

“Regulars” and repeat audiences of PGL - the musical will notice:
* Additional sets throughout the show
* The completely new lighting design throughout the show, which will bring a completely different energy to each scene,
* Some fresh new music, as well as new musical arrangements.
* Some new costumes
* More use of 3D in the Video Projections
* Tighter, deeper performances, which should pack in more of an emotional punch,

But the most significant change to the show will be a completely new element we are really excited to explore which is the use of illusions and special effects.

During our study tours of musicals over the past few months, Zahim, Malek and I noticed that the new musicals were using a more high-tech approach, which seemed to gel very well with new and seasoned theatre audiences. Lord Of The Rings, Zorro, Tarzan, and my favorite, Wicked, featured a lot of 3D and special effects, designed by illusionists. It represented an evolution of tradition-meets-modern-world, where audiences were looking beyond just the songs and dances to expect something a bit more spectacular and dynamic.

3) How are you preparing for your role as Puteri for PGLM Season3?

Well, I’m working harder than I ever did during seasons 1, 2 and even for our Singapore season; on my dancing, singing and acting. I brought back the Javanese dance teacher who trained me in 2003 for the film version of PGL to re-drill the dance moves. I have a vocal coach who is working with me to make sure my singing is going to be far stronger than it ever was before. As for the acting, Zahim is getting all of us to really go much deeper emotionally and fully explore the potential of each scene.

This will be the best version of Puteri Gunung Ledang we will have ever staged. I told myself that if this is my last season as Puteri, I have taken the character to the fullest and explored every possible way of making her come to life on stage.