Make Hantus Great Again
by Suffian Hakim Teater Ekamatra Ngee Ann Kongsi Theatre, Singapore Anyone familiar with the works of Suffian Hakim would know his penchant for blending comedy and the supernatural. His first novel Harris Bin Potter and the Stoned Philosopher was a rollicking Singaporean satire of Harry Potter featuring a Malay protagonist. This was followed up by The Minorities , about a motley crew of Yishun flatmates whose lives take an interesting turn when a pontianak pays them a visit. Suffian’s playwriting debut, presented by Teater Ekamatra over the Halloween weekend, centres around the Convention of Metaphysical Entities (COME), an organisation introduced in the latter novel. It’s a rip-roaring, laugh-a-minute affair, set amidst the world of the Singaporean undead that serves up plenty of food for thought. Presided over by sassy bomoh Joyah de Vivre (Hafidz Rahman), we are welcomed to the general elections of COME, an organisation managing supernatural affairs in Singapore. Four candidates
