This June, Darebin Arts Speakeasy presents In Shadows (Dalam Bayang-Bayang), a haunting new work that reimagines the myth of the pontianak at Northcote Town Hall Arts Centre.
The pontianak is one of Southeast Asian folklore’s most enduring figures: a spirit born of betrayal, known for her long black hair, haunting laughter, and lingering presence among the banana trees and frangipani-scented air. In Shadows (Dalam Bayang-Bayang) is her story, retold.
A woman falls in love with a man obsessed with her hair. When she attempts to reclaim her independence, he turns violent and murders her. She transforms into the pontianak – a monstrous spirit who will not forget.
Visual artist Liang Luscombe, musician and ethnomusicologist Isobel D’Cruz Barnes, and writer–producer Haneen Mahmood Martin bring the story to life through shadow puppetry inspired by Malaysian wayang kulit, live music by the five-piece ensemble Hantu, and dance-theatre influenced by Butoh. The work features the choreography and performance of dance artist Janette Hoe, whose visceral and unique dance language embodies the pontianak’s grief and haunting presence with an intimacy that is as surprising as it is raw.
With no spoken word, the work is a conversation between disciplines – the slowly unfolding and highly textural and cinematic language of shadow puppetry, with the pontianak’s flowing hair as a central motif, and semi-improvised live music that creates a tactile and emotive soundworld.
In Shadows (Dalam Bayang-Bayang) draws on the continued relevance of traditional artforms such as the puppetry of Malaysian wayang kulit, positioning them not as relics of the past but as a living, active practice. The creative team is driven by the power of reclamation and experimentation within an evolving tradition.
Moody, evocative, and steeped in the supernatural, In Shadows (Dalam Bayang-Bayang) offers a contemporary experience of Southeast Asian storytelling, immersing audiences in a haunting spirit world. The pontianak’s story is often morally ambiguous; she is a powerful and complex yet familiar Southeast Asian folk figure who appears in film, music and performance. Both a feared female monster and doomed figure, the pontianak gives voice to social taboo feminist subjects such as maternal mortality and domestic violence.
In Shadows (Dalam Bayang-Bayang) is an invitation to audiences of different generations and backgrounds to come together and share in a richly creative, interdisciplinary expression of Southeast Asian diasporic culture, mythology and artistry.
June 24 – 28
