REVIEW: Mendaki - Where Stories Overlap and Identities Blur

©️Mendaki Production

At the centre of the stage stood a simple folding ladder – extendable, practical, almost ordinary at first glance. Over the course of Mendaki, it transforms into a metaphor for the shifting, often precarious nature of identity: a place of both balance and instability as characters navigate their journey between two cultures.

The stripped-back set works in its favour. Faizal Abdullah performs solo, but he is never truly alone. Mendaki unfolds through a series of interconnected stories, voices, and memories, each tied to the UK and Singapore in different ways. Some characters arrive in Britain for work or study, chasing the promise of a “better life.” Others were born here, distanced from the roots their parents still talk about. There are elders clinging tightly to traditional Malay-Muslim values, while others have adapted, drifted, or found new ways to belong.

At one point, Faizal even becomes a cat to explore what it means to be “a Malay cat,” bewildered by Western habits, like guests who don’t remove their shoes when entering a Muslim home. It’s a moment of humour that glimmers with bite, funny and sharp at once, a small rebellion wrapped in playfulness.

The rhythm of the show moves through the ladder’s shifts, the beat of the drum, and the turn of light. Between scenes, Faizal strikes a traditional Malay drum, its sound deep and resonant. In Malay culture, these drums are symbols of unity and cooperation, often played together in celebration or prayer. Faizal’s solo drumming holds that duality: the strength of community on one side, and the subtle ache of distance on the other. From time to time, a mother’s voice drifts through, speaking of family in Singapore, giving cooking tips, sharing a recipe. These moments keep the piece grounded and remind us that identity often lives in the kitchen as much as in the grand stories of politics or migration.

Across the hour, Faizal shifts between himself and a series of alter identities, each reflecting a different facet of Malay identity, each caught between faith, language, and belonging. The transitions sometimes blur, and we’re not always sure where one voice ends and another begins. But perhaps that confusion mirrors the point: life between cultures is rarely neat. Stories overlap, echo, contradict. It’s part of the truth the piece is trying to convey.

★★★1/2

This performance is currently running at The Cockpit until the 8th of November.

For more information, please visit: https://www.voilafestival.co.uk/events/mendaki/

Credits

Created & Devised by Faizal Abdullah
Producer: Khai
Stage Manager: He Zhang
Audience Engagement & Outreach Coordinator: Aneesah Khadijah Suhaidi