Gardner & Wife's Past Productions

Based on the stage play Charley’s Aunt by Brandon Thomas.
First produced in London in 1892.

Played 26th October 2001 – 17th November 2001
Written & Directed by Richard Harding Gardner
Produced by Chae Lian
Staged at The Actors Studio, Bangsar

The first show produced and directed by the future Gardner & Wife, CHARLEY’S AUNTIE! was completely rewritten and updated from Oxford University 1892 to Malaya circa 1965. It starred film and TV actors Azean Irdawaty, Indi Nadarajah, Joanna Bessey, Rashid Salleh and Benji – some of them in their first English-language stage appearance. The show played to packed houses for three-and-a-half weeks becoming, at that time, the longest run of any stage show in Malaysia.

After its sell-out success in 2000, CHARLEY’S AUNTIE! was restaged at The Actors Studio Bangsar with an entirely new cast, including Louisa Chong (2+1, Jangan Ketawa), Zaibo (Under One Roof, Spanar Jaya), Manomaniam (Kopitiam, Anna and The King), Manesh Nesaratnam (All Mixed Up) and Taj (pop group Innuendo) in his first stage play. Rashid Salleh returned to the cast but this time playing the lead.

Jack - Manesh Nesaratnam
Charley - Taj
Ah Boon - Yves Yap
Fuzzy - Rashid Salleh
Amy - Farah Ashikin
Kitty - Subashni Jeyaratnam
Major Taufeeq - Manomaniam
Tuan Megat - Zaibo
Baroness von Bolinger - Louisa Chong
Ela - Zoë Christian

This play was first produced by The Actors Studio from
15th September 2000 till 5 October 2000 with the following cast:
. Azean Irdawaty . Indi Nadarajah . Joanna Bessey . Othman Hafsham . Na’a Murad . Rashid Salleh . Khaeryll Benjamin . Natasya Yusoff . Fash Stephenson . David Lim .

Costume Designer - Akma Suriati
Sound Designer - Wong Pek Fui
Lighting Designer - Mac Chan
Stage Manager - Hardesh Singh
Asst. Stage Manager - Priya Veerapen

05/11/2001 New Straits Times by Manveet Kaur
RUNNING RIOT WITH "AUNTIE"
remains fresh and funny… Gardner's cast pulls this play off very well… Manesh is especially good… Manomaniam delivers a wonderful pompous masculinity… the real star of the show is Rashid as the fake aunt, an over-the-top role he seems born to play + more

12/11/2001
The Edge by Jerome Kugan
CROSS-DRESSERS HAVE ALL THE FUN
such a delightful mango. It was tart, sweet and plump. I smack my lips in satisfaction. Totally impossible to find any fault with it… Gardner & Wife are just so right on the money with this nifty little production + more

12-18 November 2001 Day & Night by Jacobus Raj
FUNNY AUNT AND HER TWO LOVERBOYS
Taj… portrayal of Charley was excellent… Rashid Salleh… was a gem… Louisa Chong pulled off her role as the real baroness well… definitely was a good watch… + more

06/11/2001 KLue by Juliana Choo
AUNT BEHAVING BADLY
set that is just as good looking as the set of Relatively Speaking… thoroughly enjoyable outing… even if you already saw it last year… you will still find yourself laughing + more

30/10/2001 Kakiseni
Rashid Salleh was outstanding… bursting with testosterone and lust for life that his unexpected transition into the female state was definitely a "dramatic work - meant to cause laughter"… presence lit up the stage… farce at its best…

24/09/2000 The Star
Na'a Murad… stole the limelight… the always-comical Indi Nadarajah… didn't disappoint

21/09/2000 The Star Youth2
David Lim… simply endearing… Azean exudes the right glamour and haughtiness… The props are elaborate and impressive…

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