{"id":3061,"date":"2025-07-28T10:16:44","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T10:16:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.peranakan.org.sg\/tpasmag\/?p=3061"},"modified":"2025-07-28T10:22:24","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T10:22:24","slug":"apa-khabar-baju-kebaya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.peranakan.org.sg\/theperanakanmagazine\/apa-khabar-baju-kebaya\/","title":{"rendered":"Apa Khabar, Baju Kebaya?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Baba Bryan Tan gets wrapped in a Tapestry of Peranakan Stories at i12 Katong<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On a balmy July afternoon, the i12 Katong atrium shimmered with sarongs and song as A Tapestry of Peranakan Stories<\/em> presented \u201cApa Khabar, Baju Kebaya (How are you, baju kebaya<\/em>)?\u201d \u2014 a vivid celebration of culture, fashion, and storytelling. It was less a performance than a reunion: of heritage and humour, music and memory, old souls and young hearts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taking centre stage were cultural stalwarts Baba GT Lye<\/strong> and Baba Richard Tan<\/strong>, both exchanging cheeky banter in Baba Malay and singing popular dondang sayang <\/em>(love song) <\/em>tunes, accompanied by the elegant Melissa Sidek<\/strong>, an actress-singer known for her multilingual stage presence. At 86, GT Lye \u2014 affectionately known as the \u201cgrand dame\u201d of Peranakan theatre \u2014 bantered effortlessly in his signature baju panjang <\/em>(long tunic), while Baba Richard, Artistic Director of GenerAsia, countered with comic flair and panache.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But as the trio sang and spoke almost entirely in Baba Malay, it became clear that some members of the crowd struggled to follow along \u2014 a poignant reminder of how quickly language, like lace, can fray without care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Nyonya Melissa Sidek and Baba Richard Tan serving up Peranakan tunes and witty banter to an eager crowd in the atrium of i12 Katong<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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(Left to right) Nyonya Melissa Sidek, doyen Baba GT Lye, Nyonya Jackie Pereira, and Baba Richard Tan pose for a picture post performance<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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After the show, I caught up with Baba Richard Tan and Baba Alvin Tan \u2014 the latter a Cultural Medallion-winning theatre director and founder of The Necessary Stage<\/em>, whose work often bridges tradition with contemporary commentary. For them, the baju kebaya is more than attire \u2014 it’s an identity. \u201cWhen nyonyas meet, it’s always, \u2018Eh, what you wearing?\u2019\u201d Alvin chuckled. \u201cWe\u2019re a tracker<\/em> culture \u2014 we notice, we comment. It becomes the talking point.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The theme \u201cApa Khabar, Baju Kebaya?\u201d was chosen not just for its poetry, but for its provocation \u2014 inviting reflection on how heritage is worn, seen, and felt today. \u201cIt\u2019s like a flower attracting butterflies,\u201d said Richard, \u201cbut after that, you must educate.\u201d Both were candid about the challenges of balancing preservation with innovation. \u201cWe must respect the original,\u201d Alvin noted, \u201cbut also create safe spaces for younger people to make it theirs. Don\u2019t judge them for experimenting \u2014 bless them, guide them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One such example was a performance they created featuring a memorial wall<\/em> in place of an ancestral altar \u2014 a modern twist that earned praise from the ever-wise GT Lye. \u201cBetter to be remembered this way than not at all,\u201d he said. That, to Richard, is the Peranakan spirit: resilient, adaptive, and ever cheeky. As our conversation wrapped, I asked what message they\u2019d like to leave for young Peranakans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t just take selfies,\u201d Alvin said with a grin. \u201cUse your platform to carry the culture with you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUse us while we\u2019re still here,\u201d Richard added, more softly. \u201cBefore the window closes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At once playful and profound, their words echoed long after the music faded \u2014 a gentle reminder that the kebaya is still very much alive, and still has stories to tell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Baba Bryan Tan gets wrapped in a Tapestry of Peranakan Stories at i12 Katong<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3065,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peranakan.org.sg\/theperanakanmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peranakan.org.sg\/theperanakanmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peranakan.org.sg\/theperanakanmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peranakan.org.sg\/theperanakanmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peranakan.org.sg\/theperanakanmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3061"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.peranakan.org.sg\/theperanakanmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3061\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3074,"href":"https:\/\/www.peranakan.org.sg\/theperanakanmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3061\/revisions\/3074"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peranakan.org.sg\/theperanakanmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peranakan.org.sg\/theperanakanmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peranakan.org.sg\/theperanakanmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peranakan.org.sg\/theperanakanmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}