#SHOWBIZ: Embraced by immersion: 'Being Carried' celebrates inclusive disability arts

MESMERISED, enamoured and filled with a dawning realisation — those are the words I would use to describe my experience watching 'Being Carried' at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (klpac) recently.

Written and directed by award-winning British playwright Kaite O'Reilly, a leading global figure in disability arts, the production is a powerful international cross-cultural partnership.

Crucially, the work is co-created with Ho Lee Ching, a Kuala Lumpur-based neurodivergent and disabled theatre-maker who founded Teater Untuk Semua.

Together, their collaborative vision anchors the play's perspective deeply in both local Malaysian realities and international disabled-led theatre.

As a first-time reviewer, I initially had no clue where to start.

My mind was flooded with questions about how to make my analysis perfect.

Armed with a small notebook, I intended to jot down whatever caught my eye or sparked a moral dilemma.

What I did not expect was a complete shift in how I view the disabled (OKU) community.

I entered the theatre expecting to critically observe a performance.

Instead, within the first half hour, I realised I had stopped writing altogether.

The notebook stayed closed as the production quietly shifted my focus from detached analysis to total immersion.

THE AESTHETICS OF ACCESS

Featuring a remarkably talented cast of disabled, deaf and neurodivergent artists, the production is built upon what disability arts calls "the aesthetics of access".

Rather than treating accessibility as an afterthought, sign language and visual storytelling are woven directly into the fabric of the art.

This is executed beautifully by creative access artists Calysta Tay and Ammar Karim.

From mobile-yet-voiceless actors to those who are hard of hearing, every performer is integrated so seamlessly into the narrative that nothing feels out of place.

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In one moving sequence, guest performer Gejaletchumi Murugaya (Geja) signs about how speech from non-disabled people is often perceived as just sound coming out of a mouth.

But when she speaks, she describes it as a "duet of movement and sound" — a striking harmony of the body working together to convey her words.

In another scene, Danial Bawthan (the Singapore-based musician and rapper known as Wheelsmith) delivers a monologue about how the disabled community is often "there, but not there".

Knowing that Bawthan is an influential international athlete and sound designer in real life makes this line cut even deeper; it perfectly captures how people with disabilities are frequently physically present in society, yet socially ignored.

A PROFOUNDLY SIMPLE WEIGHT

Through this intimate chamber piece, the cast successfully transforms disability from a subject to be observed into a narrative that speaks entirely for itself through movement, language and presence.

The central theme explores the universal ways we carry and are carried — physically, emotionally, and metaphorically — from the cradle to the grave.

The message does not need to be complex to be effective.

Its power comes from the raw, undeniable importance of the lived experiences it brings to light.

It is a profoundly simple message, and for that exact reason, it is one of the most meaningful things theatre can ever hope to achieve.

Rhys Lancaster is an English Communication graduate with a passion for storytelling and visual narratives, and hopes to further explore the art of storytelling through different mediums.

This review was generated by Artsee.Net as part of its Art Writers' Sandbox programme.