Nabilah Hamid as Belle. Yes, Brunei has got talent 😀

Kevin Lo pulling off the Gaston’s character to full effect

Cheeky, cheeky Gaston

Belle Preview: I have to admit that Relentless Entertainment have upped their game after two successful musical play production of The Enchanted Forest and Poppins. This year, they stepped up their game with better stage setting and props for their musical adaptation play taken from “Beauty and the Beast” entitled Belle.

It was also the first time I saw Nabilah Hamid performed on the big stage and her performance took me by surprise. She plays the role of Belle. Great job, Nabilah. As for Gaston role, Kevin Lo pulled it off smoothly, showing the cheekiness side of him too.

Overall, I’m entertained and proud of what was being delivered. For such limited resources, Relentless Entertainment was able to pull off more than what was expected. This is definitely money worth spending and sadly, the shows are pretty limited too. There’s still shows for tonight (Saturday) 7:45pm and Sunday 3rd April at 1:30pm. Tickets are available at the door at Jerudong International School’s Arts Centre. You can also whatsapp or text at 824 3222

You can also view more pictures from Faiq Airudin’s blog.

Comments from peers:

Pranika: It was an overall good performance. I enjoyed Gaston’s performance (Kevin Lo) but not as buff as Gaston’s supposed to be.

Gary Goh: Well done, guys! I’m quite impressed especially that Zainal and Kevin can sing.

Caroline: I went with no expectations and I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed Belle the musical. Loved the voices, the dancing, the props and costumes.

Let’s not forget the amazing dancers and other role players that made the performance more colourful

Now Gaston reminds me of Robin (from Batman)

 

The speakers for Volume 7 with the organisers and volunteers of Pechakucha Brunei

The host of the night – Farhan Jaafar Ali

What a wonderful session of Volume 7 of Brunei’s Pechakucha! I still remember the first one back in 2014 at Tru Synergy’s office. Now it seems the organisers have found a better venue at The Energy Kitchen and I feel the ambience suits the theme for Pechakucha.

Last Saturday, it featured eight presenters and all them have interesting stories to share. I was amazed by my new discoveries of my mutual friends, thinking that I know so much about them but no, I don’t.

Sophia Siu revealed of her new project app on events which should be released in mid year. Good job, mate 😀 Another one was Wina Hafiza who share about her passion on custom bikes and wow, that was some girl power sharing, mate. Perhaps the most inspiring among the lot.

Teah Abdullah, the final speaker, encourages everyone to share their story through writing or blogs because it defines who you are. She’s also the Editor-in-Chief of Songket Alliance and there are tons of stories from different writers there. Check it out!!

I was intrigued by Zainidi’s small box that was as interesting as Zainal Bostaman’s peanut butter sandwich. Both Zs were quite entertaining too but I have to admit that Zainal has brushed up his delivery from previous ones. Salutes..

Rasyidah Samah is a strong advocate in helping individuals in areas of mental health, community, empowerment and youth empowerment. We do need people like her indeed. For coffee lovers, we were in for a treat and discover Desmond Tan’s taste in coffee. It made me feel that coffee is also an art.

One of the main draw for Volume 7 is a very knowledgeable historian no other than Rozan Yunos, a civil servant and I am always amazed with his deep knowledge about the Brunei. Yes, I would label him the Google of Brunei. He shared the collections of antiques that he brought and its origin. It makes me feel that how one item can tell so much history.

Thank you, Pechakucha, on another fabulous session.

Desmond Tan

Sophia Siu

Rasyidah Samah

Abdul Zainidi

Zainal Bostaman

Wina Hafiza

Rozan Yunos

Teah Abdullah

Sophia Siu with her friends

Yvonne, Sophia and Adella

Rozan and Zainidi

Sandy loves historical things

Posing for the camera

 

The cast and crew of Belle the musical and produced by Relentless Entertainment. Not all cast and crew are in the picture. This was during the press conference of Belle held at Mabohai Shopping Complex. Click image to enlarge.

It’s just less than two weeks before you will get a chance to witness “Belle”, a musical production by Relentless Brunei Entertainment. It will take place on 1st and 2nd April at 7:45pm and also at on 3rd April at 1:30pm and all the shows will take place at Jerudong International School Arts Centre.

This is the third such production after the success of “Enchanted Forest” and “Poppins” and according to Amy Cheong, co-producer of Belle, the cast and crew are bigger than the previous production. This is also the first time that such event will be held at JIS Arts Centre which is a perfect choice for musical production.

Tickets are priced at $20 and $30 and the tickets can be purchased at Patisserie Cake shop, Misato Japanese restaurant, KFC at the Mall, The Escape Experience, Ximply Chriz, Relentless Studios and if you happened to be in KB, then go over to Pan Bright Travel in Supa Save Seria.

Do support “Belle” as they will deliver a very commendable performance all round from our very own local talents. I have seen their previous ones and I was quite impressed. This afternoon, I had the privilege to catch some of the sneaks of certain acts in “Belle” and I already have a good impression on the musical play.

Furthermore, the musical is also supporting for a good cause where small portions of the proceeds will go to SMARTER Brunei. This is also in line with their support to increase awareness on World Autism Day and World Autism Awareness month.

According to Amy, organizing a musical once a year is Relentless Entertainment’s way of showing Brunei what is available and more importantly what is possible while at the same time, giving back to the local community. They will strive to continue doing its part to help the local performing arts scene grow.

Synopsis: It’s a story about the spirited, headstrong village girl, Belle, who finds herself in an enchanted castle in search for her father. The castle is home to a prince and his servants who all live under the spell of an enchantress. If the prince does not learn to love, he will remain under the spell forever.

Some of the cast of Belle

Mardi Hedus and Amy Cheong, the co-founders of Relentless Entertainment and also the producers during the press conference earlier on today

One of the acts in “Belle” where the beast was encouraged to calm down his temper

My buddy Zainal Bostaman (in red) is back yet again

Kevin Lo playing the role of Gaston

Some of the cast and crew promoting their musical at Kristal FM studio yesterday. Image courtesy of @relentlessbrunei