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

 

Click image to enter website

 

Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark driving the new Audi R8

Check out the video on Audi in Avengers

The Next chapter of the successful cinema collaboration between Audi and Marvel Studios: The heroes of the new Marvel film “Avengers: Age of Ultron” drives Audi – especially Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. The film releases on 23 April in Brunei.

In this comic book movie, the most powerful superheroes in the world fight for the survival of humanity. Among them is the tech-savvy billionaire Tony Stark – known to cinema audiences as Iron Man from the successful film franchise.

“This is a strategic partnership. The cinema is a perfect stage for Audi, for rapid high-tech cars play a large role in many films, “says Loren Angelo, director of marketing, Audi of America. The brand has been working with Marvel together for eight years; in the Iron Man movies Stark drove an Audi R8.

“Tony Stark embodies a modern mix of entrepreneurs, engineers and especially technology trendsetters,” says Giovanni Perosino, Director of Marketing Communications at AUDI AG. “The Audi R8 is thus exactly the right car for him.” In addition to the super sports car in “Avengers: Age of Ultron” the Audi TTS Coupe and the A3 Cabriolet will have significant screen time.

The film will be released locally on 23 April. For Fans who don’t want to wait that long, they can go to the website (www.audi.de/marvelsavengers) to view a previously unreleased trailer of the movie and a video of the Audi Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Check out the video on Audi in Avengers

 

Suhaimi Hussain, CEO of DST cutting the anniversary cake

Claps and cheers can be heard during a jovial cake cutting ceremony the DST booth at the Yayasan branch in the capital, last Wednesday.

The merry ceremony was part of DST’s 20th anniversary celebration, which was officiated by the guest of honour, Chief Executive Officer of the company, Suhaimi Hussain, who was witnessed by the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of DST, Marsad Hj Ismail, along with other employees of the telecommunications company.

Aside from the celebration, DST also marked its anniversary with a recitation of Surah Yassin and Thanksgiving Prayer ceremony at its headquarters in Tungku Link the previous day.

Among those present at the event were the guest of honour, a member of DST’s Board of Directors, Abdul Lattif Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Setia Dato Paduka Hj Md Yusof, Suhaimi and the company’s management and staff.

The ceremony ended with the Asar Prayer led by Imam Hj Shari Awang Murad. Also held as part of the ceremony was a Khatam Al-Quran by management and staff who have participated in the ‘One Day One Page Al-Quran’ programme for DST staff after their completition of reciting 30 juz of Al-Quran 20 since August 2014.

For this year, DST has launched a variety of attractive promotions on its products and services as a token of appreciation to loyal customers in line with this year’s theme objective, “The Year of Giving”. Customers can look forward to great deals in the new broadband promotion, “Data Bill Cap” — which caters to GO! Broadband 68 and GO! Broadband 88 customers — allowing customers to continue their broadband experience at no charge after they have exceeded their free monthly data entitlement, however, with a reduced speed based on Fair Usage Policy. Apart from that, Easi subscribers can now try the ‘Easi Refresh’ promotion, which is aimed at better savings and convenience. The promotion extends the validity period of Easi recharge amount of $100 from 180 days to 300 days. Subscribers will also get an extended grace period of 30 to 60 days to recharge their expired Easi account before termination.

More information and updates regarding its promotion and events are available through DST Care 151 as well at its official website http://www.dst-group.com or through its Facebook and Instagram @dstbn. Text courtesy of Norliha Din of The Brunei Times.

 

Joanna Kwan playing the lead role as Mary Poppins. Awesome!!

Awesome dance choreography

Though I was still tired from the short Labuan trip, I managed to catch the Mary Poppins on the final night. The previous musical broadway performance from @relentlessbrunei (Relentless Entertainment) was two years ago and it was entitled Enchanted Forest if I’m not mistaken. Last weekend, @relentlessbrunei upped their game with a rendition of Mary Poppins in Poppins the Musical.

Well done to the cast of Relentless especially Joanna Kwan and Zainal Bostaman. It was the first time I saw Zainal acting on stage and Joanna is no stranger in the acting scene as she carried the show with her role as Mary Poppins. The dance choreography was impressive as well and my best scene of the play was the “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”.

To be honest, I know of Mary Poppins’ movie existence but I never really take notice of the plot until that night. The only problem I noticed for their show was the microphone issue though this is a huge improvement from the first night from the word of mouth. This is because not all microphones had the same audio level. I couldn’t hear Aaqiil’s voice properly and some of the voices from the cast weren’t really articulated.

Other than that, the show exceeded my expectations and I applaud Relentless Entertainment to bring this musical show once again to the public. Keep up the great work!! I’ve flooded with tons of pictures. Enjoy!!

Aaqiil being suspended in mid-air

Kevin Cheong and Joanna Kwan

Zainal Bostaman (right) was pretty awesome

Friends giving support for the cast of Mary Poppins

 

I’ve blogged about Divina before and the business’ primary focus is renting out dresses especially related to fairy tales to cater for the kids. Divina has been around for many years and the previous location of the shop was in Yayasan and now it has moved to Menglait which provides a better space because now Divina has introduced a new service for photo shoots especially for family portraits. Now you can dress up elegantly from renting from Divina and use their backdrops to make the picture more surreal while wearing elegant dresses.

Last Sunday, Divina feted the winners for the three categories of the Divina’s Dress-Up Contest. In Category A, baby girl Nayla Arissa binti My Azeli won first place followed by Nur Faiza and Stephenie Wong. In Category B, Thian Siao Fen @ Samantha took first place and first runner-up was Dayangku Nur Atiyyah Azzahra while Siti Nur Aziah binti Yunos came third. As for Category C (for the boys), Dario Ling Yi Hao claiming first place, Mohd Azrin bin Shadanan came second and Christopher Wong came third.

The winners walked home with vouchers worth $100 for first prize, $80 voucher for first runner-up and $50 voucher for second runner-up.

The top three winners of the Divina Dress-Up Competition. The prize presentation took place last Sunday

Nayla Arissa binti My Azeli won first place in the first category. Image courtesy of Borneo Bulletin.

Dario Ling Yi Hao won first place in Category C for the boys section. Image courtesy of Borneo Bulletin.

Christopher Wong came third in Category C

Mohd Azrin bin Shadanan came second in Category C

The winners last weekend

Divina now also introduced a newer service where mothers can also dress up to compliment their daughters and sons. They have brought in some beautiful dresses for rent for the adults. Do check out the images below for details.

Divina Brunei Sdn Bhd rents out accessories such as hair veil, tiara, hair accessories. For those who want packages, Divina has different packages. Refer below for details.

Premium Set 1 $48

1 Dress, 1 Hair Accessory, 1 Cardigan/Shawl, 1 Hair Veil, 1 Petticoat

Premium Set 2 $88

2 Dress, 2 Hair Accessories, 2 Cardigans/Shawls, 2 Hair Veils, 2 Petticoats

Premium Set 3 $168

4 Dress, 4 Hair Accessories, 4 Cardigans/Shawls, 4 Hair Veils, 4 Petticoats

Premium Set 4 $228

6 Dress, 6 Hair Accessories, 6 Cardigans/Shawls, 6 Hair Veils, 6 Petticoats

Divina Brunei Sdn Bhd closes every Monday. Otherwise the business is open daily from 10am to 6pm. It is located at Unit 4, 1st Floor, Bangunan Hj Hassan Abdullah, Spg 32 Kg Menglait, Jalan Gadong. You can check out their Facebook page or call 223 0759 or 872 2028.

Now even mothers can dress up 😀

Some of the backdrops that can be used

Chin Wei had fun during the photo shoot

Now mothers and young female adults can dress up too

The young emcees announcing the winners

The interior view of Divina

The map of Divina at Menglait

 

Relentless Entertainment (Relentless) is all set to bring a beloved tale of a magical nanny to the stage with Poppins The Musical this Saturday and Sunday at the Jerudong Park Amphitheatre.

Sharing the stage alongside the actors and dancers from the entertainment and events management company on the first night of the show will be 30 special stars from Pusat Ehsan, who will delighting audiences with an opening number.

The special needs centre is also one of a handful of local non-profit organisations that were given complimentary tickets to attend the show.

Other special needs organisations include Yayasan Kanser Kanak-Kanak (YASKA), the Centre for Children with Special Needs (KACA), Learning Ladder and the Society for the Management of Autism Related Issues in Training, Education and Resources Brunei (SMARTER Brunei).

In a press statement by the Relentless, the company has given 1,000 out of the 4,000 seats to special needs centres.

“Every child from the organisations will be given a goodie bag,” said the company’s founder, Mardi Hedus.

Tickets for the two-day event, which starts at 7.30pm, are still available at various locations such as Patisserie Cake Shop at Mata-Mata Gadong, Misato Japanese Restaurant both at Kiulap and Mabohai, Laneige at The Mall and in Kuala Belait, and at Fitness Zone both in Kiulap and Serusop.

The tickets are priced at $10, $15 and $20, and a portion of the proceeds will be given to charity.

For more information, please contact Mardi at 8235455 or 8243222 or emailrelentless.brunei@gmail.com. You can also follow Relentless on its Facebook at facebook.com/relentlessstudiosbrunei and Instagram@relentlessbrunei. Text courtesy of Michelle Tan of The Brunei Times.

The cast posing for the media. Image courtesy of Michelle Tan of The Brunei Times.

A new sneak preview of Poppins the Musical. Image courtesy of Michelle Tan of The Brunei Times.

The cast and crew are ready for the weekend

 

The vice chairman of SCOT Khairul Azmi Hj Salleh with the committee of the SCOT Run 2015. Image courtesy of Analisa Amu of The Brunei Times.

The Society for Community Outreach and Training (SCOT) announced its inaugural charity run ‘The SCOT Run 2015 – Fight Poverty through Education’ recently at the Youth Centre.

The run is slated to be held on May 10 at Taman Haji Sir Omar Ali Saifuddien in the capital.

The vice chairman of SCOT Khairul Azmi Hj Salleh, at the announcement ceremony, said that the run will put an emphasis on the ongoing SCOT Education project.

“Majority of the funds to be raised (from the run) will be channeled to serve an additional commitment to provide scholarships of empowerment to deserving and most progressive students for the phase 2 of SCOT Education,” he said.

In an interview with The Brunei Times, Noor Faezatul Iradah Mohd Ali, the project manager of SCOT Run 2015, said that they are expecting more than 3,000 participants for the run.

“With the funds collected, we will use it for training students that we are yet to choose from various institutional organisations who then will be teaching English in Cambodia for the underprivileged,” she said.

In 2013, the SCOT Education programme under SCOT comprised of 11 weeks of volunteering activity in teaching English to about 120 students at the Youth Development Centre (YDC). It was then followed by a two-week volunteering activity in teaching English to underprivileged students in Cambodia.

In a press statement, it stated that the objective of the SCOT Education is to empower and build confidence of trainers through English language skills training so as to equip them with better employment opportunities.
The online registration for the SCOT Run will be opened from March 21 to April 5 at www.fightpovertywithus.org/scot-run.

There are three categories opened for the public namely: 3km fun run “Hopeful Fighter”, 5km “Passionate Fighter” and 10km “Knowledgeable Fighter” with registration fees at $25, $30 and $35 respectively.

The payment for the registration will be opened from April 3 to 5.

Venue for registration payment will be updated through the website including dates and venue for kit collection. SCOT also announced that any companies that wish to support, sponsor and be a part of the SCOT Run 2015 are welcome to email them at info@fightpovertywithus.org.

Click image to enter website

 

Mabohai Shopping Complex is proud to announce that David Atthowe, founder of Nomadic Lion, will be joining our Earth Hour Event on Saturday, 28 March 2015 at 8:00 pm.

In 2014, David, along with his partner and Indonesian friend Yusep Sukmana walked 3,350 km all the way from Malaysia to Brunei. They walked to raise awareness about the Rainforest and people of Borneo.

During our Earth Hour Event on Saturday 28th March, David will give a special talk on the topic “Walking change: connecting with the earth and how we can all use our own art to create change.”

Nomadic Lion founder David Atthowe, who hails from Norwich, England, and Yusep Sukmana from Ciamis, Indonesia, have visited a number of landmarks in Brunei and other tourist hotspots including the Ulu Temburong National Park in Bukit Patoi in their 2014 ‘Walk of Borneo’ expedition which commenced in Sabah last August 2014. The Brunei Tourism Development Department supported the effort of the duo by raising awareness of their project and how it could help as a catalyst for people to protect their environment.

The nature-loving duo initiated their first project in 2014 by walking the entire length of Peninsular Malaysia to raise awareness on the environment and its people who live in harmony with nature. A documentary of their journey will describe the current situation of the local environment and the organizations working to protect it.

The Management of Mabohai Shopping Complex said:

“ We are delighted to have Mr David Atthowe join us and share his experience and how he has used his “own power” so to speak, to help raise awareness on protecting and preserving nature. We invite the public, especially those who would like to learn more about his experience to join us on the 28 March 2015 and be part of the Earth Hour experience at Mabohai Shopping Complex.“

 

Zairani Munching won two return tickets to London and received the prize from Nicky Wong

Out of 100 shortlisted entries, Zairani Munching was the lucky lady who took the Shop, Dine and Fly grand prize – taking home two return tickets to London for two with a $2,000 travel voucher.

The lucky draw took place at the Mahligai Hall of The Airport Mall, where the lucky participants were treated to drinks from Gong Cha and food from Cheezbox. The prizes from the lucky draw also included luxury and household items, such as mobile phones, BBQ sets, blenders and coffeemakers.

Winning the first prize was Md Azlan Seruji, who  a return air ticket to Hong Kong with $1,000 travel voucher for two. The second prize was won by Evelyn Salius which was return air tickets for two to Singapore with a $800 travel voucher.

The Shop, Dine and Fly grand draw was a collaboration between QQeStore.com, QQ Mobile Shop, Gong Cha, OHSO Premium Kids Wear and CheezBox Café and Restaurant as a way to thank their loyal customers for their endless support.

Md Azlan Seruji won  a return air ticket to Hong Kong with $1,000 travel voucher for two

Evelyn Salius won return air tickets for two to Singapore with a $800 travel voucher

Top ten winners of the Shop, Dine and Fly promotion