敬艺乐艺的剧作家
——侧写马来戏剧之王纳迪普特拉
文·吴明珠
图·受访者提供
对一般人来说，年纪越大，能量越低，创作力也随之递减。但纳迪普特拉却是个例外。给他做完个人专访之后，我终于明白为什么他有 “马来戏剧之王” 的美称。73岁的纳迪普特拉(Nadiputra)在接受采访时，身穿一件紫红色细白条纹的上衣和黑色的长裤，体态轻松，精神奕奕。
《拉丁马士》轰动马来戏剧界
纳迪普特拉最轰动我国马来戏剧界的作品是2016年初由他编导的大型马来传统戏剧《拉丁马士》 (Raden Mas)。该剧是马来古典戏Bangsawan 中最受欢迎的剧目。故事叙述16世纪在淡马锡王国(新加坡的古名)发生的一宗宫廷悲剧。
当时印尼东爪哇有一个克迪里王国，国王没有儿子，立他的弟弟彭加然为王储，皇后却想扶持自己的弟弟马罗瑟柯洛。彭加然娶宫廷舞女马士雅玉, 生一女名拉丁马士。一次乘彭加然外出参战， 马罗瑟柯洛杀死马士雅玉。彭加然为了替妻子报仇，杀死了马罗瑟柯洛，之后带了女儿逃亡淡马锡王国。淡马锡苏丹因彭加然成功地击退海盗，救了他一命，感恩而将女儿哈莉加嫁给他。哈莉加妒忌丈夫疼爱拉丁马士， 经常毒打她。一次与丈夫激烈争吵，欲用长矛刺杀他，拉丁马士上前阻挡，惨遭长矛击中身亡。拉丁马士为父牺牲而成了马来传说中的女英雄。
《拉丁马士》制作群多达80人，演员十多位，来自新加坡、印尼的泗水和柔佛州。我国华裔演员Margaret Chan饰演哈莉加, 马来籍演员希迪(Siti Shahirah Samad)饰演拉丁马士，费多(Fido Ahdross) 饰演彭加然。
长达三个小时的舞台剧《拉丁马士》耗资新币130万，由 Sri Mamanda Bangsawan 负责制作，纳迪普特拉是公司的艺术总监。《拉丁马士》由政府及多家私人机构赞助。
纳迪普特拉的助导是族卡宁·哈菲兹(Zulkar[1]nine Hafiz)，监制是马斯穆纳·阿都拉(Masmunah Abdullah)。Bangsawan是历史悠久的古典马来戏剧，来自槟城，20世纪盛行于新加坡。这个剧种融合音乐、舞蹈及戏剧，以华丽的服装和背景著称。
纳迪普特拉说：“我制作《拉丁马士》是要给自己机会推出一部精致的Bangsawan，全面地体现新加坡丰富、多姿多彩的艺术瑰宝，也因为这样制作费很高。我敢说《拉丁马士》代表我国马来戏剧的高峰。 ”
《拉丁马士》在滨海艺术中心一共演了三晚。 问他观众的反应如何，他说：“还不错，来看戏的多数是知识分子，有一些年轻人，评论也不错。”
多产剧作家
纳迪普特拉是一位多产剧作家，至今已经创作了200多部舞台剧、电视及广播剧。他给人的印象是亲切、富有幽默感但做事很有原则。他擅长创作有关道德、宗教及人际关系的剧本。我问他什么原因使他创作丰富？他说：“阅读很重要，阅读会激发新的想法，多与人交往会帮助你了解现实的情况，这对于写剧本很有帮助。”
纳迪普特拉也关心马来儿童戏剧。1985年他创办马来儿童剧团Teater Nadi，同年团员在当时的社区发展部举办的青少年戏剧节呈现马来剧Cermin Ajaib。1989年他为斯里瓦纳剧团编导的马来音乐剧Jefri and Maria，演员多达 120 位，故事发生在芽笼, 轰动一时。他从1966年到1982年任职海关人员，1983年起开始为前新加坡广播电视台编导戏剧。2001年从事自由编剧至今。
纳迪普特拉为演员示范
涉足英语剧
纳迪普特拉也涉足英语戏剧。今年7月淡滨尼小学 (Tampines Primary School)将和淡滨尼西民众俱乐部(Tampines West C.C.)联合呈现一部有关新加坡历史的音乐剧，剧名叫The Lion’s Roar。音乐剧的导演是淡滨尼小学的一名英文教师娜梓琳·奥斯曼女士，演员是该校的学生，演出地点在Our Tampines Hub 的 Festival Theatre ，这一部戏由Hidayat Ong 编剧。纳迪普特拉将在导演艺术方面协助娜梓琳。他目前是淡滨尼西民众俱乐部马来活动执行委员会的顾问，也是该俱乐部的戏剧小组 Theatre 2000的戏剧导师。
紧接着, 纳迪普特拉将于9月底为淡滨尼西民众俱乐部推出一部马来现代剧，剧名Mukadimah Nasib。他说：“这部戏的主题是世界的命运。通过这一部戏，我们要传达一个讯息，那就是：世界的和平与和谐掌握在我们的手里。”演员的对话是以诗的方式进行。Mukadimah Nasib 的演出地点是淡滨尼小学的 Black Box 剧场。
读中学时剧本得奖
纳迪普特拉原名Almahdi AL-Haj Ibrahim， 他出生时父亲把他送给邻居。两家人同住一条街。纳迪普特拉是他最常用的艺名，他有一个快乐的童年，父亲常常带他去观赏马来电影和古典戏剧。
他说：“刚开始时，演戏和导戏只是一种嗜好，后来就爱上了。”
在直落古楼小学念书时他登上舞台，在一出喜剧里扮演一位糊涂的教授，剧名是Professor Nincompoop，意思是笨蛋教授。后来在巴特里念中学时，初试剧本创作。老师托付他为学校的剧本创作比赛写一个剧本，这事他居然忘记了，后来他补写了一个喜剧Tercecer交差。这一个剧本的灵感来自著名马来电影导演和编剧P·Ramlee 的电影Seniman Bujang Lapok，被选为全校最佳剧本。后来他给学校创作的另一个剧本Malisa也获奖。他说：“我最喜欢导我自己写的戏。如果别人在导我的戏时能够完整地保留原著的精神，我也不在意。”
鼓励后进 保留传统
现今的马来剧坛情况怎样？ 纳迪普特拉说：“现在有不少年轻的戏剧工作者参与创作，他们的作品多数属于实验性质，他们的想象力丰富，表现性也强。”
能干的纳迪普特拉是Nadivision的总裁。该公司专门制作和编导舞台剧、电视、广播剧、纪录片和广告。
他说很希望马来戏剧在新加坡有所进展。“我们应该给年轻人更多表现的机会。我们的文化传统和宗教信仰很重要，必须保留。”
纳迪普特拉于1986获得文化奖(戏剧)，2013年荣获最重要的马来文化奖Anugerah Tun Seri Lanang Award。
他很愉快地告诉我：“能靠我的嗜好谋生，我觉得很欣慰。”纳迪普特拉已婚，有四个孩子。
(作者为本刊特约记者)
A SCRIPT WRITER AND DIRECTOR WHO LOVES HIS WORK
Normally, as one gets older one’s creativity declines – Mr Nadiputra is an exception. He turned out for the interview with the writer looking fit and spirited.
Nadiputra is not known as “The King of Malay Theatre” for nothing. He has scripted more than 200 plays for stage, radio and television. His most famous play is Raden Mas, a grand Bangsawan (Traditional Malay drama) which he directed and scripted at a cost of 1.3 million dollars. It is a tragic story dating back to 16th century Temasek kingdom, where princess Raden Mas sacrificed her life for her father Pengeran Agong. Nadiputra said he presented Raden Mas to give himself as an opportunity to produce an exquisite Bangsawan to showcase the rich and colourful art heritage of Singapore. The audiences were made up mainly of intellectuals and some young people and the reviews were positive.
Nadiputra impresses people as a warm, jovial, humorous and philosophical person. He stresses the importance of reading and social interaction for script-writing. His plays revolve around issues of religion and society, especially matters of the heart. Concerned with young people’s involvement in theatre, he founded Teater Nadi, a Malay children’s drama group in the 1980s.
He has also produced and directed plays for Sriwana.
Nadiputra is currently involved in the production of an English-language play about Singapore’s history. Titled The Lion’s Roar, it is a collaboration between Tampines Primary School and Tampines West C.C. He will be assisting Nazreen Osman, an English Language teacher of the school in directing.
In September, Nadiputra will present a Malay Language play titled Mukadimah Nasib. The theme of this play is the fate of the world and it wants to convey the message that the peace and harmony of the world are in the hands of us. It will be staged in the Black Box of Tampines Primary School.
Nadiputra performed on stage in primary school. He acted as Professor Nincompoop. While in secondary school, he wrote a play titled Tercecer (The Dropout) for the school’s drama competition and it was voted the best play.
Nadiputra had a happy childhood when his adopted father often took him to watch Malay films and opera. He said he was pleased with the fact that he could do things he liked for a living. He enjoys directing his own plays. For his achievements he has received the Cultural Medallion (Theatre) in 1986 and Anugerah Tun Seri Lanang Award in 2013.
Nadiputra hopes Malay theatre will develop over time. He notes that many young people are involved. They are highly expressive and rich in imagination and their works are experimental in nature.
Nadiputra worked as a Customs Officer from 1966 to 1982. He was a producer, director and scriptwriter for the former Singapore Broadcasting Corporation from 1983 to 2000. He is currently the Managing Director of Nadivision, a private production house in Singapore which specializes in producing, scripting, directing theatre, radio and TV drama, documentaries and commercial productions.
