Sekolah Main Wayang: When ‘play’ is their middle name.
In 2015, Fairuz co-founded Sekolah Main Wayang (SMW), a collective dedicated to providing creative theatre education to marginalised and under-served communities. Through these workshops, participants are supported in telling their own stories: writing, directing, designing and performing their own narratives.
In this session, Fairuz unpacks SMW's decade-long journey; sharing the inner workings of using play & art as a tool to nurture self realisation and critical consciousness. He will also take a closer focus on the past five years spent with Orang Asli communities through Wayang TEKtek. Expect this sharing to be paired with hands-on examples for you to try, not just a talk. This sharing is also an open invitation to connect with fellow practitioners in the field: whether that leads to future collaborations, swapping resources, or just a fun main-main session among like-minded folks.
This event is in conjunction with LOS: Kembali, SMW's newest shadow puppetry performance with the Semai youth from Bota, premiering at George Town Festival 2026 this August.
Joining Fairuz in the conversation are Luvenia Kalia (mover, storyteller, multidisciplinary artist) and Jonathan Lim (chief storyteller and bringer-together of the Garden).
12 August, Wednesday
8 - 9.30pm
Glasshouse, Tropical Spice Garden
Free Entry
Registration is required - kindly submit the form below.
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Meet the Speaker
Fairuz Sulaiman is a practicing visual artist and educator advocating for creative expression and self agency. As a visual artist, Fairuz has worked on art installations, video animation, and visuals for theatre. Alongside his community-building and creative work, he has taught part-time at local universities and colleges within the field of animation and design.
About Chai & Chat
Chai & Chat is a monthly gathering at the Garden for people who want to think out loud together. Each session brings a guest - an artist, a grower, a maker, a practitioner, a mover - to share what they've been working on and reflect on their journey. Not a polished talk, but the honest version: how they actually work, what they've learned the hard way, what they're still figuring out. It’s more of a circle, less of a stage. And needless to say, there will be chai.
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