26/04/2026

theSunday Special VI ON SUNDAY APR 26, 2026

Walking the talk, JDev Studios decided to look between the cracks for its most authentic script – Tewas . A common but severely neglected topic, Tewas suited the social and political climate at a time when bullying became a conversation anchor. However, this story was in the works for over three years. Sidhart does not tell local stories just when it is “trendy”, but also when it is necessary – and for a topic such as bullying, it always has been. “ Tewas is something we started working on three years ago, when it wasn’t a national headline and it wasn’t being discussed in newspapers, TV or the internet. We started working on it because we realised bullying has always been an issue for many, many years. “It’s just that when someone unfortunately dies, only then it becomes a national headline. Then, everyone talks about it.” perspective.” “ so when asked what fuels his passion for theatre, he simply said: “A little bit of everything”. “I can’t specifically say which one drives me more, but I feel like all of it. But right now, I enjoy being a playwright more.” Story is king? Story is king, an ideology popularised by Pixar’s co-founder Ed Catmull in his book Creativity, Inc . But for Sidhart, the characters are the focal point of a tale. “I always believe the character wins at the end of the day,” he said, adding it is the characters that make the story. He starts writing by focusing on the characters – who they are and what their motivations are. “I like ensemble characters, I don’t like a play with just two characters. I like writing multiple characters because I believe these characters will then add layers to the story, making it complete.” I enjoyed the process of telling someone else’s story from a third person’s

Sidhart believes in telling little known domestic stories.

Sidhart Joe Dev on his mission to narrate ‘insignificant’ stories amid struggling industry Playwright’s manifesto

BY VERONICA ELANKOVAN lifestyle@thesundaily.com

“I started doing plays when I was about 17 years old. There’s something about storytelling, playing multiple characters and being able to tell stories that intrigued me,” he shared. After pursuing film and broadcasting at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), he cultivated a longing for telling domestic stories. Dabbling in theatre n Penang from 2014 to 2019, Sidhart then moved to Kuala Lumpur and started working in the metropolitan city. “Then, I collaborated with a couple of productions in Kuala Lumpur, such as the Actor Studio (Academy), KLPac, Theatresauce, Instant Cafe (Theatre Company) to do theatre work. So, it’s been about 14 years now.” However, it was not writing that kick-started his theatre aspirations, it was actually acting. “These roles didn’t come to me overnight, all at once. I started as an actor and I enjoyed the process of telling someone else’s story from a third person’s perspective.

T he hardest thing a storyteller can do is narrate the truth... as it is. Often, stories help us escape reality and peer into a world veiled in layered metaphors, allowing us to hide behind words and escape taking accountability. As Martin Scorsese, the filmmaker behind The Irishman and Goodfellas , once noted: “A story should be a reflection of life, and life is rarely a tidy moral lesson. When we force a ‘correct’ ending, we betray the reality of the human experience.” This raises a vital question. Have storytellers traded nuance for dogma? In an attempt to deliver “ideal” endings, have we robbed stories of their souls? In a radical creative movement, thespians and chroniclers alike have taken a stance against smug storytelling, holding up mirrors to ask real and hard questions. This same rejection of dogmatism is finding a voice in the Malaysian theatre scene. That voice is JDev Studios, which put up Tewas , a local play directed by Hilyati Ramli and co-written with Sidhart Joe Dev, staged as four evening shows in November 2025. Although the play itself has closed its curtains, the conversation remains valid, and theSun sat with Sidhart for a chat about the theatre scene in Malaysia and telling authentic local stories. Born for the stage Born and raised in Penang, Sidhart started in the creative industry by hosting talk shows and producing podcasts. However, his passion for storytelling started as a young boy in secondary school.

For Sidhart, making an impact is as simple as lighting a matchstick in the dark.

“I enjoyed that for the first few years. Then, I started directing. I was able to tell someone else’s story from an outsider perspective as a director. I enjoyed that process.” Sidhart said his journey taught him there was a lack of domestic stories and in it, he discovered his very own stage. This “plot hole” motivated him to assume the role of a producer. He started investing financially into projects that highlight local tales, and began recruiting creatives “to put these stories together”. The playwright’s passion for storytelling is veritable,