Not Your Average Jo

Jo Kukathas on her foray into theatre, the birth of her characters, and why art forms should be celebrated

Having spent years away from Malaysia while growing up, Jo Kukathas didn't think she would be as immersed in the world of theatre as she is. "Well, my father was involved in the Malayan Art Theatre Group (MATG), which prior to independence was run by a group of British people. They did mostly Shakespeare, [George Bernard] Shaw and the like, shared the politics and philosophy major from the University of Reading.

"After independence, he and his friends decided that as part of decolonisation efforts, they should take charge of MATG. So they orchestrated a coup, rallying support during an AGM to elect locals into power," Kukathas continued. That resulted in the (late) national laureate Dato' Syed Alwi being president of MATG, while K. Das, her father, was appointed as treasurer.

"And so, growing up theatre was just in the air, we didn't think of it as being a foreign thing,” said the fifth of six siblings. “I remember my cousins and I had our own ‘theatre company’ too, we mimicked the adults and would put on shows for ourselves and relatives. As far as we were concerned, that was us just playing around; but I guess it was deeper and more significant than I thought,” Kukathas added.