SINGAPORE – Singaporean social media personality and performer Hafidz Rahman is best known for skits in which he plays characters such as Bonda Bedah, the middle-aged Malay woman with an acid tongue.
For his next live performance, a monologue titled My Name Is (Not) Khan, he will debut a new character – Harith, a Malay man obsessed with all things Bollywood.
Despite his reputation for comedy, Hafidz says the audiences should not go into the performance, which is staged in English, and expect a stand-up show.
“It’s a very fun show, but it is not a stand-up comedy set,” he tells The Straits Times, adding that the performances explore themes of Bollywood, race, microaggressions, meritocracy and racism.
“At the end of it, audiences should walk out of the theatre feeling entertained by what’s happening. They will be entertained by the spectacle of it all, but at the same time, there will also be a sense of relief that someone else is voicing out the uncomfortable things that we talk about in the show.”
The show is inspired by his love for Bollywood, the Indian film industry and cultural phenomenon wildly popular with local Malay audiences due to its celebratory nature, he says.
He also points out that early Malay films were helmed by directors from India. “The sensibilities have always been very Bollywood, and we grew up on that.”
While he wrote the play, he chose to work with director Rizman Putra. “I feel like to have a director, someone with a different perspective, is very important because I am talking from a personal space, so I need someone to help me to frame it in terms of motivations and to always ask me questions.”
The performance will be multisensorial and involve scents, as Hafidz plans to do some onstage cooking. “As I’m talking to the audience, I’m making samosas,” he says.
The show is part of Pesta Raya – Malay Festival of Arts 2025, the annual Malay arts festival organised by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay.
While Hafidz first made his name through online sketch show Lepak One Corner, which features skits by him and fellow content creator Zuhairi Idris, comedy is not the only thing that he is known for.
In recent years, he has also gained a following producing content online, as well as live shows, based on horror stories.
His foray into the supernatural started during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, when he decided to share stories of ghostly encounters on a podcast he had just started with Zuhairi. It became a hit with their listeners and led to horror plays staged at venues such as The Arts House.
In 2023, he earned a Best Actor nomination at The Straits Times Life Theatre Awards for his role as a mistress of ceremonies-cum-bomoh in Teater Ekamatra’s supernatural-themed satire Make Hantus Great Again.
One of his latest projects in the genre is Cherita Hantu, a self-published 234-page paperback comprising the scripts of horror plays. The first run of 1,000 copies sold out within three weeks, earning him the No. 2 spot in ST’s Bestsellers list in early February.
“It was a surprise because I was very hesitant to print 1,000 copies. I thought that nobody was going to buy a compendium of scripts,” he says.
The next few months will be busy. In July, he will act in The Necessary Stage’s (TNS) History, Whose Story?, an interactive youth theatreshow about Singaporean historical figures written by Cultural Medallion recipient Haresh Sharma, and co-directed by Sharma and TNS associate artist Deonn Yang.
Hafidz is planning another edition of Lepak One Corner’s live show, Lepak Live, in September, and will be involved in an upcoming reality television series on Mediacorp’s Malay television channel Suria, Berani Lakon (Dare To Act).
He also teaches drama at secondary schools in Singapore, something he has been doing for a decade.
Book It/My Name Is (Not) Khan
Where: Esplanade Recital Studio, 1 Esplanade Drive
When: May 1 and 2, 8pm; May 3, 3 and 8pm; and May 4, 3pm
Admission: From $32,
Info: str.sg/tJ8P
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