I had the chance to attend this production which was playing from 24-27 October at the Damansara Performing Arts Centre. Written by Dave Carley and directed by Shabera Shaik, with the cast being Sarah Shahrum, Malik Taufiq, Israr Khalid and Amalina Arham, the storyline of the play dives deeper into the actual sentiments and behind the scene depictions surrounding the life of Esca Brooke Daykin. Esca is the first-born son of Rajah Charles Brooke. The play is therefore about the story of Rajah Charles Brooke and his Eurasian son, Esca, who was born from his first wife Dayang Mastiah, a Malay aristocrat. The play centres around the jealousy of Esca’s stepmother, Ranee Margaret, who was Rajah Charles Brooke’s second and European wife.
As we know it from Malaysian history books, Sir Charles Brooke (1829-1917) was the second White Rajah of Sarawak, ruling Sarawak from 1868 until his demise in 1917. When he first arrived in Sarawak in 1852, he dressed like an Iban and learnt the language and customs under Orang Kaya Jugah, with whom he stayed in Lundu. Sir Charles Brooke was initially appointed as the Resident of Lundu. Charles named his first-born (Esca) “Isaka” when he was born on August 27, 1867. Growing up, Esca was raised by his Muslim mother Dayang Mastiah and his uncle Abang Aing, and only spoke Malay. Subsequently when the (then) Rajah of Sarawak, Rajah James Brooke died in 1868, Sir Charles then moved to Kuching with his new responsibility of administering Sarawak as the second Rajah.
At this point in time, Rajah Charles felt it necessary to marry a rich European to be his “Ranee” queen, hence left for England for the search, returning in 1869 with his rich cousin’s daughter, Margaret Lili de Windt as his bride. Margaret was 20 years younger than him. She did not initially bear the Rajah a son, which disappointed the Rajah. Esca was then brought by Rajah Charles to the Astana in Kuching, much to the chagrin and jealousy of Ranee Margaret. Hence this was the beginning of a fallout between the old-fashioned and stoic Rajah Charles and his modern and stylist French-English wife, Ranee Margaret. They eventually agreed to lead separate lives with the Ranee living in London whilst the Rajah stayed in Sarawak. Esca was sent to James Brooke’s famous abode “Burrator” in Sheepstor, Devon, England and was brought up and schooled under Reverend William Daykin and his childless wife. Eventually the Ranee Margaret did give birth to a son, her fifth child – Charles Vyner Brooke – who later succeeded his father as the third Rajah of Sarawak. Esca was conveniently “forgotten” and Reverend William Daykin was persuaded by the Ranee to migrate to Canada, whereupon Esca received his education at Trinity College School. When Esca was 60 years old, and already a successful businessman in Canada, he claimed a right to the succession in Sarawak but failed. When his half-brother Rajah Vyner Brooke ceded Sarawak for a fee of 1 million pounds, Esca asked for his share of inheritance as Charles Brooke’s oldest child, but again failed. Esca eventually dropped his claims and turned philanthropist, becoming a pillar in the church before his demise at 86 years old, in Toronto in 1953.
The play cleverly compresses all the events above into the act, for the comprehensive recollection of, and understanding by, the audience. At the end of the play, the final scene and set focused on the encounter between the Ranee and Esca which took place in London. The Ranee had always felt insecure about the possibility of Esca, as the first-born of the Rajah, claiming the throne despite her eventually successfully bearing a male heir for her husband. The portrayal of Ranee’s character during the play was brilliantly acted and executed by Sarah Shahrum who took on the role of Ranee Margaret. Sarah’s suspicious expressions as well as her pretentious nonchalance when confronted with Esca, in trying to gauge Esca’s intentions for the purpose of the meeting requested with her, was utterly hilarious. The script and dialogue throughout the play was indeed befitting for the occasion, and left the audience transported back to those times in imagining the probable scene back then. A true eye-opener on the history of the Rajahs of Sarawak, and a highly commendable production.
