Jo Kukathas

Jo Kukathas is a writer, actor, dramaturg, director and Artistic Director of The Instant Cafe Theatre Company. The company was established in 1989 following the notorious Operation Lalang in 1987 where 119 people were arrested and detailed without trial and various newspapers were suspended. They used political satire and comedy to talk about and lampoon what was happening in the country, everything from corruption to moral policing to race politics, and quickly became very popular. Subsequently they did other kinds of theatre encouraging new Malaysian writing that dealt with taboo or controversial subjects such as race, religion, sexuality, politics, discrimination, refugee rights.