The BBC World Service is bringing its flagship arts and culture programme The Arts Hour on Tour to Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday 26th November 2024, featuring live performances and interviews with leading creatives from the city and country.

The programme will feature live performances and star guest interviews with leading Malaysian creatives who will join BBC presenter Nikki Bedi on stage, along with a live audience, to discuss the themes of cultural life in Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia right now.

Guests include screen star Sharifah Amani, whose latest film ‘La Luna’ is Singapore’s submission to next year’s Oscars and tells the story of a woman who opens a lingerie shop in a conservative Malaysian village.

Film director Ng Ken Kin talks about ‘Pendatang’, his crowdfunded film, available to watch on YouTube, which depicts a fictitious dystopian Malaysia, where different races are forbidden to live together.

There will be live music from the extraordinarily talented Kuala Lumpur singer-songwriter Takahara Suiko, and from the phenomenal Sabahan band Tuni Sundatang with sensational singer, Dabra Sia, whose collaborations are fusing the folkloric traditions of Borneo with contemporary rock music.

 Recorded in English for BBC World Service Radio, The Arts Hour on Tour visits cities all over the world to explore their hottest cultural trends by talking to the artists who live and work there, promoting cultural exchange across the world.

We are especially excited to visit Malaysia, with its rich mix of cultures, ancient and modern, and we hope to create an amazing opportunity for Malaysian talents and culture to be heard by our worldwide audience.

The show will be broadcast on BBC World Service Radio, to millions of listeners worldwide.