The short answer
The first number in 1984 Here and Now looks like a date. The surviving booklet shows why a theatre researcher needs separate fields for a title and a production year.
Reading the evidence
What each record establishes
Read across the rows to keep the claims and evidence attached to the right record.
| Record | What it establishes | What needs separate evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Title | A work called 1984 Here and Now. | The year of a performance. |
| Booklet record | A 1985 English item from Five Arts Centre. | Every action or credit on stage. |
| Theatre chronology | A 1985 direction credit for Jit. | A record of how the audience reacted. |
Treat the booklet as its own object
Malaysia Design Archive catalogues the English booklet as a 1985 item from Five Arts Centre. The entry names George Orwell and Kee Thuan Chye among its subjects. It appears in a collection with programmes from other productions. The catalogue’s title, language and date fields belong to this documented object.
A reference to Orwell places a work in a useful line of inquiry. It does not make Orwell the author of the new stage script. A production archive can connect an item to more than one writer for more than one reason.
Add the directing credit from a separate record
The Five Arts Centre chronology records Krishen Jit as director of Kee Thuan Chye’s play in 1985. It names the production in a sequence that includes his other stage work. This provides a more direct role statement than the list of people in the booklet catalogue’s subject fields.
Neither the catalogue nor the chronology alone is a transcript of the staged event. The records can help find a copy of the play, a cast list or audience accounts. Each further question needs evidence that addresses the staging itself.
Try an archive inventory
Make a compact inventory with separate rows for the writing, the stage event and the surviving printed object. In the object row, enter the date, language and holding archive. In the event row, put the directing credit and the source that assigns it. Reserve a final line for a literary reference, with no role attached until a script or production record supports it. A future researcher can then update one row without rewriting all the others.
Continue the chronology
Related history guides
Biography context
Explore Malaysia through connected lives
Connected biographies
Explore the people behind the records
1939–2005
Krishen Jit
Theatre director and criticA Malaysian theatre director, educator and critic who made collaborative production part of a long inquiry into national identity.Read biographyactive since the 1980s
Marion D’Cruz
Dancer and choreographerA Malaysian dancer, choreographer and educator who helped build Five Arts Centre.Read biographyQuick answers
Common questions
- Does 1984 in the title date this booklet?
- The archive dates the booklet to 1985, and Five Arts Centre places Jit’s production in 1985. The number 1984 belongs to the title.
Primary and institutional sources
How this history was checked
Selected written and catalogue records. The article distinguishes documented production details from its editorial examples. This article was reviewed on 5 November 2026.