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This Malaysian actor is scoring the best Singapore roles

[SINGAPORE] The first thing Ghafir Akbar tells you about Macbeth is that he doesn't sleep. Not after the killing starts. Not after he seizes the throne. 'The play keeps returning to the idea that Macbeth is robbed of sleep,' Ghafir says. 'I started thinking – what if he really hasn't slept for days? How mad could he become?' It's not hypothetical. Rehearsing for the biggest role of his career – the title character in this year's Shakespeare In The Park production by Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) – Ghafir, 44, finds himself just as restless. His own nights have been broken by the demands of the part: the weight of the language, the choreography of violence, the long descent into insanity. 'Lines, choreography, psychological realism – it's all taking a bit of a toll on my mental health,' he admits. 'But the process is necessary. You need to feel the tension that Macbeth lives with – the pressure that's tearing him apart.' Shakespeare's blood-soaked tragedy gets a semi-futuristic, dystopian interpretation in SRT's Shakespeare In The Park: Macbeth. PHOTO: SRT Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's most brutal tragedies. It centres on General Macbeth who meets three witches prophesying that he would one day become king. Urged on by his wife, Lady Macbeth, he decides to murder the reigning monarch and claim the crown. Soon after, he is haunted by ghosts and guilt – leading him to commit even more murders as he spirals toward madness. For Ghafir, the challenge is making Macbeth feel human. 'I can't play him as a villain,' he insists. 'If I do, I won't love him. And if I don't love him, neither will the audience. I want the audience to love him somehow – so they will go some way in trying to understand him.' A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 2 pm Lifestyle Our picks of the latest dining, travel and leisure options to treat yourself. Sign Up Sign Up Climbing the theatre ranks But to understand how Ghafir scored the plummest role in the current theatre season, you have to look back: Born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, trained in the US, he arrived in Singapore in 2015 to join an ensemble of three Wild Rice plays. Directors Ivan Heng and Glen Goei enjoyed working with him – and he soon caught the eye of other top directors such as Alvin Tan of The Necessary Stage and Natalie Hennedige of Cake Theatre. What set him apart wasn't bravado, but what directors call 'clarity' – the ability to anchor a scene with quiet force, to listen as hard as he speaks. Over time, that clarity, paired with a strong emotional control and a humble personality, made him one of Singapore's most sought-after stage actors. Other directors such as Chong Tze Chien and Samantha Scott Blackhall also came a-calling. And Ghafir kept delivering. Ghafir Akbar has risen from being an ensemble player to a leading man. PHOTO: BT FILE In March, he pulled off one of the rarest feats in Singapore theatre: not one, but two Best Actor nominations at The Straits Times Life! Theatre Awards, for his lead roles in SRT's Disgraced and Wild Rice's Accidental Death Of An Activist. He won for the latter. The double nod alone would have been impressive. But what makes it extraordinary is that he had already taken home the Best Actor prize the year before for his turn in SRT's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Despite his flourishing success, the actor describes himself as being 'full of doubt'. He says: 'Actors always wonder if we're good enough, if we deserve to be here. But the doubt is useful. It keeps you humble. It keeps you hungry.' That doubt, that vulnerability, might be what makes him the right Macbeth at the right time. Director Guy Unsworth has set this year's production in a semi-futuristic dystopia, where cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence hums through the witches' chants and tribal soundscapes. But beneath the spectacle, the bones of the play remain the same – a man, his wife, a prophecy, and the tragedy that follows. Ghafir Akbar and Julie Wee (foreground) play King Oberon and Queen Titania in 2023's A Midsummer Night's Dream. It earned Ghafir his 2024 Best Actor award. PHOTO: BT FILE With actress Julie Wee as Lady Macbeth – their third time playing stage partners – the production will explore the tenderness and toxicity of one of theatre's most monstrous couples, undone not just by ambition, but by their love for each other. The next dream role After nearly a decade of breathing life into the words of playwrights like Haresh Sharma, Alfian Sa'at, Ayad Akhtar, Dario Fo, Henrik Ibsen – and, of course, Shakespeare – who's left on his wish list? 'Chekhov,' Ghafir says, without missing a beat. 'I did a lot of Chekhov in drama school. It shaped me as an actor – the subtle shifts, the silences, the longing that never gets spoken. I'd love to return to it now, 25 years later. To see if I understand it differently, if I'm better.' He smiles. 'Macbeth is about going too far,' he says. 'Chekhov is about never quite getting there. Maybe that's what I need next – after I survive this production. After I get some proper sleep again.' Shakespeare In The Park: Macbeth runs at Fort Canning Park from May 7 to Jun 1. Tickets from