The melodic percussive plucking sound of a thumb piano rings out in the middle of an MRT train ride, then a masked folk figure - in a long flowing green robe - leaps from his seat, swaying to the gentle rhythms. At the train station platform, two "ghostly maidens" are busy greeting commuters as they rush off to their respective platforms. Meanwhile, a mini xylophone-led orchestra is tuning up nearby, giving the mundane day at this KL train stop a symphonic twist.
The past few days of open rehearsals at the Pasar Seni MRT station have been eventful for the musicians and dancers from arts outfit Orang Orang Drum Theatre, which is readying up its last ride for its public performing arts project "In Transit-ion: A Poetic MRT Journey”. TikTok videos of "ghosts" roaming an MRT station floor have given this project added online buzz.