KUCHING – It was a night when fairytale princesses, pirates and evil witches came out to play at Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus’ recent annual dinner themed ‘A Royal Enchanted Evening’, at a leading hotel here.
Entertaining and hilarious scenes from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Cinderella, Aladdin and the Magic Lamp, Beauty and the Beast, Peter Pan, Hansel and Gretel, Alice in Wonderland, Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty and Robin Hood acted out by staff left the audience in stitches throughout the evening.
The Information Technology Services Unit’s version of Aladdin’s and Princess Jasmine’s ‘magic carpet flight’ in the evening sky of Egypt left the audience convulsing with laughter. The trolley-turned ‘magic carpet’ was pulled along manually while cardboard cut-outs of clouds, moon, stars, pyramids and palaces held up by members of the cast in the background simulated the magic carpet in flight.
The crowd went wild when a giant photo of Swinburne Sarawak was held up to indicate Aladdin and Princess Jasmine finally arriving at the university – “a whole new world”.
The performance won top prize.
Scenes from each fairytale were hilariously played out. Among them were the Big Bad Wolf who chased Little Red Riding Hood around ‘trees’ performed by staff of the Chancellory, the Prince who arrived in his wooden horse to give Snow White the kiss of life dramatised by the Business Development and Communications Unit, and the School of Language and Foundation’s Peter Pan and his gang of Lost Boys who fought off a booze-laden Captain Cook and his pirates.
Staff and even spouses dressed up as fairytale characters to blend in with the theme making the evening a truly enchanting one.
The evening was interspersed with lucky draws which saw staff take home, among others, a 32-inch LCD television set, an iPod, a refrigerator, microwave oven, juicers, and hampers.
Named ‘Queen’ of the evening was HR executive Nor Asyikin Binti Abdullah who was dressed as Beauty (from Beauty and the Beast) while Professor Debiprasad Dash, Head of School of Business and Design, who looked more in character as Sinbad in his turban and Arabic-like robe, was crowned ‘King’.
The Hush, a band made up of Swinburne Sarawak staff, entertained with an array of songs while Studio 23 was spectacular with a repertoire of dances that blended well with the evening’s theme.
The evening also saw Professor Helmut Lueckenhausen, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive, presenting 10-year service awards to 16 university staff as well as a parting gift to Professor Justo Amador Diaz, Professor of Information System, who will be leaving Swinburne Sarawak in December after nine years of service.