Aussie-RI joint theater strengthens ties<\/p>\n
Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post\/Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
Amid a rice field in a small village in Yogyakarta, 2,000 people
\ngathered last Saturday evening to watch a theatrical performance.
\nMeanwhile, the director stood in the \"wings\" hoping that rain
\nwouldn't fall and turn the stage to mud.
\n The story of Kembalinya Legenda Sawung Galing (The Sawung
\nGaling Legend Returns) -- played out against a giant backdrop,
\nonto which scenes of the jungle were projected.<\/p>\n
Australian director and playwright Don Mamouney of the
\nSidetrack Performance Group and Indonesian musician and composer
\nSawung Jabo collaborated on the project, which involved 12
\nperformers and five musicians, including Jabo himself.<\/p>\n
The two-and-a-half-hour performance took place on a dry
\nclearing in the field, with the audience sitting on mats spread
\non the ground, or standing.<\/p>\n
A number of microphones were placed near the edges of the
\nsquare clearing, while loudspeakers and lighting were rigged
\nfurther back. An elevated platform accommodated the musicians and
\nJabo, who narrated using spoken word and song.<\/p>\n
The story, adapted from an East Java legend, was translated
\ninto English by Jabo's wife Susan Piper.<\/p>\n
\"This is a very big show for me -- the biggest I've ever
\nstaged outdoors,\" Don Mamouney, who was born in the Australian
\nstate of Victoria, told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Mamouney says he likes to experiment by staging performances
\nat unusual locations, such as factories, schools or parks.<\/p>\n
\"It has been a big challenge, especially considering that we
\nhad only some eight weeks to rehearse, while a big theater
\ncompany would need at least six months to prepare for such a
\nshow,\" said Mamouney.<\/p>\n
He was also worried that, as the performance area was not
\nflat, performers risked injury. But, his fears gave way to
\nexcitement as the show got going and the audience warmed up.<\/p>\n
The fact that nobody was seen sneaking out before the end of
\nthe show was evidence of its success. Wild applause was heard,
\nparticularly in response to the heroine's victories or the defeat
\nof the antagonist.<\/p>\n
Laughter erupted when lines proved too amusing for restraint,
\nand some people even swayed or tapped their feet along to the
\nmusic.<\/p>\n
The story focuses on a young girl, Joko Berek (played by
\nNunung Deni Puspitasari), who was given a boy's name and treated
\nas a male. Joko has a black rooster named Sawung Galing, whose
\nsupernatural powers brings her fame. As her reputation precedes
\nher, Joko is ordered to join the army of the Crazzar kingdom --
\nwhere she lives with her mother and her grandmother -- to fight
\nagainst the Frazzar kingdom.<\/p>\n
Joko, who is a pacifist, refuses to join and seeks protection
\nin Frazzar, ruled by Prince Boom Boom -- who she later finds out
\nis her father. Her mother Suci (played by Sri Erita Desiandari)
\nhad an affair with Prince Boom Boom (Fajar Satriadi) when he
\ninvaded a region under the kingdom of Crazzar.<\/p>\n
When Joko Berek meets her father, she also causes the warring
\nbrothers Prince Boom Boom of Frazzar and Prince Bang Bang (Anton
\nObelix Triyono) of Crazzar to meet, after the two were at war
\nagainst each other for 15 years. The stubborn Prince Bang Bang is
\nfinally killed in a duel, with Prince Boom Boom and the two
\nkingdoms at last uniting -- and with Joko Berek as the new king.<\/p>\n
The show is touring other major cities in Indonesia, including
\nSurakarta (Central Java), Surabaya (East Java), Bandung (West
\nJava), and Jakarta. The performance in Surakarta was held on
\nSept. 6, at Taman Budaya Surakarta, while the one in Surabaya was
\nheld on Sept. 10 at Tugu Pahlawan.<\/p>\n
The upcoming performances are to be held at BP Bumi
\nSangkuriang (Bandung) on Sept. 14 and on the Hockey Field of
\nSumantri Brojonegoro Sports Hall in Kuningan, Jakarta, only a few
\nhundred meters away from the location of a bomb attack on
\nThursday morning near the Australian Embassy in Kuningan, South
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Mamouney, however, stressed that the shows would continue as
\nscheduled, despite the Kuningan bombing. \"We have no intention,
\nso far, of canceling the remaining shows,\" said Mamouney,
\nunderlying the importance of collaboration between Indonesian and
\nAustralian artists, to strengthen ties between the two countries.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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