Asian artists present version of 'King Lear'
Asian artists present version of 'King Lear'
JAKARTA (JP): A unique drama featuring artists from six Asian
countries will present William Shakespeare's King Lear to
audiences in Jakarta for three days starting Friday, the Japan
Cultural Center's director general Kazuma Nishida, who is
sponsoring the play, said on Monday.
The play, entitled Lear and performed by artists from
Indonesia, China, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, will
be performed at Teater Tanah Airku at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah
in East Jakarta.
"The production of this play is very special in many ways
because it is Asian-initiated and Asian-funded and also because
it combines the traditional and the contemporary," said 35 year-
old Ong Ken Sen, who directs the two hour-long drama.
Some dialogs in the play will be spoken in Chinese, Japanese,
Bahasa Indonesia and other languages of Asian countries from
where the actors come. But the greater part of the performance
will be presented in dance and gesture.
Dances in the play are partly inspired by the Minangkabau
martial arts movements, thanks to the participation of Indonesian
choreographer Boi Sakti, and gestures inspired by Noh actor
Naohiko Umewaka of Japan.
Another Indonesian artist, Rahayu Supanggah, enlivens the play
with his traditional Javanese gamelan.
Shakespeare's King Lear is about the wrongdoings of children
and parents. In the original story, Lear has two evil-hearted
daughters, Goneril and Regan, and one ministering angel,
Cordelia.
The old King Lear divides his kingdom between his daughters
according to their expressions of affection for him. Lear finds
that the two who say the most are heartless and that Cordelia,
relatively silent and therefore disinherited, cares for and
succors him.
The play also deals with another man, the Earl of Gloucester,
who also misunderstands the true nature of his two sons, the
wicked Edmund and faithful Edgar. The moral message of the play
is that one suffers because of one's pride and misjudgement.
Three years in preparation, the play features 17 actors and
actresses, including renowned Beijing Opera actor Jiang Qihu,
Thai traditional dancer Peeramond Chomdvarat and Japanese actress
Hairi Katagiri.
Before coming to Indonesia, Lear has been performed in Japan,
Hong Kong, and Singapore. Despite requests from European
countries, it will be performed in Australia in August.
According to Ratna Riantiarno, the associate producer of the
drama, 95 percent of the tickets, prices of which range from Rp
10,000 to Rp 40,000 have been sold out.
It will be the first international performance to be staged at
Teater Tanah Airku, she added. (ego)