Aussie-RI joint theater strengthens ties

Aussie-RI joint theater strengthens ties

Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post/Yogyakarta

Amid a rice field in a small village in Yogyakarta, 2,000 people
gathered last Saturday evening to watch a theatrical performance.
Meanwhile, the director stood in the "wings" hoping that rain
wouldn't fall and turn the stage to mud.
The story of Kembalinya Legenda Sawung Galing (The Sawung
Galing Legend Returns) -- played out against a giant backdrop,
onto which scenes of the jungle were projected.

Australian director and playwright Don Mamouney of the
Sidetrack Performance Group and Indonesian musician and composer
Sawung Jabo collaborated on the project, which involved 12
performers and five musicians, including Jabo himself.

The two-and-a-half-hour performance took place on a dry
clearing in the field, with the audience sitting on mats spread
on the ground, or standing.

A number of microphones were placed near the edges of the
square clearing, while loudspeakers and lighting were rigged
further back. An elevated platform accommodated the musicians and
Jabo, who narrated using spoken word and song.

The story, adapted from an East Java legend, was translated
into English by Jabo's wife Susan Piper.

"This is a very big show for me -- the biggest I've ever
staged outdoors," Don Mamouney, who was born in the Australian
state of Victoria, told The Jakarta Post.

Mamouney says he likes to experiment by staging performances
at unusual locations, such as factories, schools or parks.

"It has been a big challenge, especially considering that we
had only some eight weeks to rehearse, while a big theater
company would need at least six months to prepare for such a
show," said Mamouney.

He was also worried that, as the performance area was not
flat, performers risked injury. But, his fears gave way to
excitement as the show got going and the audience warmed up.

The fact that nobody was seen sneaking out before the end of
the show was evidence of its success. Wild applause was heard,
particularly in response to the heroine's victories or the defeat
of the antagonist.

Laughter erupted when lines proved too amusing for restraint,
and some people even swayed or tapped their feet along to the
music.

The story focuses on a young girl, Joko Berek (played by
Nunung Deni Puspitasari), who was given a boy's name and treated
as a male. Joko has a black rooster named Sawung Galing, whose
supernatural powers brings her fame. As her reputation precedes
her, Joko is ordered to join the army of the Crazzar kingdom --
where she lives with her mother and her grandmother -- to fight
against the Frazzar kingdom.

Joko, who is a pacifist, refuses to join and seeks protection
in Frazzar, ruled by Prince Boom Boom -- who she later finds out
is her father. Her mother Suci (played by Sri Erita Desiandari)
had an affair with Prince Boom Boom (Fajar Satriadi) when he
invaded a region under the kingdom of Crazzar.

When Joko Berek meets her father, she also causes the warring
brothers Prince Boom Boom of Frazzar and Prince Bang Bang (Anton
Obelix Triyono) of Crazzar to meet, after the two were at war
against each other for 15 years. The stubborn Prince Bang Bang is
finally killed in a duel, with Prince Boom Boom and the two
kingdoms at last uniting -- and with Joko Berek as the new king.

The show is touring other major cities in Indonesia, including
Surakarta (Central Java), Surabaya (East Java), Bandung (West
Java), and Jakarta. The performance in Surakarta was held on
Sept. 6, at Taman Budaya Surakarta, while the one in Surabaya was
held on Sept. 10 at Tugu Pahlawan.

The upcoming performances are to be held at BP Bumi
Sangkuriang (Bandung) on Sept. 14 and on the Hockey Field of
Sumantri Brojonegoro Sports Hall in Kuningan, Jakarta, only a few
hundred meters away from the location of a bomb attack on
Thursday morning near the Australian Embassy in Kuningan, South
Jakarta.

Mamouney, however, stressed that the shows would continue as
scheduled, despite the Kuningan bombing. "We have no intention,
so far, of canceling the remaining shows," said Mamouney,
underlying the importance of collaboration between Indonesian and
Australian artists, to strengthen ties between the two countries.