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JP/18/KOMA 'Republik Togog'
Bambang Asrini Widjanarko Contributor/Jakarta
Teater Koma is ready to weave its magic again. Its 103rd production, called Republik Togog, is coming to town and is expected to entertain and politically "enlighten" audiences -- particularly appropriate at this time as we look forward to a new government after the second round of the presidential election.
The play, which is being specially staged to mark the group's 27th anniversary, is a marriage of western and eastern ideas, director N. Riantiarno says.
In the play he tries to marry Molliere's Tartuffe and the Sadewa Tumbal (an episode from the Mahabharata) to bring out cultural interaction.
Teater Koma has already proved that adapted stories like Sampek Eng Tay, Opera Ular Putih (White Snake Opera), and the troupe's latest, Opera Kecoa (Cockroach Opera), are appreciated by the audience, the members of which are aware of the richness of the country's culture as well as how foreign cultures also play significant roles in cultural and social development here.
"Perhaps I can say that all of the plays that we have performed offer a reflection on what we experience, feel and think as human beings in defining the humanity around us, like traditional plays that were born out of honesty, such as ketoprak (Javanese traditional drama), and jula-juli ( traditional drama in East Java) -- both of which are examples of the folk arts," he asserted.
"Opera Kecoa, for example, which was once banned here but after the fall of the repressive regime, we managed to stage it in 2000 and the response was great."
In Republik Togog, Togog, who is destined by the Gods to play the dark role of a devil in the Javanese wayang (shadow puppet plays), represents the evil characteristics of human beings.
He has intentionally provoked a giant kingdom to interfere in the world of humans, in which Semar, a mighty God, once used to live, but has disappeared from the scene for a while.
The conflict in the tale is highlighted when good-natured Samiaji, a human king from Amarta, turns into a greedy, tyrannical, autocratic and despotic leader.
We can imagine how chaotic things become when a kingdom, or republic (as it is styled in this play), becomes the subject of rampant abuses of power by the rulers.
Cliche, as usual a noble figure (the defender of truth) saves the day and manages to put things right, restore the kingdom to glory and put the King back on the path of righteousness.
The cast includes both senior and junior performers from the troupe. However, a play is not only about the script and the cast, but also about stage art -- something that is often overlooked by critics and the public at large.
"It's better if a play is seen as a whole work. That's what we promise the public," said Riantiarno, who is familiarly called Nano.
Nano explained that Teater Koma had also been pioneering art appreciation efforts. With a mission of bringing theater closer to the public, with children being the main targets, the troupe has organized workshops and invited theater maestros to participate.
Twenty-seven years have passed and Teater Koma has done invaluable work for the country's art scene, and notched up many outstanding achievements.
So, like Nano wrote in his 2003 book, Menyentuh Teater (Touching Theater), "If theater loses its appeal and is abandoned by its audience, the first to blame will be the people behind the theater themselves, not the audience, because its interest arises from the profiles and concrete actions of the theater artists themselves. All the audience can do is just watch, then absorb the spectacle with their eyes, senses and hearts, and after that, it's their own decision whether to deprecate it, or appreciate it and share it."
Republik Togog, the 103rd production of Teater Koma, Gedung Kesenian Jakarta (GKJ) in Central Jakarta, July 28 until Aug. 6, 2004, at 8 p.m. For further information, contact Teater Koma at (021) 525 1066, (021) 735 0460 or GKJ (021) 380 8283