Cats, Cockroaches 'raid' Teater Utan Kayu

By Leon Agusta

JAKARTA (JP): Actors Rita Matu Mona and Iman Soleh unleashed the virus of innovation and renewal into Indonesia's increasingly commercialized world of contemporary theater at Teater Utan Kayu in the Lontar Gallery complex in East Jakarta last weekend.

Rita imbued the audience of almost 70 people packed into the small theater at Jl. Utan Kayu 68H with the terror that what we dread most may lurk within us. The young actress, who often performs with Teater Koma, did this through unfolding Nano Riantiarno's Cockroaches, the tale of a street singer obsessed with disgust for the insects infesting the hovel she lives in.

She took the theatrical sketch which is the embryo of one of the noted Indonesian playwright's best-loved plays, Opera Kecoa, and within a brief 30 minutes used a combination of tense monolog and haunting ballads to leave viewers feeling as if they had watched theater of epic proportions. This was done against the spare backdrop of piled-up benches and raised flooring.

Alienation

Rita emerged from behind a segment of upended flooring dressed in black tights and sweatshirt. Then, while glancing about as if in fear of her life, she began the story of how street singer Tos became the murderer of cockroaches and her own child.

As the terrified Tos, the actor led her enthralled audience through the turmoil of alienation experienced by the human psyche in a modern society in which people are marginalized to the point that they become of little more significance than a cockroach. As she told her tale, Tos became increasingly agitated, eventually realizing that what she feared most was what she had become. Then, capitulating to the inevitable, she stepped forward and offered herself up to the hoards of cockroaches stalking her.

After a brief intermission for a set change, Iman Soleh continued to draw the audience toward the awareness of the potential of the dark side of humankind. He spent the next 45 minutes weaving Edgar Allan Poe's classic short story The Black Cat into a strong theatrical piece without losing the essence of the author's magic.

Iman, who has performed with Arifin C. Noer's Teater Kecil and Suyatna Anirun's Studi Klub Teater Bandung, used a chair, a sarong, a kebaya and a blanket to convincingly paint the picture of one man's descent into the hell of alcoholism.

Desperation

He stumbled slowly out of a corner of the theater space into the central performance area wrapped up in a blanket. This was gradually transformed into the beloved cat, the adored wife and the axe that his character would use to brutally murder both. He masterfully evinced the story of how alcoholism changed a cultured, kind man into a suicidal creature desperately eaten away by his remorse at the process of deterioration he was powerless to stop.

Iman told the story in a rhythmic manner that carried the audience forward on wave after wave of raw emotion, with an intensity and continuity that can only be achieved by a master actor. Through this skilled performance, he brought home the understanding that theater is the embodiment of the essence of art, and that only theater can achieve this depth of impact.

These performances constitute an antithesis to the complexity and ponderousness of Indonesian contemporary theater, whose focus has become entertainment and glamor rather than artistic achievement.

The two young actors proved that powerful theater does not require large stages, elaborate sets or costumes created by famous fashion designers. All of these waste massive amounts of funding in the staging of events that resemble high society balls and contribute little of importance to theater itself.

Rita Matu Mona and Iman Soleh used the modest 100-square-meter space and minimal props to express their love of theater through high-level acting ability, and to remind the public of the potential inherent in the art of theater. In the process they introduced some questions, a kind of intellectual virus, into the realm of Indonesia's ailing contemporary theater.

They asked three distinct questions: What is theater if it is not the telling of a story? If theater is, indeed, the telling of a tale, to what end? Is theater just to please the audience, or to make them think about the mystery and complexity of human existence?

Through their selection of stories focusing on human frailty and fear, the two actors answered their own questions in a manner that was not only impressive, but which demands respect. It takes great courage for artists to grasp the challenge of a solo performance without the support of a director, set designer, stage manager and the other usual trappings of theater.

This event and others of equal artistic import, such as the periodic performances at small community theaters which support innovation and creativity, are part of a new tendency to call attention to the illness of commercialization and institutionalization in Jakarta's theater world.

In this sense, the community theaters, Bengkel Teater Rendra in Cipayung, Ray Sahetapy's Oncor Studio in Tebet, South Jakarta, Ratna Sarumpaet's Sanggar Teater Merah Putih in East Jakarta and Teater Utan Kayu, which is managed by poet and dramatist Sitok Srengenge, serve as an antithesis to art institutions. The latter, such as Taman Ismail Marzuki, are floundering in the chains of bureaucracy, and can no longer serve as vehicles for the idealism and creative exploration of the nation's dramatists.

The presence of these small theaters -- offering playwrights and actors a venue for dissemination of the intellectual virus they hope will bring public attention to the poor state of contemporary theater -- provide a way to heal that theater itself. In this way, not only is the integrity of theater reinforced in the minds of the public, but the spirit of creativity is empowered once again to shape the thinking of society.