Cats, Cockroaches 'raid' Teater Utan Kayu

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.