'Comedy of Errors' at the arts festival

JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of Jakarta elite and theater buffs can enjoy an English play presented by professionals from Britain at Taman Ismail Marzuki's Graha Bhakti Budaya theater in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the British Council.

A group of 16 artists from Watermill Theater Company will present The Comedy of Errors, the shortest play ever written by the greatest dramatist of all time, William Shakespeare, whose theme is as universal and relevant as it was in the 16th century when it was first performed

"We chose Watermill (players) because they bring Shakespeare's works with them in a way accessible to the Indonesian people," said Gill Westaway, British Council's manager for English Language and Arts, during a media briefing on Thursday.

She said the comedy is presented in a mixture of dramatic and musical forms so that it can be easily digested and enjoyed by many Indonesians, even those not fluent in English.

Watermill Theater Company's director, Edward Hall, said that he and his traveling troupe use masks, actors and musicians in interpreting Shakespeare's works to modern younger audiences worldwide.

"We come to perform a play and tell a story," Hall said, adding that they use guitars, flutes and percussion and "weird" instruments which they have improvised to suit to their production.

The central part of The Comedy of Errors is about two sets of twins who are entangled in a series of mistaken identities involving money, a dinner engagement, a jealous wife and a courtesan to a point where they think themselves to be completely mad or bewitched.

In the middle of the war between Syracuse and Ephesus, Egeon, an old man from Syracuse, is arrested on enemy ground. The old man is looking for his identical twin sons, both called Antipholous, and their twin slaves, both called Dromio.

The ruler Ephesus demands Egeon pays a fine for trespassing or otherwise face execution. In the mean time, one of the twins arrives in Syracuse that day, without knowing that his twin has been living in the town since a shipwreck separated the family.

The confusion then starts since the audience does not know where the twins are.

Although it is a comedy, The Comedy of Errors also contains a blend of suspense and pathos and lovely elements, making it an enjoyable play for all ages.

Keeping faithfully to the tradition of dramas of the Elizabethan period, the play, which lasts around 150 minutes, is performed by an all-male cast.

Watermill players will give three performances during their stay in Jakarta, respectively on Friday and Saturday evenings and one on Sunday afternoon, before leaving for Malaysia next Monday.

The troupe, which performed in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh before their performance here, is scheduled to hold two workshops on stage and property management with local artists.

Jointly sponsored by the British Council, British Gas International, British Aerospace and Standard Chartered, tickets for the play are on sale at prices ranging from Rp 5,000 to Rp 25,000. (ego/46)