'Constipation Opera' shows Teater Koma is as fresh as ever
By Rita A. Widiadana
JAKARTA (JP): Are you tired of reading newspapers? Bored with television programs filled with confusing economic and political news? Then go and see a play. Opera Sembelit, by Teater Koma, is being staged at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta through Aug. 7.
Opera Sembelit (Constipation Opera), written by the group's leader Nano Riantiarno, is Teater Koma's 83rd production.
In these difficult times, they are daring to take financial and security risks to stage their latest work in town.
In its 21st year, Teater Koma is still as fresh as ever. Nano never seems to run out of intriguing ideas.
Like other Koma works, Opera Sembelit deals with social issues. The play, jointly directed by Nano and Syaeful Anwar, is about a society suffering from an acute affliction.
Koma's senior members, including Ratna Riantiarno (Nano's wife), veteran Salim Bungsu, Adhipurnomo, Sri Dadi and Taufan S. Chandranegara, are part of the cast.
The play is a track record of Indonesia's most recent condition, revealing political upheavals, from the rise of "political clowns" to the crumble of its economy, and a decaying society.
Divided into five acts, Kolik (Colic), Rasa Sakit Itu (That Painful Feeling), Kambing-Kambing Hitam (The Scapegoats), Sembelit (Constipation), Epidemic (Epidemic), and Matahari Mati (The Dead Sun).
"The script was written in November, and I had to make some changes here and there to adjust to the present situation, which is much more deteriorated," said Nano.
The most contemporary hard-pressed issues included in the script are riots, the shortage of basic commodities, the currency fluctuations and the lengser (departure) of the old leader.
Yet, in this play, Nano and Syaeful treat these heavy issues in relaxed and comical ways. Trying to be faithful to folk theater traditions, Teater Koma always spices up its shows with humor, songs and dances, and witty, sometimes sarcastic, dialog.
The story begins with a toilet scene. This is surely a disgusting opening. But this is the key problem that Teater Koma wants to express to its audience.
Warda (played by Taufan S. Chandranegara) is sitting on the toilet suffering from a painful stomach ache. But, when he is finally able to defecate, he is shocked to see he is passing goat feces. His stomach ache has turned into a serious case of constipation.
Surprised, he discovers that constipation has reached epidemic proportions. Warda's neighbors suffer from a similar condition. They cannot defecate. To make matter worse, it seems to be spreading nationwide, sparking chaos.
The people pick an actor-intellectual, Professor Salim (played impressively by Sri Dadi), to tackle the problem. Ironically, the elderly professor doesn't act as a healer, rather he appears as an ambitious, eccentric and megalomaniac creature.
The professor torments the ailing people by banning them from defecating. He binds the mouths and eyes of the suffering people. Even as the curtain comes down, the problem is not solved and the people will probably die, one by one.
Considering recent events here, Nano may probably make his play an analogy to the dire situation faced by the country. Warda is a symbol of the Indonesian people, now suppressed by an untrustworthy authority.
Opera Sembelit is comparable to Teater Koma's previous works, including Suksesi (Succession) and Maaf, Maaf, Maaf (Sorry, Sorry, Sorry).
In some parts of the play, the audience will find it difficult to take a breath, digesting a series of long and repetitive dialog full of politicized messages.
But the mature acting of the group's senior members has helped the plot of the story run quite smoothly.
Despite a number of shortcomings, Opera Sembelit is one of the most-awaited theatrical events during this critical period. It is proof that the country's cultural activities will probably be as flourishing as ever and credit should go to Teater Koma and its members.