Gandrik's 'Orde Maling' kills with laughter

By Putu Wijaya

JAKARTA (JP): Teater Gandrik, established in Yogyakarta in 1983, is still proving a capable exponent of a "Killing while laughing" style of theater. With its Orde Maling (Thieves Order) show from July 19 to July 21 at Graha Bhakti Budaya, Taman Ismail Marzuki, Jakarta, Teater Gandrik entertained audiences with a fairy tale about political intrigues and conspiracy in a fictitious country called Praja.

Eyang Kantong (played by Djaduk Ferianto) and Resi (Whani H. Darmawan) plan a "Dedicate Your Heart to the Nation" scheme, which is aimed at creating a new order in Praja. Following is an outline of the plot.

Senopati Grangsang (Heru Kesawa Murti) provides instructions about how to form an undercover brigade. Headed by Tumenggung Suro Alap-Alap (YB Widjaja), the brigade is in charge of hounding people who dare to oppose Praja government policy.

Kamil (Butet Kertarejasa), who refuses to conform to this scheme, becomes a fugitive. Suri Lebet (Dyah Arum Retnowati), wife of Lebet, is arrested by Tumenggung, who pretends he is acting on an order received from Senopati. Kamil, loses hope and is forced to surrender to Senopati for the sake of his wife's safety. But Senopati himself is confused, because he never ordered Suri Lebet's arrest.

It then becomes obvious that Tumenggung is playing games. But the game is played out of his curiosity as to why Kamil had never been arrested. Tumenggung suspects a secret exists between Eyang Kantong, Resi and Senopati. Kamil is purposely not killed, otherwise the conspirators would lose political projects which generate a lot of money.

While Senopati is busy encouraging Kamil to continue with his resistance, Tumenggung comes upon the scene. Kamil is captured. The command stick in Senopati's hands is seized. Tumenggung then controls everything.

These relaxed actors and actresses appeared comfortable on the stage and every scene proceeded smoothly. Orde Maling was undoubtedly an impressive show. It was even a successful event last March, at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.

The lines between being an actor and being a member of the audience was blurred; when laughter occurred, it was seen as part of the show, and certainly not a mistake.

At unexpected moments actors Butet and Darmawan slipped in a favorite piece of rhetoric, or the voice of real politicians often featured in the media.

But Butet, who became famous thanks to his skill in parroting government bureaucrats, displayed superior control in his diversions; he did not overdo the act. He appeared satisfied with his incarnation as Kamil.

Current political jargon heard on television became part of the show.

There was nothing startlingly new about Teater Gandrik's social criticism, because their objects of ridicule have been satirized in the mass media. But Teater Gandrik did present their critique in an exceptional way so that it became fresh to hear again.

Gandrik was quite conservative in this respect; even though the audience was under his spell, Gandrik did not overly manipulate the mood. With the other actors, he mostly joked about absurd situations in society.

With this kind of enchantment, the audience did not feel they were being tricked, but that their intelligence was respected. In this respect, the performance of Kamil and his wife was noteworthy, especially when in her absence he expressed his affection for her.

Butet, Heru, Djaduk and Dyah especially deserve commendation. Their roles showed the creativity of director Jujuk Prabowo. Jujuk, also a batik garment businessman, actively takes part in all of Gandrik's performances.

The music played a big role in this performance. Composer Djaduk Ferianto's work accentuated each scene. Not all composers are able to offer such skills. Top composers are known to have ruined drama productions.

Gandrik has given us a "political comedy".