'I La Galigo': A feast for the eyes, but was it much else?

Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In an interesting letter published on The Jakarta Post on Dec. 9, writer Daniel Ziv questioned I La Galigo's ticket prices -- between Rp 250,000 (US$25) and Rp 750,000-- which for most Indonesians, even those from the middle-income bracket, are unaffordable.

He criticized the director's choice of using lavish US$200,000 lighting instead of a cheaper local setup.

"Wouldn't it be wonderful if a local light supplier could be hired (the lighting at many rock concerts I've seen here, or at Prambanan temple performances for that matter, has been superb), and the extra $200,000 used to subsidize ticket prices so that ordinary Indonesians could experience the show for a tenth of the current price?" he wrote.

Many people, especially those who wanted to see the show but did not have enough money, might agree with Ziv.

However, many of those who had the chance to watch it, be they paying for themselves or having someone else pay for them, would likely disagree with Ziv.

Because, even with the lavish lighting, there is not a lot that can be said about the performance, even though it received rave reviews during its tour of Europe and the United States.

What would have happened if director Robert Wilson used cheaper lighting?

The reviews he got would have not said things like "...stunningly beautiful music-theater work" (New York Times), "...an eye-popping spectacle" (Variety), "...colorful..." (Theatermania), and "...achieves an undeniable beauty" (New York Magazine).

A master of visual theater, the director, who hails from Waco, Texas, conjured up a visual feast for the audience through I La Galigo. His work was like a series of beautiful graphic scenes, but not much more.

Speaking to a few journalists in Jakarta, he modestly said he did not understand anything about the ancient Bugis epic itself.

Praise deserved for popularizing the epic

Asked what made him interested in staging the erstwhile obscure epic in the some of the world's major theaters, he said "the dance, the music", instead of pointing to the interesting characters or the wild imagination of the epic's authors.

Nothing wrong with that, of course. This is new theater, challenging the older concept, which delved into the characters, the drama and usually tried to stir people's emotions.

Wilson himself stated: "To me, interpretation is not the responsibility of the director, author or performer: Interpretation is for the public."

A tedious, arty statement, it may seem. But often, this accurately describes what happens in the seats, meters from the stage.

On Dec. 10, the gala premiere night of I La Galigo in Jakarta, some spectators dozed off into sleep, awoken only by the thunderous percussion from musician Rahayu Supanggah's splendid gamelan group.

Some managed to stay awake through the entire three-hour show, and some even seemed to be engrossed in the dance, the sets and the performances. However, many others found the performances artificial, a situation worsened by lifeless choreography.

Even top-notch traditional dancers like Wangi Indriya and Mak Coppong failed to move the audience.

Puang Martoa Saidi's chanting, which initially gave soul to the performance, quickly became mere backing as the lifeless dancers hopped around the stage.

The "I We Tenriabeng" character, who is described in the 14th- century Sureq Galigo as an incredibly beautiful woman, brilliant and wise, and partial to roaming around the palace dressed in daring outfits and talking to birds, became a polite and boring female devoid of all spirit.

In informal debate about I La Galigo, Wilson's fans usually say that the point is that this is new theater that indulges the senses.

Consequently, for some people, it does not leave a deep impression in the mind and heart.

But then again, it is all a matter of interpretation. One is free to choose one's art or cultural experience.

However, there is no denying that Wilson, Rhoda Grauer, Restu Kusumaningrum and Change Performing Arts deserve praise for their work in introducing this magnificent epic to the world.

Congratulations!