Japanese theater company to perform story from 'Mahabharata'

Asip A. Hasani, Contributor, Yogyakarta

Twenty six players from Japanese theater company Ku Na'uka are to perform the remarkable work, The Story of King Nala, here on Sept. 7 and Sept. 8.

Its script is an adaption from part of the great (Indian) epic the Mahabharata.

The play will be performed on an open stage at 7:30 p.m. in the compound of the Hindu Ratu Boko temple, some 20 kilometers to the east of Yogyakarta. It will open The 2nd Jogja Arts Festival (JAF) 2005, an international event of performance arts organized by a group comprising artists and scientists.

Ku Na'uka's plays are unusual in that two actors play one role.

"One tells the story while the other moves on the stage in line with the story, like a doll," Ku Na'uka director Satoshi Miyagi said in a written interview.

Much of the Mahabharata epic -- which was written in the fifth century AD -- is familiar to Indonesians, particularly the Javanese, as the plots of wayang kulit (traditional shadow puppet plays) have been appropriated from the epic.

This time the story will be told by a Japanese theater group using the Japanese language.

The Story of King Nala is the tale of newlyweds Princess Damayanti and King Nala, exiled from their palace because of the evil deeds of King Nala. The couple are torn apart and live separately for years, but reunite after a tough, tearful struggle.

"Theater, in which the players use a text written thousands years ago, is something of a miracle," said Miyagi, the founder of Ku Na'uka and head of Japan's International Department of Theater Interaction.

The Story of King Nala was performed by Ku Na'uka for the first time in November 2003 at the National Museum of Tokyo. After performing the piece in Yogyakarta, the Japanese theater group will perform Shakespeare's Macbeth in another festival of performing arts in South Korea on Sept. 11 under the sponsorship of the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs.

Ku Na'uka has performed dozens of plays, mostly adapted from classic stories in both Western and Eastern cultures. Since its foundation in 1990, it has toured throughout Europe and Asia.

One of its hallmarks is the way it chooses unconventional stages such as warehouses, museums, temple courts, castle grounds or stately homes.

Cultural exchange is also underlined in Ku Na'uka's artistic concept in the way its plays are open to the participation of foreign actors as either storytellers or "movers".

"This is a big performance. As many as 37 players and crew, including director Miyagi, will come to Yogyakarta to present the rare play," said JAF 2005 chairman Bambang Paningron, adding that a seven-meter container of sets and props would be transported from Japan to Yogyakarta.

According to Bambang, JAF 2005, which will be held from Sept. 7 through Sept. 21 is a forum for art performances and also cultural communications.

"This second festival's theme is Arts for Peace representing our deep concern over the present situation of the world where brutality and barbarism in their various manifestations take place," said Bambang, putting emphasis both on brutal acts of terrorism and government responses to them, such as American military aggression in Iraq.

Bambang, who is also member of the Yogyakarta Cultural Council, said, "We think it is very appropriate to echo the spirit of the theme from Yogyakarta in addition to the central role the city plays in the field of arts and culture."

The first festival was held in July 2003.

Among other artists and performing arts groups to participate in JAF are the Ahiru Dance Company from Japan; dancer Mitsuyo Uesugi from Japan; butoh dancer Yukio Waguri, also from Japan; the Yang Hye Jin Dance Company from South Korea; Simon Dance & Music from South Korea; and musicians Joanne Dudley and Rufus from Australia.

Other performances will be presented by Indonesians artists and performing arts groups such as Yoko Nomura and Bimo Wiwohatmo Dance Theater from Yogyakarta; dancer Besar Widodo from Yogyakarta; and dancer Lena Guslena from Bandung.

in box: JAF 2005 information center and ticket reservation: sekretariat: Jaran Production, Jl. Ringroad Utara 14, Sawitsari, Condong Catur, Depok, Sleman, Yogyakarta 55. telp./fax: (0274) 885001 e-mail: jogja.arts.festival@gmail.com