‘Kebun Hantu’ Theatre Explores Algorithms’ Effects on Modern Humans

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The contemporary theatre production ‘Kebun Hantu’, staged at the Wahyu Sihombing Theatre in Taman Ismail Marzuki, Central Jakarta, on Monday evening, explored the effects of digital-platform algorithms on modern people’s intimate spaces, bodies and memories.

Actor Badri of Adalah Badri said the poetic lines, laden with cyber jargon, reflected the reality of a society now trapped in addiction to gadgets.

“The digital world is like that. The more we open it up, the more we are dictated to by algorithms that think they understand everything,” he told ANTARA after the performance at the Wahyu Sihombing Theatre.

Badri said ‘Kebun Hantu’ was developed through an experimental process.

He said director Roy Julian incorporated the performers’ psychological backgrounds and physical trauma—including those of Bambang Wahyudin, Parulian, Marina Novianti and Yuli Goplumb—into the script and presented them in theatrical form.

“Roy Julian turned all our backgrounds into a script. Repetitive dialogue or scenes, such as the statue-like poses, tell the story of people who have lost their own bodies and identities,” Badri said.

“The process, from the readings to the finished performance, took around 10 months. Ten months of rehearsals for a performance lasting just over an hour—that’s the madness of theatre,” he said.

“However, we hope audiences leave with something they can think through,” Badri said of the 70-minute production.

‘Kebun Hantu’ is a collaboration between Kantor Teater and Trippicandid.

The production will be staged again on Tuesday (13 October) at 8pm Western Indonesian Time. Members of the public can attend free of charge after registering online.