'Kereta Api Bumel' whistles at Jakarta students

By Yusuf Susilo Hartono

JAKARTA (JP): At a time when theatrical performances for children are rare, Teater Esok is working hard at introducing children and the general public to the arts.

Between June 22 and June 30, 2001, the group staged seven performances of the classic play Kereta Api Bumel (Bumel Train) in the capital. Directed by Priyo S. Winardi, the play was performed at the regional art centers of East Jakarta, South Jakarta, West Jakarta and continued at Gambir Station and Bulungan Youth Center.

It was a continuation of the troupe's whirlwind performances touring some provinces in and outside of Java between 1986 and 1997, supported by financial assistance from the Ministry of Culture and Education. The shows, staged in towns like Ambon, Surabaya, Malang, Purwokerto, Semarang and Kupang, were meant as a pilot project for children's theater.

In general, the shows received enthusiastic responses from the local public, especially children and their parents. They could easily understand the play, which Priyo freely interpreted from the original drama created by German playwrights Rainer Hachfeir and Volker Ludwich.

Priyo has managed to relax the theatrical rigidity and make the piece entertaining and accessible for children and adults alike. When Theater Esok performed Kereta Api Bumel at Gambir Station, Central Jakarta, for example, the "stage" and audience were separated by plastic string and children were involved in the play. The audience were mostly people waiting for trains and those who had just arrived at the station.

The kids sat in their parents' laps or lay down on the floor. Many of them watched the play while they were eating, drinking or running around. They came and went continuously.

The play began with a song about traveling on a train through breathtaking mountains and valleys. The music was created using simple instruments and sound equipment.

Mat Jes Jos (Bumel's engineer played alternately by Priyo S. Winardi and Riyanto R. Asim) and a little girl named Trindil (Ar Anggayasti) wander far and wide in search of Bumel's missing parts.

The villain is a wicked man named Pak Jail who does not want to see Bumel rebuilt. He has stolen any parts he can detach from the train and scattered them far and wide throughout the Indonesian archipelago.

The train's missing parts are rediscovered one by one and reassembled. An amusing scene involves the rediscovery of four wheels which have been used as a teaching aid by a teacher wearing a civil servant's uniform.

Later a locomotive part is found after a professor has failed to convert it into a satellite. The professor had in fact planned to have Mat Jes Jos and Trindil placed inside the satellite and sent into space.

The scene that drew the most laughter from the children involves Mat Jes Jos and Trindil being chased by a fat man after they give him bitter jamu (herbal medicine). But, to his surprise, the fat man becomes slim thanks to the jamu. Then it turns out that the jamu has been contained in a can made from the train's chimney.

Mat Jes Jos and Trindil asked the children to tell them if the thief tried to steal the wheels. When Pak Jail was seen walking suspiciously beside the locomotive, the children stood and screamed as loud as they could, allowing Mat Jes Jos and Trindil to catch him. The wheels are soon installed.

After all the parts are installed, the children helped push Bumel and cheerfully sang Always happy / often funny / my Bumel Train / take us around the world / my funny Bumel.

Music blares amid the real announcements from the upper floors of Gambir Station broadcasting the arrival and departure of trains from and to all destinations. The thundering noise of the real train wheels could also be heard overhead.

The story's moral is the urgency to keep Indonesia intact. Are children able to understand the message? Probably not, but they certainly enjoy the play.

Besides being entertaining, the play also conveys educational messages that the director presents in a subtle and entertaining way, suitable for children.

Props and the stage have been designed so that they can be easily assembled and reassembled.

Teater Esok, the only group producing theater for children in Indonesia, will be visiting elementary schools in Jakarta throughout the year. Priyo is hoping for financial assistance from donors.

Lack of funds is not the only problem for the group. It is also in dire need of good scripts suitable for younger audiences. One well-known playwright for younger audiences is Saini KM, from Bandung, a former Art Director of the Ministry for Culture and Education. His most famous play is Kalpataru.

So far, Priyo has only performed Bumel on the grounds that he has yet to find other stories which are equally, or more, entertaining and educational, without being too didactic and moralistic.