'King Lear' with an Asian touch

'King Lear' with an Asian touch

By Oei Eng Goan

JAKARTA (JP): William Shakespeare displays human nature in all
its astonishing variety in his 37 tragedies and comedies. The
accessibility of his stories and their universally relevant moral
values has lead to his works being performed in various
languages, styles and costumes throughout the years.

An original incarnation could be seen in the performance of
Lear for Jakarta audiences last weekend, an international act
based on Shakespeare's King Lear and embracing Asia's vernacular
and beauty.

Performed by artists from six Asian countries -- China,
Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand -- the play
was a blend of choral speaking, dance and music incorporating
traditional and contemporary manners.

Lear is about a tragedy that befalls a king who misjudges his
two daughters. The Old Man entrusts his kingdom to the Older
Daughter, who utters words of affection for him, and banishes the
Younger Daughter, who remains silent, before beginning his
journey with his loyal attendant, the Fool.

On the journey the Fool bets the Old Man that the Older
Daughter will usurp the kingdom and forsake her father for her
own power. Returning home, the Old Man finds the prediction
fulfilled. The Older Daughter kills the king, saying "I do not
need a father. I am a daughter of the gods."

Although the actors speak their lines in the languages of
their own countries, their body movements and voices manage to
communicate the drama and tragedy of the story for the audience
to follow.

This is because Shakespeare's characters "are not modified by
the customs of particular places ... but by the genuine progeny
of common humanity, such as the world will always supply and
observation will always find," as commented Samuel Johnson, a
noted Shakespearean critic.

Johnson's remarks are well understood by the 17 players of
Lear, so that every speech and song, although uttered in their
own languages, is purely manifested without the slightest
barrier. Although the producers, the Japan Foundation Asia
Center, did in fact provide electronic subtitles in English and
Indonesian.

The story's theme is familiar to many, as it concerns the age-
old conflict between the young and the old. What is unique in the
play is it's emphasis on the removal of paternalistic authority
by a father's daughter (from King Lear by Goneril in
Shakespeare's original work), which climaxes with the killing of
the Old Man by the Older Daughter. The presence of the Mother,
not in the original story, signifies that paternalistic authority
should no longer dominate the Asian world, considering that the
role of females is equal to that of males in this era of
globalization.

"Mother is the figure who saves all beings," said Yuki Hata,
the producer of Lear, dubbed the Asian version of King Lear.

Obviously, this is in stark contrast to Akira Kurosawa's Ran,
a widely acclaimed film jointly produced by Japan and France in
1985, also based on Shakespeare's King Lear. In the film,
director Kurosawa substituted the king's daughters with sons.

Although all the actors in Lear played wonderfully, thanks to
their hard work and the guidance of Singapore's theater director
Ong Keng Sen, special praise should be given to Japanese Noh
master Naohiko Umewaka, who played the roles of the Old Man and
Mother, Beijing Opera maestro Qiang Jihu (the Older Daughter),
Thai dancer Peeramond Chomdavat (the Younger Daughter) and
Japanese actress Hairi Katagiri (the Fool).

Umewaka's upright movements and firm footsteps epitomized the
regal bearing of the Old Man still in power, while in the closing
scenes his staggering and tottering was well suited to the
desperate and broken-hearted Old Man who had lost his kingdom.

Qiang's melodious and often shrill voice beautifully depicted
the conniving Older Daughter, while Peeramond played the Younger
Daughter with the pitiful grace of an outcast.

Indonesia

Other performers worthy of praise were Benny Krisnawardi,
Jefri Andi and Fitrik, Indonesian dancers from the Gumarang Sakti
dance company who played the roles of the Warriors, and
Singaporean actor Lim Yu-Beng and Malaysian choreographer Aida
Redza who played the Loyal Attendant and the Mother's Shadow.

Kudos should also go to Indonesian choreographer Boi G. Sakti
who introduced the movements of Minangkabau pencak silat, a
traditional Indonesian martial art form, to add a dynamic balance
to the slow and carefully controlled Noh gestures.

The same is true for musicians and composers Mark Chan and
Rahayu Supanggah. Chan's popular music and Supanggah's tradition
al gamelan blended nicely to add drama to Lear.

The lack of empty seats at all three performances in the
1,000-capacity Teater Tanah Airku is testimony to the success of
Lear in Jakarta.

The play's success shows that a group of artists from
different countries with diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds
can produce a truly magnificent work of art. Hopefully this will
inspire Indonesians to question if people here really have to get
caught up in the racial and ethnic hatred that has recently lead
to so much bloody violence.