Koma campaigns for peace with 'Roman Yulia'

Oei Eng Goan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, one of the world's most famous tragedies, is more than just a story of a couple of star- crossed lovers, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, but also of a person's intrinsic worth of peace in the world overwhelmed by greed, hatred and violence.

That is what that makes Romeo and Juliet an everlasting story whose theme is as relevant to this day as it was when Shakespeare wrote the play more than four centuries ago.

That is also what Teater Koma, Indonesia's most prolific theatrical group led by stage director N. Riantiarno, has tried to depict in its Roman Yulia currently showing at Jakarta's Gedung Kesenian until Nov. 3.

As Riantiarno clearly stated in his notes in a booklet distributed to the audience of Roman Yulia, his adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, that the family feud between the Capulets and the Montagues is bred by suspicious feelings between the two families, fanatical devotion that one is superior to the other and, worst of all, provocation.

In his note, Nano -- by which name Riantiarno is more affectionately known -- blatantly emphasizes that the root of animosity between the two families is their lust for controlling the shares of Global Plaza, a treasure trove of income which in fact is just an ivory tower, a heartless project breeding greed and causing environmental damage.

All these messages are timely for Indonesia and the Indonesian people who, in the past few years, have witnessed numerous bloody clashes caused by ethnic and racial prejudice and religious fanaticism that added woes to the country already bogged down in the political and economic quagmire.

Unfortunately this time Teater Koma, known for its innovation and biting social criticism in many of its previous productions, fails to impressively convey that message to the audience (such as during the dress rehearsal on Oct. 19) despite the play's more than three-hour long performance.

A lack of in-depth rehearsals and inappropriate typecasting might be one of the reasons. Romeo is not only a symbol of a romantic, faithful lover but also of a youth who dares to defy the unjust occurrences linked to tradition of his time. So is Juliet. Hence the good qualities and beauties of the lovers lie in what they say and do and in what happens to them, not in what they are. These qualities are by no means shown or acted in the leading roles of Roman Yulia.

It would be inappropriate, however, to talk only about its shortcomings, especially when the play is produced by Teater Koma which has entertained thousands of theater buffs and encouraged the Indonesian public to love and to better understand the importance of theater in their daily life.

Besides, preparing a theatrical performance requires strenuous effort from the director, players and the crew. Performing a play is also much riskier than making a movie which can be cut and reshot when mistakes are made.

Roman Yulia is worth seeing because of the original story itself, although it has been told thousands of times, it is still captivating. The moral values of the story are that it calls for people to bury the hatchet and live peacefully. The fact that love, although at times is costly, wins everything is reflected by Teater Koma's players when they sing a chorus, highlighting the fact that love has the power and strength to overcome hatred and vindictiveness.

The inclusion of kuda lumping, an Indonesian hobby-horse dance, is also entertaining besides adding color to this adaptation of Romeo and Juliet.