Landung successfully brings Kayam's words to life
Landung successfully brings Kayam's words to life
Ida Indawati Khouw, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The seats were not cozy at the Teater Dalam Gang Tuti Indra
Malaon in Kebon Kacang, Central Jakarta, but the audience forgot
all about that when Yogyakarta actor Landung Simatupang read the
short stories of prominent writer Umar Kayam.
Landung put himself in the spotlight last Friday, performing
Landung Membaca Kayam, Musim Gugur di Kebun Karet (Landung Reads
Kayam, Autumn on the Rubber Plantation). He read three of Kayam's
short stories; Musim Gugur Kembali Lagi di Connecticut (It's
Autumn Again in Connecticut), Sri Sumarah and Seribu Kunang-
Kunang di Manhattan (A Thousand Fireflies in Manhattan).
Landung's powerful and lively voice helped him enliven the
character of Tono, a writer and member of Lekra (the literary
organization associated with the Indonesian Communist Party) in
Musim Gugur Kembali di Connecticut. But he also managed to
transform into a Javanese noblewoman, Sri Sumarah, living during
the political chaos of the 1960s that saw her only daughter
trapped in jail.
Audiences were stunned and impressed, completely riveted to
the reading for more than three hours. Even 69-year-old Kayam
himself attended the show, despite having difficulties walking
after suffering a mild stroke.
"The reading took me back to the settings of the stories,
which I had already forgotten, and Landung performed them
outstandingly. Of course, his imagination is different with mine,
but the readers are free to express themselves," Kayam commented.
Landung's own interests led him to choosing Kayam's works. As
he put it: "The stories have deep empathy toward those being
defeated and alienated."
Just like most people, in the past Landung also questioned the
relevance of storytelling, as people could read by themselves and
use their own imagination.
"Public reading is a transformation process that changes
words, which are impersonal as characters, to something personal.
It also shows how reading, a private activity, can become a
shared one," said the actor, who will turn 50 on Nov. 25.
Landung believes pubic reading could motivate people to get
out of their poor reading habits.
"Public reading can help audiences understand texts that are
considered difficult, like Supernova (a novel full of scientific
and philosophical terms). Even the book's author, Dewi Lestari,
doubted if her work could be read publicly, but it worked," he
said, referring to his performance in March in Yogyakarta.
The graduate of the School of English Letters from Gadjah Mada
University in Yogyakarta said the key to good public reading was
full and total comprehension of the characters in the literature.
"I learnt it when joining a theater, where people must be
sensitive to the characters," he said.
The son of WYP Simatupang and Floriberta Sumardiati, Landung
has read many literary works of great national and international
writers, including Chairil Anwar, Sitor Situmorang, Multatuli,
Y.B. Mangunwijaya, W.S. Rendra, Kahlil Gibran and has also
directed plays of works by Alexandre Dumas, Anton Chekov, Hella
S. Hasse and others.
Landung believes that an artist cannot rely on the arts here
financially, as it would be easy to become trapped in the
commercialization of their work.
Therefore, he also works as an freelance translator and
editor.
"I consider the arts as an autonomous field as it is not my
source of income. In my opinion, those living from the arts will
easily be trapped in arts commercialization, either for the sake
of meeting basic needs or popularity."
Landung is widely recognized among theater students and his
commitment is unquestionable. He has been involved in Teater
Gadjah Mada, established by the university's students, for the
last 25 years.
"Theater is good for young people as a way to develop
themselves, a means to sharpen their analytical skills when
facing problems, to sharpen their awareness and to develop
empathy," said Landung, who can be a director, facilitator or
even actor with the students.