Life and times of an Indonesian star in Paris

Kunang Helmi-Picard, Contributor, Paris

In late September actor Tapa Sudana played the role of a Buddhist priest in Yoshi Oeda's interpretation of Gustav Mahler's Song of the Earth in Paris. The opera production continues touring France in early 2003 and will be presented at Carnegie Hall, New York in 2004.

Nowadays this artistic Indonesian based in Paris is constantly on the move, running theater workshops for aspiring actors all over Europe. Sudana has lived in France for almost 30 years. The talented dancer and actor, born in Denpasar in September 1945, grew up in Bali and attended school there, except for three years in Sumbawa, East Nusa Tenggara.

It was in Yogyakarta after studying engineering at Gadjah Mada University that Sudana's passion for theater was aroused. Instead of looking for employment as an engineer he spent the next two years at an academy of theater and dance.

Fellow Balinese director/author Putu Wijaya asked him to join his Teater Mandiri and later well-known poet Rendra engaged him as a member of his Bengkel Teater. For both theaters, Sudana performed a register of classical roles such as Claudius in Hamlet, Theresias in King Oedipus and Macbeth, besides experimental roles.

Choreographer Sardono W. Kusumo whisked Sudana even further away from his verdant home island in 1974. Sudana was engaged as an actor and dancer in Sardono's production of La Sorciere de Dirah, which included dance, music and masks from Bali and Java.

The production was invited to the Nancy Theater Festival in France and went on to conquer audiences in Paris, Rome, Florence, Geneva, Amsterdam and Holsterbro in Denmark.

Sudana laughed and said: "Then I broke my leg while playing soccer with the Indonesian Embassy team and had to stay here in Paris until it was healed. I have been here in France ever since!"

In 1975 Sudana acted in Serreau's Tabarin directed by David Esrig at the prestigious Theatre de Chaillot in Paris. He also founded the Balinese mask company Patra with I Made Netra in Geneva. The two were later joined by Soegeng, Dewi and French musician Jacques Fassola.

After touring France and Tunisia, the company performed at Eugenio Barba's theater symposium at Theatre of Nations in Belgrade in the following year. Patra continued to play to audiences in France, Austria, Switzerland and Germany in the next four years until they disbanded.

Famous British theater director Peter Brook called for Sudana's help in 1979 to teach Balinese mask and breathing techniques to his international actors. Sudana then participated in the experimental play The Conference of the Birds which played in Avignon, Paris, Berlin and Rome. The next year Brook's company toured Australia, New York, Lisbon and returned to Paris. In between acting for Brook, Sudana teamed up with Soegeng and Patricia Passat to present Javanese and Balinese mask performances in Paris.

There followed several years of work with Brook in such productions as the musical Carmen by Bizet in 1983. Despite working for Brook, demand for Sudana by other theater directors continued.

As an example, the actor worked with Marcel Robert in Geneva or acted in King Oedipus by Jose Luis Gomez directed by Stavros Dufexis in Madrid.

The year 1983 also marked the first time Sudana acted in films. It was the film version of Carmen by Brook and in early 1984, the French television production Rhapsodie en Jaune.

After playing in Carmen in New York in 1984, Sudana also acted in Elisabeth Shadow's music-hall production Oh, Jerusalem which traveled to Rome. That year was also marked by extensive preparation for Brook's huge production of Mahabharata in which Sudana played the roles of Pandu, Shiva and Salya. Mahabharata proved a great success at the 1985 Avignon Theatre Festival and toured Italy, Spain, Greece and Germany before showing in Paris in 1986.

In 1987, after dancing in Paris with Soegeng and Cristina Wistari, an Italian dancer who resides in Bali, Sudana again went on tour for nearly two years with the English version of the Mahabharata production in Zurich, the United States, Australia, Denmark, Glasgow and Tokyo. The film version of Mahabharata was completed in 1988. During this production, Sudana met his future wife, Briton Pippa Cleator, who was then assistant to costume designer Chloe Obolensky.

Although Sudana still acted in Brook's production of The Tempest in 1990 and 1991, increasingly he began to diversify into his personal work involving flute playing besides pencak silat (Indonesian traditional martial art), mask and theater workshops. He also cooperated with the traveling theater group Footsbarn, acted in the Breton operetta Zarzuela in Vienna and Avignon, besides the show Bayu in Greece.

The year 1994 was an important year for Sudana as he admitted: "I was thrilled to be able to play Sophia Loren's driver in Robert Altman's film Pret-a-Porter in 1994. It was even more exciting because Marcello Mastroianni acted with her, but unfortunately the wonderful vintage car I had to drive broke down several times during the takes!"

In 1997 Sudana himself was the star of the Franco-Vietnamese film Tang The 11th in which he played the first Tang in an area near Hanoi.

In July 2000 a very important actress made her debut in the life of Tapa and Pippa Sudana when daughter Lutschia was born.

"She has already shown her talent as a dancer and singer," says Sudana proudly, firmly ensconced in his new role as a doting father.