Power play: Teater Koma acts out reality

By Stevie Emilia

JAKARTA (JP): Power is a magic word. With power, one will be loved, praised, get all one's desires, and others follow like obedient, fawning servants. But when power is gone, so is everything else. Forget love or praise; everyone rushes to leave, avoiding the suddenly powerless like they carry a deadly plague.

Sad but true. And with theatrical twists -- a clever blend of strong dialog, acting, singing and humor -- popular theater group Teater Koma successfully transforms power into a stimulating play for the Third Art Summit Indonesia 2001 International Festival on Contemporary Performing Arts at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta, Central Jakarta.

In the play, titled Presiden Burung-Burung (President of the Birds), an old man faces this fate. He tells of his 30 years of power, power that he admits was acquired by practicing "old political tricks performed by other leaders", he had many loyal people wanting a taste of his power. But when he fell, even his loyal ministers ("only two of them") suddenly rushed to leave.

Reminiscing about his glorious past, the old man is now left alone, accompanied by his two servants, the spirit of his late wife and his loyal birds, which help in cheering him up by calling him Bapak President (Mr. President).

Without mentioning any names, Teater Koma's Nano Riantiarno clearly personifies former president Soeharto in the play.

Nano, who writes, directs and acts in this new play, provides the audience with flashes of recent events in the political arena. Right or wrong, things that people have suspected of happening behind the scenes are put right on stage.

Like when an attorney and two policemen come to the old man's house, his hands suddenly tremble and he rushes to sit in his wheelchair. His voice is low, helpless. But once the guests are gone, he is again a healthy old man. No wheelchair, no trembling hands, knows where all his money is and he can speak clearly.

This is not something new for Nano. During Soeharto's New Order era, Nano used him as an inexhaustible source of inspiration. When the regime collapsed, his fascination or fresh ideas did not stop. In fact, he is freer in expressing his criticism, a common phenomenon enjoyed by the local art community after the regime's downfall.

When Soeharto was in power, he often suppressed artistic creativity and banned art performances, believing it "could disrupt public order and national stability". Finally it was hard to get permits for show, while some, including Teater Koma's works Sampek-Engtay and Suksesi (Succession), a play about an ambitious woman wanting to assume her father's powerful position, were banned.

Nano said that for him, theater serves as the most effective medium to move the conscience of both people and the authorities.

"Theater works loaded with social criticism show people that something wrong is happening in the society," the 52-year-old former chief editor of Matra magazine said.

Criticism

And President Burung-Burung, the troupe's 95th production, is loaded with heavy political criticism and only bits of humor. The play is less entertainment-oriented than Sampek-Engtay and has less humor compared to its previous work, Republik Bagong (Bagong Republic).

Even after focusing on writing and directing, Nano appears on stage in this latest play, showing his acting quality.

His strong presence lets the audience feel his emotions, like when he is weeping, yelling after watching a news report about the fate of his children (the first one goes to mental hospital, the second one is beaten for his huge debts and the youngest one is on the run).

His true colors can also be seen in magnificent opening and closing scenes with dramatic settings showing him as the evil king Rahwana, who is trapped between two mountains until the world experienced seven doomsdays but still trying to influence people with his black spirits.

Through his role, Nano, who also directs the play, attacks various aspects of life from dirty politics, bribery, the use of the military to protect power to democracy issues.

Ratna Riantiarno also gives an outstanding performance as the spirit of the old man's late wife who still has control over him long after she's gone. With clear dialog, she tells the old man to stop weeping and reminds him that "he is the leader", or tells him to show her various bank records.

Teater Koma's veteran actors Syaeful Anwar and Rita Matu Mona also display their long experience in theater as the old man's loyal servants Bandor and Wiluti, who stay loyal to the man they have served for 50 years.

The scene-stealers are certainly the birds. Led by a cockatoo named Daendels (Dorias Pribadi), the flock of birds, with catchy names like Nero, a turkey, Napoleon, a peacock, and Hitler, Polpot and Nimrod, three scarecrows, bring some light relief to a heavy plot with their dancing and singing to music prepared by Idrus Madani.

With the play, Teater Koma displays its consistency, including blending satire with humor while trying to dig deeper into social and economic gripes. These things are why the group attracts not only die-hard theater fans but also those who have never seen a play before.

Although some have criticized the group as being too commercial, Teater Koma always embarks on, as Nano puts it, "an endless search for innovative forms", winning a place in people's hearts while injecting society with theater appreciation.