Putu Wijaya-led theatre to be staged in Egypt

At the invitation of the Cairo Festival for Experimental Theater (CIFET), the Jakarta-based Mandiri theater company is planning to stage their production of Zero, a social critique that chronicles the country's journey out of despondency.

Together with numerous experimental plays produced by theater companies from around the world, Zero will hit the CIFET stage in late September, Mandiri theater company said in a statement.

For the festival, Zero -- which had its debut at the 2003 Asia Meets Asia theater festival in Taiwan -- will have a new feature, a new score arranged by composer Tony Prabowo based on a poem by senior writer Goenawan Mohamad.

In previous productions, music for Zero was composed by late musician Harry Roesli.

Mandiri theater company, led by writer-cum-playwright Putu Wijaya has been known for its shock-and-awe method. Its technique tears down standard rule in theater by emphasizing on form rather than dialogue. -- JP