Retno Maruti stages 'Sekar Pembayun'
Retno Maruti stages 'Sekar Pembayun'
JAKARTA (JP): She is just married and looks happy, but deep in
her heart, she is restless. She is torn between her love for her
husband and her devotion to her father.
She is Sekar Pembayun, daughter of Panembahan Senapati,
founder of the 16th century Mataram Islamic Kingdom and Mataram
dynasty. And she is brought to the stage by Retno Maruti and her
dance group Padneswara in a refined Javanese classical dance
drama entitled Sekar Pembayun, performed at Gedung Kesenian
Jakarta from Friday through Sunday.
Sekar Pembayun tells the story of political intrigue prior to
the establishment of the Mataram Kingdom, colored with a tragic
love story between Sekar Pembayun and Ki Ageng Mangir, an
influential leader who was also Senapati's great competitor.
Panembahan Senapati "uses" his smart and beautiful daughter to
attract the attention of Ki Ageng Mangir, his political rival.
Sekar Pembayun's mission is successful. Ki Ageng Mangir falls
deeply in love with his enemy's daughter. They are married and
look happy. But Sekar Pembayun is trapped between her true love
for her husband and her devotion to her father.
She has promised to bring her husband to Panembahan Senapati,
who wants to eliminate the power of Ki Ageng Mangir and, if
possible, to kill him.
"This is the story of a powerful man who exploits the soft and
gentle characteristics of a woman to pursue his political
ambition," Maruti said.
Maruti also staged Sekar Pembayun in 1979 and 1988.
"I like the theme of the story and I feel it is so relevant to
the current situation in Indonesia," said Maruti, who refused to
link Sekar Pembayun's character to any female political figure in
Indonesia.
Maruti admitted she has modified several parts of the story to
adjust it to current conditions. She has also changed a number of
acts which are not in line with newly found information on Sekar
Pembayun.
Maruti said the story, based on an idea by Amir Rohmiyato and
KRMT Sindunegoro, required some changes. "I have researched and
found new information on Sekar Pembayun's character from various
sources," she maintained.
Sekar Pembayun was formerly perceived as a woman who
sacrificed everything, including her beloved husband, to satisfy
her father's political goal.
"The truth is that she was a woman who, with her compassionate
and feminine personality, tried very hard to avoid any violence.
The previous story needed correction," Maruti said.
The last act shows the tragic meeting between the newlywed
Sekar Pembayun, Ki Ageng Mangir and Pembayun's father Panembahan
Senapati.
The dance involves 40 artists from the Padneswara group, the
Bharata group and a number of famous dancers, including Maruti,
her husband Sentot Sudhiharto, Maruti's daughter Ruri Nostalgia,
dancer-choreographer Miroto, Wahyu Santoso Prabowo and Nungki
Kusumastuti.
Nungki Kusumastuti, also production manager, explained the
group actually wanted to stage the work in October last year.
"But, we had to cancel it for various reasons, including
financial," Nungki said.
Staging traditional works requires hard effort. Money has
become a major problem for most traditional dance group in
Indonesia.
"It is very difficult to find sponsors to finance our project.
But it doesn't hamper us from staging Sekar Pembayun," Nungki
said.
But, she said, the group received support from individuals who
really care about the development of traditional performing arts.
To encourage the young generation to appreciate Javanese-style
dance, the group will perform especially for students, young art
lovers and journalists on Friday night. The show will be opened
for the public on Feb. 20 and Feb. 21.
"It is surprising that all tickets have been sold. This has
certainly encouraged us and probably other traditional dance
groups to remain optimistic," Nungki said.
For more than 20 years, Retno Maruti and the Padneswara group
have been staging high-quality Javanese classical works,
including Ciptoning, Abimanyu Gugur (The Death of Abimanyu),
Sawitri, Palgunadi and Dewabrata. (raw)