Search for talent and expression in local theater

Search for talent and expression in local theater

By Rita A. Widiadana

JAKARTA (JP): Dark clouds shadowed Indonesian theater in the
past month when the authorities banned performances of Ratna
Sarumpaet's monolog, Marsinah Menggugat (Marsinah Accuses), in
several cities in Java and Sumatra.

Their reason was the fear it could foment public unrest.

Scheduled to be staged in 11 cities including Surabaya,
Bandung and Lampung in southern Sumatra to mark the 27th
anniversary of the founding of the Foundation of the Indonesian
Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI), the 45-minute monolog was Ratna's
tribute to labor activist Marsinah.

The young woman was found raped and murdered in 1993 in the
East Java town of Sidoardjo, 25 kilometers from Surabaya.

Despite her anguish, Ratna, long interested in the cause of
women, and her theater group, Satu Merah Panggung, pledged they
would continue to battle to stage her work.

Supported by colleagues, Ratna planned to file suit against
National Police Chief Gen. Dibyo Widodo over the banning.

Several theater groups -- among them W.S. Rendra's Bengkel
Theater and Nano Riantiarno's Teater Koma -- have frequently had
performances called off, sometimes due to confusing citations
over social and security concerns.

Noted poet and playwright Rendra said the reliance on bannings
reflected the authority's immaturity and poor understanding of
the arts, and the character of existing regulations on local
performing arts.

Ratna said the ban was an "act of despotism" and violated the
1995 directive issued by the national police chief.

This stipulates that cultural events -- musicals, dance shows,
poetry recitations, opera, pantomime and plays -- do not require
police permission or prior notification of the authorities.

In reality, theater groups are often forced to obtain permits
before performances.

Threats

Riantiarno recalled having to "pass dozens of tables" in
different government agencies to get permits for shows. Sometimes
the permit, when forthcoming, was issued just minutes before the
production's scheduled start.

Radhar Panca Dahana, a poet and theater activist, said
Indonesian theater faced external and internal threats.

Aside from obstacles such as bannings, Radhar listed several
critical problems undermining its development.

Financial constraints and the few active talented actors and
playwrights have meant few groups can consistently stage quality
shows.

This is not due to a lack of attempts to solve the problems.
Numerous seminars, workshops and meetings have been held on the
issues. Lots of suggestions but no concrete follow-up is the
result.

Nevertheless, several theater groups have survived. One of
them is Teater Koma which celebrated its 20th anniversary last
March.

The group's endurability testifies to hard work and is a
phenomenon in modern Indonesian theater.

No other theater group in the country has produced 80 works
and attracted 16,000 people in a year to watch their
performances.

Many theater figures, however, have criticized Teater Koma's
works as being irreverent and too commercial, in the Western
jargon of modern theater.

Yet, this cannot detract from the group's contribution to
bridge the sizable gap between the mass audience appeal and the
elite theater circles.

They have made an important effort to inject theater
appreciation into a society more receptive to simple art and
entertainment which does not lead to knitted eyebrows.

Teater Koma's works like Suksesi (Succession), Opera Kecoa
(Cockroach Opera), Orang Kaya Baru (The New Rich) Rumah Sakit
Jiwa (Asylum), Maaf..Maaf, (Sorry..Sorry) and Wanita Wanita
Parlemen (Parliament Women), have provided many theater lovers
with a winning blend of theater, entertainment and contemplation.

Entertainment and Broadway-like glamor were found in an
adaptation of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, directed by
Joseph Ginting and A. Azuzan at the Taman Ismail Marzuki Arts
Center in July.

Teater Lembaga Stage group brought together several
celebrities: model and teleserial star Tamara Blezynski to play
Julius Caesar's wife Calphurnia, flamboyant couturier Harry
Dharsono for the costumes and designers Stephanus Hamy and Taruna
Kusmayadi to put glitter into the latest production.

Stigma

Despite the huge pre-performance hype, British dramatist
Michael Day praised Teater Lembaga's Julius Caesar as an
excellent interpretation of one of Shakespeare's most powerful
political plays.

In Indonesia, the theater bears the stigma of being
unprofitable, and big business is loathe to sponsor theatrical
projects. But Teater Lembaga's Julius Caesar was an exception.

The group spent no less than Rp 1 billion in production costs,
a vast amount for a local show. The money came from various
sources, including donors and the sale of tickets.

It was encouraging to see a joint effort of theater, fashion
and business community -- an effort which should have come long
ago.

Another joint venture, this time involving painters and
musicians, was organized to support Suyatna Anirun's Studiklub
Teater Bandung (STB)'s performance of Julius Caesar.

Nyoman Tusan and Hardiman were among the 38 painters who
exhibited and sold some of their artworks to help finance the
group's shows in Bandung, Surakarta and Jakarta.

Musicians Harry Roesli and Doel Soembang also helped out for
the latest production.

Both productions of Julius Caesar were exemplary and worth
seeing this year.

Several other performances of note were Pesta Terakhir (Last
Rites) by Satu Merah Panggung Theater group.

Like Ratna's previous works of Marsinah, Nyanyian Bawah Tanah
(l994) and Terpasung, the play focused on social injustice,
hypocrisy, abuse of power and corruption.

The plot of the 90-minute play, directed by and starring Ratna
herself, was quite simple, as was the setting.

Its strongest point was the dialog, not the acting.

What made the drama interesting was its interpretation of the
widening gap between the rich and the poor due to unequal
distribution of wealth, and the unfair practice of monopoly.

A different genre of the theater world are the groups among
workers. Their main goal is to raise awareness of workers' rights,
primarily among the workers themselves.

Teater Aneka Buruh, popularly known as Teater Abu, most of
whose members are factory workers, presented a worthy piece,
Mesin Baru (New Machine) at Bengkel Theater Rendra in Cipayung,
West Java.

Founded in 1993, Teater Abu was first organized by Yayasan
Perempuan Mardika, a non-governmental organization dealing with
issues affecting women workers. They followed in the steps of a
similar group set up under Sisbikum, another NGO working with
blue-collar workers.

Mesin Baru, directed by Margesti, was bold in its message.
The play was a collection of songs and dances offset by a serious
monolog on low wages and other unfair practices of employers.

A theater group of children, like that among workers, is still
rare.

In June, the Bela Studio group of children performed, dealing
with issues of importance to underprivileged youngsters.

The same month, Bela and Udik studios jointly performed Ojek
Payung (Umbrella Renters) -- a look at the lives of the
youngsters who rent out umbrellas for small change on rainy days.

A scene has an expatriate refusing the offer of an umbrella,
saying the child will get sick. "No, no, we never get sick sir,"
says the boy. "Take the umbrella and give me money." Bela Studio
provided some hope into the regeneration process of the fragile
theater world.

Foreign theater groups also enriched the local stage.

France's International Visual Theater (IVT) presented
Sophocles' tragedy Antigone at Taman Ismail Marzuki in April.

Sign

Unlike other adaptations of Antigone, IVT's production was
unique. The theater group, whose members include deaf artists,
experimented with a mixture of classical theatrical elements and
sign language.

This form using sign language was popular in the international
theater world in the early 1990s. Emboldened by the official
recognition of sign language in 1991, the artistic community has
expressed a renewed interest in sign language productions.

To share expertise with their Indonesian counterparts, the
group held a special workshop on sign language theater at the
Jakarta Arts Institute.

Festival November -- a special event set to celebrate TIM's
29th anniversary -- was a historic moment and a rare opportunity
to watch quality performances by veteran theater figures.

Teater Kecil, established by the late Arifin C. Noor, for
instance, presented a play inspired by the calamity of the thick
haze from forest fires, which thrust Indonesia into an unwanted
spotlight.

Serving as a comeback after a long absence, Teater Kecil's
production of Kok Bisanya Sih Kau Bakar Hutan Itu (How Dare You
Burn The Forests?) featured senior theater figures like
Ikranegara, Amoroso Katamsi, Arifin's widow, Jajang C. Noer,
Yuyun Wahyudi and music director Embie C. Noer. The play was rich
in satire on current social conditions.

The festival also featured other noted groups like Putu
Widjaya's Teater Mandiri, Teater Koma and Rendra's ensemble.

Putu presented his old work, Dar Der Dor, written in 1991 in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which also focuses on socioeconomic
problems.

Teater Koma also did Kala, a play about a greedy, mean
creature whose only wish is to devour everything.

The performance featured Nano Riantiarno, the founder of the
group, his wife, Ratna, and veteran actor Salim Bungsu.

W.S. Rendra also performed with his wife, Ken Zuraida, in
Kereta Kencana (Royal Carriage), an adaptation of Eugene
Ionesco's The Chair.

Despite the bans, modern Indonesian theater may probably still
be in safe hands. The groups tried to give their best lessons and
experience to the audience on what theater can teach people about
themselves and the society on the brink of the next millennium.

The themes may serve to elicit further contemplation of issues
which may have otherwise been overwhelming for many people.