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.