Shock of the new in Jakarta production of 'Julius Caesar'

Shock of the new in Jakarta production of 'Julius Caesar'

By Yenni Kwok

JAKARTA (JP): The mob cannot care less when Cinna the poet
pleads he is not the traitor they are searching for in William
Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. "Tear him for his bad verses! Tear
him for his bad verses!" they shriek defiantly.

Jakarta Arts Institute's Teater Lembaga, set to perform the
play next week, knows this scene only too well. They realize,
too, that they are just like the poet Cinna, needing the public's
endorsement of their production to succeed.

True, high-profile names are backing their 22nd production,
scheduled to be staged from July 11 to July 13 at Graha Bhakti
Budaya, Taman Ismail Marzuki Art Center in Central Jakarta.
Respected actor Didi Petet will play the lead. Model Tamara
Blezynski is Calphurnia, Caesar's wife. Sigit Hardadi, noted for
his specialty of playing antagonistic characters, is the
manipulative Cassius.

Joseph Ginting and Azuzan JG are directing the production
involving more than 70 actors and actresses. Fashion designer
Harry Dharsono labored over the costumes.

The celebrity glitz is merely icing on the cake for the
resurgence in this Shakespeare play. With a recent production of
Julius Caesar by a theater group in Bandung, an aborted one by
W.S. Rendra's Teater Bengkel and one being planned by a Malaysian
theater academy, this tragedy seems to be part of a theatrical
craze.

Why Julius Caesar and why now?

"Julius Caesar has a relevance to our current situation,"
Azuzan told The Jakarta Post. "It talks about leadership -- what
an ideal leader is, how someone can make a change and who should
decide about the change."

He chooses his words carefully when asked if he believes the
play carries future portents. "What happens in a theater will
only happen there. It won't happen outside the theater," he said.

Written by Shakespeare in 1599, Julius Caesar is based on
actual
historical events which occurred in 44 B.C. in Rome. Teater
Lembaga moved the setting into an unknown country, and Harry's
colorful, extravagant costume designs are indeed a world away
from Rome's simple and basic styles. Art designer Boyke Mulyana
built a bamboo stage structure in place of Roman architecture.

Teater Lembaga also chose Ikranegara's Indonesian adaptation
of Julius Caesar, instead of Asrul Sani's. "Ikranegara's language
is more colloquial," Joseph said.

The setting may not be ancient Rome, the language is not
Shakespearean English, but the plot still follows the
playwright's general guidelines.

Aging tyrant Caesar is at the apex of his power. He wins every
battle to the delight of the adoring people. He is offered the
crown. Cassius (Sigit Hardadi) and Casca (Fuad Idris), his fellow
military leaders, fume with jealousy. Arguing that they should
protect the integrity of the Republic, they persuade the noble
Brutus (Ucok Siregar), Caesar's trusted friend, to join their
conspiracy to murder their leader.

Believing the pair's entreaties that killing Caesar will save
the nation from destruction, Brutus assassinates the leader.

But Mark Antony (Robinsar Simanjuntak) and other Caesar
loyalists do not stand idly by. They turn popular opinion against
the conspirators, who are killed.

Colors

Azuzan likens the directing experience with his friend Joseph
to "two artists who paint on the same canvas".

"We make the sketch together, and we paint our own colors,"
he said.

What if the colors clash? "Both of us come from the same
institution, the Jakarta Arts Institute, so our basic principle
is the same," Azuzan replied.

Like their previous productions, Julius Caesar is a reunion
for Teater Lembaga's Art Institute (IKJ) students and alumni.
Founded by Indonesian theater figures, the late Wahyu Sihombing,
Tatiek Malyati, D. Djajakusuma and Pramana Padmodarmaya in 1975,
Teater Lembaga has functioned as a laboratory for IKJ students
and alumni in their theatrical experiments.

For veteran actor Didi, who is also an IKJ alumnus, Teater
Lembaga provides a rare opportunity to play his favorite
Shakespearean characters.

Dream

The role of Julius Caesar was Didi's obsession. "A couple
of years ago when I heard Joseph Ginting wanted to stage Julius
Caesar, I told him, 'Joseph, I should be the Julius Caesar'."

Brutus is one of the most complex characters in the play.
Although he joins the conspiracy and murders Caesar, he does not
fall into the conventional definition of an antagonist.

"Brutus is, in fact, a good man. He is willing to sacrifice
himself for other people's sake. He sacrifices himself for the
nation," said Azuzan, who also plays senator Cicero in this
production.

Young actor Ucok Siregar has the formidable task of playing
Brutus among experienced peers like Didi and Sigit. "Julius
Caesar offers a chance for young actors to learn from the more
experienced ones and to play important roles," said Azuzan.

Julius Caesar is in many ways a man's play as most of the
scenes revolve around the male characters. It only has two female
characters, Calphurnia and Portia, Brutus' wife, but their roles
are limited to a few acts.

But the entrance of Calphurnia will be one of the most heavily
anticipated simply because of Tamara, model and star of a dozen
television series.

"We read in a tabloid that Tamara was interested in acting on
stage. We offered her the role of Calpurnia because IKJ lacks
actresses," said Jeremias Nyangoen, chairman of Teater Lembaga.

"Tamara wants to polish her acting skills because, after all,
theater is the basis of acting," he added.

This clever move to sign up popular stars has sparked much
interest in this usually non-glamorous field. Big names do sell.
Names like Didi and Tamara have media and corporate sponsors
pouring in. Local TV station ANTeve plans to broadcast the
performance later this month.

For theater people, the entrance of popular culture into their
field is part of their struggle to survive and gain more public
acknowledgment. "The theater is poor, but we should not stop
fighting," Jeremias said.