Taman Ismail Marzuki hosts Indonesian-European Puppet Week
Taman Ismail Marzuki hosts Indonesian-European Puppet Week
JAKARTA (JP): They're everywhere in the world, and have been
ever since man's fantasies, imagination and, of course, dexterity
led to their creation.
Puppets -- from Jakarta's giant ondel-ondel to the tiny "hand-
in-sock" and finger-operated Punch & Judy of England, Holland's
Jan Klaassen and France's guignol, have been delighting children
for centuries.
But puppetry is not for children only. It is a serious form of
theater art -- witness Indonesia's wayang kulit (leather
puppets), which are far, far older than wayang wong (human
actors). In fact, wayang wong's accouterments and movements
follow that of wayang kulit. Then there's Japan's bunraku, with
its very life-like puppets, manipulated by men covered from head
to toe in black robes.
It's the serious side of puppetry that will be on show for 10
days at Taman Ismail Marzuki's Teater Arena and Teater Tertutup,
from May 24 to June 2. The event, the Indonesian-European Puppet
Week 1994, is jointly organized by the Indonesian National
Secretariat of Puppetry, Sena Wangi, Centre Culturel Francais,
Goethe Institut, Erasmus Huis, The British Council and the
Cultural Section of the embassy of Switzerland.
The idea to juxtapose Indonesian and European puppetry and
their respective heritages and traditions actually came about two
years ago. The uniqueness of the event is that whereas Indonesian
puppet theater, which includes all types of wayang, has strong
links with religion and spirituality, European puppet theater,
through the works of writers and philosophers, unravels all there
is about mankind's strengths and weaknesses, vices and virtues,
dreams and nightmares, hope and despair.
The troupes of the participating countries are: from Germany
-- the Duesseldorfer Marionetten Theater; from France -- the
Temps Fort Theatre; the British Faulty Optics group; the
Aaptheater from the Netherlands; Switzerland's Margrit Gysin
while Indonesia is represented by the Wayang Kulit Kontemporer
group led by Kasman and the Wayang Golek Kontemporer group
directed by Asep S. Sunarya.
All groups have a wealth of story material at their disposal,
ranging from centuries old sagas like the Mahabharata (Indonesia)
to products that involve 20th century 3-D film animation (Faulty
Optics). Performances that do not contain dialog (Theatre Fort),
others that do (Aaptheater), and two that are based on operas
(Duesseldorfer Marionetten Theater). De la Fontaine, Mozart,
Orff, and the brothers Grimm are some of the authors and
composers whose works have provided the inspiration for the
groups.
Schedule
The performance schedule is as follows: May 24-25, Temps Fort
Theatre at Teater Arena (8 p.m.); May 26-27, Duesseldorfer
Marionetten Theater at Teater Tertutup (3 p.m. and 8 p.m.); May
28, Traditional Wayang Kulit at the President Hotel (8 p.m., by
invitation only); May 29, Faulty Optics at Teater Arena (3 p.m.
and 8 p.m.); May 30, Aaptheater at Teater Arena (3 p.m. and 8
p.m.); May 31, Contemporary Wayang Kulit at Teater Arena (8
p.m.); June 1, Margrit Gysin at Teater Arena (3 p.m. and 8 p.m.)
and June 2, Contemporary Wayang Golek at Teater Arena (8 p.m.).
Entrance fees for the performances are Rp 3,000 for the 3 p.m.
shows and Rp 5,000 for the 8 p.m. performances.
The week also includes two lecture demonstrations -- one held
by the Temps Fort Theatre at Teater Arena on May 25 at 10 a.m.,
and the other by the Duesseldorfer Marionetten Theater at Teater
Tertutup on May 28 also at 10 a.m. A workshop will be held by
Faulty Optics and Aaptheater at the Teater Tertutup on May 31 at
10 a.m.
-- Gus Kairupan