Teater Ketjil to perform 'Mega-Mega' at GKJ
Teater Ketjil to perform 'Mega-Mega' at GKJ
JAKARTA (JP): Jajang C. Noer and her Teater Ketjil will
perform Mega, Mega (Clouds) at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta from
Wednesday through Saturday.
The play was written by Jajang's late husband, Arifin C. Noor,
and first published in Horison literary magazine in 1967.
"Last year we planned to stage a series of Arifin's works to
mark the 1,000th day of his passing, but the plan failed to
materialize because of financial trouble," said Jajang, 46, who
has led Teater Ketjil since her husband's death in 1995.
Arifin established Teater Ketjil, literally meaning the small
theater, 36 years ago. The theater group, like W.S.Rendra's
Bengkel Teater (Theatrical Workshop) and Teguh Karya's Teater
Populer (Popular Theater), is considered the training ground for
many of Indonesia's film and television workers today.
Mega Mega is directed by Embi C. Noer, Arifin's younger
brother, who will also handle the musical arrangement. Noted
fashion designer Samuel Wattimena is in charge of costumes and S.
Prinka responsible for graphic design.
The play, which has been translated into English and Dutch and
staged in Europe, centers on poverty but without resorting to
sentimentality.
"Arifin was not a cheap playwright who would make poverty a
scapegoat," said Brig. Gen. (ret) Taufik Effendi, who was the
lead actor in the play in its debut performance in July 1969.
"In this play no one is to blame for poverty. To eradicate
poverty, one must place one's hope high in the sky, just like
clouds.
"So, Mega, Mega is about a never-ending process of searching,
an essential and universal story indeed."
In the upcoming performance, he will be a supporting actor
along with several other veteran Teater Ketjil actors and
actresses.
Set in a town square, Mega, Mega tells a story of the dreams
and hopes of Mae (Cinni Gunarwan), an old vagrant, Retno (Jajang
C. Noer), pickpocket Panut (Chondro Hernowo), Koyal the beggar
(Willem Patirajawane) and a couple, Hamung (Yus A. Ruslan) and
Tukijan (Ahmad Nugraha). They all present a recurring picture of
the age.