Teater Koma to stage 'Sampek Engtay'

JAKARTA (JP): Teater Koma, one of the country's most prolific theater groups, will present its latest production next week in a performance the play's producer said on Thursday would be enlivened by the Chinese lion and dragon dances which were banned under the government of former president Soeharto.

The play, Sampek Engtay, based on the classic Chinese love story Liang Sanpe Chu Yingtay, will run from Nov. 20 to Nov. 24 at Jakarta's most modern theater, Teater Tanah Airku in Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, East Jakarta.

Although Teater Koma performed the play in 1977 and 1989, director Riantiarno said this performance would present the play in its unabridged form by including the barongsai, or lion dance.

During the Soeharto era, all things Chinese were banned on the grounds that they could hamper the assimilation of Indonesians of Chinese descent into the local culture.

Sampek Engtay is the story of Engtay, a young village girl whose ambition is to gain a higher education in feudal China, where women were barred from entering universities. The girl, determined to achieve her goal, disguises herself as a man and travels to a large town where she can continue her studies.

Along the way, Engtay meets a poor but handsome and studious young man, Sampek, with whom she immediately falls in love. Sanpek treats her as his "brother", but when he realizes Engtay is a woman, he falls in love with her.

But love is not a bed of roses for this couple from different social worlds. Engtay's father wants his daughter to marry a rich landlord, and Sampek, broken-hearted, falls ill and dies, causing Engtay to fall into a deep sadness.

Death, however, cannot separate the lovers, and their souls transform into two butterflies and fly to heaven.

Three months in preparation and supported by 75 players and crew, excluding the two groups performing the dragon and lion dances, the play will run for around three hours.

"Compared to the past performances, this one will be more lively thanks to the stage facilities provided by Teater Tanah Airku," Riantiarno said, adding that he wants to maximize the use of the sophisticated lighting system and hydraulic stage of the theater, which was opened early last year.

Of the groups more than 80 productions, Sampek Engtay, which Riantiarno has set in Indonesia, will be Teater Koma's first at Teater Tanah Airku. Ticket prices range from Rp 25,000 to Rp 75,000. (ego)