'Terpasung' puts the trauma of rape on the stage
'Terpasung' puts the trauma of rape on the stage
By Oei Eng Goan
JAKARTA (JP): A recent surge in the number of rape cases has
the public calling for harsher punishment for convicted rapists,
whose victims are not just adult women but now include children
and the elderly.
A keen observer of this ugly trend is the up-and-coming
playwright Ratna Sarumpaet. In her play Terpasung (Shackled),
playing until Monday at the Taman Ismail Marzuki Arts Center
(TIM), Ratna depicts the trauma and suffering of a rape victim
while protesting the male-dominated criminal justice system.
"Rapists went on the rampage recently. I believe that the
theme of my play will be of interest to the general public and
to those people whose rights are trampled almost every day,"
Ratna told The Jakarta Post at TIM's Teater Arena last Tuesday.
Ratna said that for years she has been pondering women's
rights issues and the problems of a traditional society where men
assume more dominant roles.
Terpasung -- whose cast includes more than a dozen players as
well as Ratna herself, who also directs the play -- is about a
tragedy that befalls the family of a district official.
Ratih (played by Meilyn Hutahean) is frightened and becomes an
introvert after being raped by three men who broke into her
house. Her father, Sukoco (Syahrul), a high-ranking official,
won't report the crime because he thinks it would be a disgrace
to the family. Instead, he tries to ignore the incident despite
the suffering of his eldest daughter.
Sukoco's word is law, by which his family must abide. Mrs.
Sukoco (Ratna Sarumpaet), despite her love for her grown-up
daughters, does nothing to relieve Ratih's suffering. She later
agrees to her husband's plan to marry off the forlorn Ratih to
Agung (Dewa), the girl's lover who is ignorant of the tragedy.
Ajeng (Esty Sutyoko), Ratih's younger sister and the most
defiant of Sukoco's three children, protests the plan and
persuades her mother to reveal the truth and seek justice.
"Mother, you have to do something to help poor Ratih. What
will happen to her if one of the rapists had a venereal disease?
Think of it mother," thus Ajeng protests.
The planned wedding, however, goes on. Mrs. Sukoco, feeling
guilty about her indifference towards Ratih and dishonored by
Ajeng's attitude, secretly runs away from the family. And poor
Ratih, in the end, carries her illegitimate child in her arms
while the voice of a muezzin is vaguely heard in the distance,
praising the greatness of Allah.
This is the second performance based on a local incident
presented by the Satu Merah Panggung theatrical group led by
Ratna. Marsinah, the first play depicting the anguish of female
workers, was staged in September 1994.
Like the first presentation, Terpasung is also presented with
a minimal use of stage props, thereby demanding the most of the
players' acting skills and the ability to project their lines.
With a small divan at the center of the stage and eight ropes
which loosely hung at each corner of the divan and the stage, the
props succeeded in giving the audience an impression of walls
imprisoning the characters.
A choral group of 10 people represents the underprivileged
majority airing their protest of social injustices supports the
theme of the play, which runs for two hours and will be staged
over the next two weeks in Bandung and Surakarta.
Despite some awkward performances and the absence of
experienced theatrical actors, except for Ratna, the play was
well presented thanks to the director's strict timetable for
rehearsal and guidance.
Esty and Meilyn, for example, carried out their roles fairly
well, with the former portraying a young girl who longs for women
to have the right to freely express themselves and the latter a
rape victim who needs someone who will truly understand her
sufferings as well as give her the courage to face the grizzly
facts of life.
By Oei Eng Goan
JAKARTA (JP): A recent surge in the number of rape cases has
the public calling for harsher punishment for convicted rapists,
whose victims are not just adult women but now include children
and the elderly.
A keen observer of this ugly trend is the up-and-coming
playwright Ratna Sarumpaet. In her play Terpasung (Shackled),
playing until Monday at the Taman Ismail Marzuki Arts Center
(TIM), Ratna depicts the trauma and suffering of a rape victim
while protesting the male-dominated criminal justice system.
"Rapists went on the rampage recently. I believe that the
theme of my play will be of interest to the general public and
to those people whose rights are trampled almost every day,"
Ratna told The Jakarta Post at TIM's Teater Arena last Tuesday.
Ratna said that for years she has been pondering women's
rights issues and the problems of a traditional society where men
assume more dominant roles.
Terpasung -- whose cast includes more than a dozen players as
well as Ratna herself, who also directs the play -- is about a
tragedy that befalls the family of a district official.
Ratih (played by Meilyn Hutahean) is frightened and becomes an
introvert after being raped by three men who broke into her
house. Her father, Sukoco (Syahrul), a high-ranking official,
won't report the crime because he thinks it would be a disgrace
to the family. Instead, he tries to ignore the incident despite
the suffering of his eldest daughter.
Sukoco's word is law, by which his family must abide. Mrs.
Sukoco (Ratna Sarumpaet), despite her love for her grown-up
daughters, does nothing to relieve Ratih's suffering. She later
agrees to her husband's plan to marry off the forlorn Ratih to
Agung (Dewa), the girl's lover who is ignorant of the tragedy.
Ajeng (Esty Sutyoko), Ratih's younger sister and the most
defiant of Sukoco's three children, protests the plan and
persuades her mother to reveal the truth and seek justice.
"Mother, you have to do something to help poor Ratih. What
will happen to her if one of the rapists had a venereal disease?
Think of it mother," thus Ajeng protests.
The planned wedding, however, goes on. Mrs. Sukoco, feeling
guilty about her indifference towards Ratih and dishonored by
Ajeng's attitude, secretly runs away from the family. And poor
Ratih, in the end, carries her illegitimate child in her arms
while the voice of a muezzin is vaguely heard in the distance,
praising the greatness of Allah.
This is the second performance based on a local incident
presented by the Satu Merah Panggung theatrical group led by
Ratna. Marsinah, the first play depicting the anguish of female
workers, was staged in September 1994.
Like the first presentation, Terpasung is also presented with
a minimal use of stage props, thereby demanding the most of the
players' acting skills and the ability to project their lines.
With a small divan at the center of the stage and eight ropes
which loosely hung at each corner of the divan and the stage, the
props succeeded in giving the audience an impression of walls
imprisoning the characters.
A choral group of 10 people represents the underprivileged
majority airing their protest of social injustices supports the
theme of the play, which runs for two hours and will be staged
over the next two weeks in Bandung and Surakarta.
Despite some awkward performances and the absence of
experienced theatrical actors, except for Ratna, the play was
well presented thanks to the director's strict timetable for
rehearsal and guidance.
Esty and Meilyn, for example, carried out their roles fairly
well, with the former portraying a young girl who longs for women
to have the right to freely express themselves and the latter a
rape victim who needs someone who will truly understand her
sufferings as well as give her the courage to face the grizzly
facts of life.