Theater group hails 'Julius Caesar' with Sundanese accent
By Yenni Kwok
JAKARTA (JP): The audience expected a conservative approach in Studiklub Teater Bandung's production of Julius Caesar.
"I wanted to watch a Julius Caesar with no thighs," pledged a journalist before the performance last week at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta.
STB's take on Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, which has visited cities across Java and Bali since last July, made its last stop with performances in Jakarta on Sept. 9-10.
It gave Jakarta's theater public the chance to compare it with the Jakarta Arts Institute's production a couple of months ago. That one was decidedly high-profile, mostly because of actress- model Tamara Bleszynski in the role of Calphurnia, Caesar's wife.
Her appearance in a high-cut, thigh-revealing nightgown, designed by famous fashion designer Harry Dharsono, did indeed make a unique mark in Indonesian theater history.
STB's performance was the extreme opposite. No famous, sexy actresses. No outrageous costumes.
As one of the oldest theater groups around, Studiklub Teater Bandung (STB) took a very conventional approach.
"We have a stance: classical music should be performed as a classical piece," director Suyatna Anirun told The Jakarta Post. "A classical theater piece should also be performed classically."
STB tried to stage Julius Caesar as realistically as, or in this case, as true to the Roman theme as possible. The actors and actresses were dressed in togas and waved palm leaves. Roman pillars and statues adorned the stage.
Ironically, as hard as they tried not to be over the top, the performance failed to take off altogether.
They failed to bring any spirit at all in the transference of Roman historical tragedy to the contemporary Jakarta stage.
Wooden acting made for hardly any chemistry between the actors.
Trap
In Asrul Sani's translation of the Bard's piece, the actors were challenged to utter rather literary, non-colloquial lines.
This was where the trap lay. They delivered their lines unemotionally, sometimes muffled by their Sundanese accents.
The aging Caesar (Mohammad Sunjaya) is at the height of his power. Bringing home victory after victory, he is venerated by his people. So great is their love for him that they offer him the title of emperor.
Other politicians are jealous. Caius Cassius (Didin Siroz) convinces Caesar's confidante, Marcus Brutus (Yusef Muldiyana), that the republic is in danger. Brutus believes Cassius and agrees to join the conspiracy to kill Caesar.
Nevertheless, his selfless desire to save the state is to no avail. Caesar's loyalists, Marc Anthony (Wawan Sofwan) and Octavius Caesar (Teddy S. Octora), turn the people against Brutus and Cassius. Civil war breaks out, and the cornered Cassius and Brutus finally choose to kill themselves rather than face the humiliation of being captured.
Veteran actor Sunjaya, whose figure resembles the commonly held image of the slim, aquiline-nosed Julius Caesar, took the title role. However, Sunjaya lacked charisma as the aging and victorious tyrant. Most of the time, he just looked puzzled.
There was hardly any chemistry between the conspirators Cassius and Brutus. Didin and Yusef did not light any sparks as the two characters plan, succeed and fail in their conspiracy.
Marc Anthony's powerful speech is the play's turning point. He manipulates the people, persuading them that Caesar was a good man, while the enemies were in fact Brutus and the conspirators.
However, as Marc Anthony, Wawan's speech fell flat. His voice was not powerful and lacked persuasion.
The most enjoyable scenes took place on the battlefield, where soldiers of Caesar's loyalists and the conspirators flexed their muscle.
The red cloth backdrop was waved and rippled. The lighting was minimal, almost dark. The audience could only see the silhouette of the soldiers on stage.
While they manipulated their swords and spears, their movements resembled a wayang orang (Javanese traditional dance) performance.
Suyatna acknowledged this because "we originate from people's traditional theater."
He should have adopted the entire traditional spirit into the play. As STB tried to stay faithful to the Roman elements, the play lacked emotions.
After all, who needs to find ways to Rome if the answer is here in our own backyard?