Theater performances sluggish despite no banning
Theater performances sluggish despite no banning
JAKARTA (JP): No banned theater performances but this year's
activities were sluggish, albeit interspersed with some good
performances.
Putu Wijaya's Geer, staged at the Schouwburg festival was
certainly among the best productions. With his group Theater
Mandiri, Putu staged Geer, a tragicomedy on the death and
resurrection of the eponymous protagonist and snobbery in his
family.
The play, which Putu himself wrote and directed, was first
performed here in l982. In l985, the play was staged in Madison,
Wisconsin, the United States, under the title Geez.
The theme of the play focuses on an individual's struggle for
freedom against the desires of corrupt people in a world where
material wealth and powerful position hide a thousand flaws.
In Geer which literally means roar or laughter, Putu has
succeeded in depicting human anguish with techniques commonly
used for comedy, thereby letting the audience easily digest the
difficult theme of the play while enjoying it as an entertaining
show.
Although Putu's presentation was not as good as his previous
works, he was, at least, willing to help develop the country's
performing arts.
Another performance was Teater Koma's Cinta yang Serakah
(Greedy Love), the company's 79th production.
It centers around the family of Triadi, the owner of several
large companies who never hesitates to justify his means of
amassing more wealth.
In Cinta yang Serakah, playwright/director Nano Riantiarno
tried to focus on serious dialog and a sparing use of skits to
criticize human greed and hypocrisy, as well as more down-to-
earth acting and character portrayals.
Despite his great efforts to remain true to realistic drama,
the audience may well have found the influence of Bertolt
Brecht's "epic theater" style, where members of the audience are
left to grapple with emotionless acting, exhausting.
In April, playwright Ratna Sarumpaet and her group Satu Merah
Panggung, staged Terpasung (Shackled), at Taman Ismail Marzuki
Arts Center. The play portrays the trauma and suffering of a rape
victim while protesting the male-dominated criminal justice
system.
Ratna has long been pondering women's rights issues and the
problems of a traditional society where men assume more dominant
roles. Despite some awkward performances and the absence of
experienced actors, except for Ratna, the play was well
presented.
A number of theatrical performances and monologues also
appeared at the November Festival. Teater Kubur and poet Danarto
presented Mengembalikan Kegembiraan Berpolitik. Ikranegara and
Abubakar from Teater Saja also presented some of their works, but
Teguh Karya failed to perform anything.
In October, Indonesian theater aficionados held the 11th
National Theater Forum in Taman Budaya Jawa Barat (West Java
Cultural Center) in Bandung.
The meeting, as usual, was attended by numerous prominent
theater figures such as Putu Wijaya, W.S. Rendra, Jacob Sumardjo,
Tatiek Maliyati, Suyatna Anirun, Sapardi Djoko Damono.
About 25 theater groups from several provinces including West
Java, Yogyakarta, Central Java, East Java, Bali, West Sumatra,
North Sumatra, South Sulawesi used the gathering as a showcase
for their theatrical endeavors.
Some theater observers and critics from neighboring countries
such as Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the
Philippines also participated in the event.
The gathering brought together theater people, government
officials and those involved in the performing arts to tackle
age-old problems that have been hampering the development of
theater in Indonesia.
The theater community hoped the government would stop banning
their creations. Complex and confusing bureaucratic procedures
often prevent local theater groups from developing as they might
wish. Unclear regulations over the issuance of permits for
various performing arts also cloud theater stages in the country.
Continual financial support from the government as well as the
private sector is also needed to boost theater activities in the
country.
In an era when the entertainment industry is dominated by
Hollywood films, radio and television programs and video games,
many people find theater less amusing and as a result audiences
are often limited.
Theater groups need a lot of money to produce and perform
plays. Sponsors are rarely found as they do not want to risk
their money on theater activities, especially those which explore
social and political issues.
Professional theater groups based in Jakarta like Nano
Riantiarno's Teater Koma, Putu Wijaya's Teater Mandiri and Teguh
Karya's Teater Popular have to work hard to finance their
productions, to say nothing of theater groups in provincial
areas.
The theater meeting discussed these problems and the committee
has set up special campaigns to encourage the development of
theater companies in provincial areas which are badly in need of
artistic as well as financial and managerial improvements.
The government and art institutions in the country have
promised to provide these provincial theater groups with training
and scholarships.
Other plans include holding annual regional-scale theater
festivals in each of the country's 27 provinces to provide forums
for local artists to perform their own creations.
The skeptics, however, thought the plans would not work
properly since the previous theater meetings had always produced
a heap of suggestions but hardly any follow-up action. (raw)