West End Alumnus Choreographs 'Home Sweet Loan' Musical Adaptation
The film ‘Home Sweet Loan’ is being adapted into a musical theatre production through a collaboration between Visinema, Indonesia Kaya, and Jakarta Art House, with El Haq Latief, who has experience in London’s West End, appointed as one of the choreographers.
The choreographer, an alumnus of Indonesia Kaya’s first batch of the Ruang Kreatif Intensif Musikal Budaya (IMB) programme, previously played Helga, one of the Kit Kat Club dancers, and was part of the supporting cast in the West End production of the musical ‘Cabaret’ in London.
His involvement in ‘Home Sweet Loan The Musical’ began when he was contacted while still living in London by stage producer Fadli Hafizan and director Lisa Reideka.
‘Initially, Fadli, Lisa, and Idgitaf said, “Hey, would you choreograph this Home Sweet Loan musical?” So in the end, I tried to draft one choreography from the song “Berakhir di Aku”. I listened to it again and thought, “Wow, this is even heavier.” The inspiration actually came from the lyrics. The lyrics are truly beautiful but painful,’ El Haq explained during a press conference at Galeri Indonesia Kaya (GIK), Jakarta, on Thursday.
The work was carried out together with choreographer Nudiandra Sarasvati to depict the emotional ups and downs of the main character, Kaluna, as she faces the harsh realities of urban life.
‘I recently listened to all the songs on the plane. One of the cool things about this musical is that I feel I can work on all genres. But one thing I don’t want to do is box this musical into just one genre. That’s not possible, because as human beings, we experience so many different things in our lives, even in a single day—up and down, up and down. Just like Kaluna’s feelings,’ El Haq revealed.
The dance inspiration came directly from his experience of re-encountering the bustle of the capital city shortly after landing at the airport.
‘I had just arrived, was picked up, and saw the crazy motorbikes. That alone made me think, “That is so Jakarta’s hustle and bustle.” Then I went to Sambel Setan Benhil and saw people smoking during their lunch break from the office—different from smokers who actually work there. So the inspiration isn’t just from the text, but from the experience of living in Jakarta, in Indonesia, in the noise of Jakarta,’ said El Haq.
Yandi explained that the vocal harmony of the performers must be communicated intensively with the choreography team so that it remains realistic when executed by the actors on stage.
‘We collaborate with the dancers first. I can say to Nudiandra Sarasvati, “Nud, can this part be simplified a little, because the note is high—it’s impossible to hit that note while dancing.” Because the notes for dancing are quite difficult,’ said Yandi Brownsu.
The stage adaptation project is scheduled to run for 23 performances from 30 September to 18 October 2026 at Graha Bhakti Budaya, Taman Ismail Marzuki, Jakarta.