What's in A Play?

Many people wonder why a play is interesting enough for some people to see. I had the same question about ten years back. Watching people recite dialogs consisting complicated choice of words with more than one meaning. What's so alluring about that?

The idea of 'a play' in Indonesia is unlike what the Americans have in Broadway. How should I say it? A play in Indonesia is like why some people perform acid jazz and there seems no effort visible to make it a 'delectable' performing art for public to enjoy (correct me if I'm wrong). The acid jazz enthusiasts believe the purity of the tune needs no 'make up' and exclusive audience is acceptable. That's how I saw 'a play' as a performing art in Indonesia. A combination of self-expression and idealism.

I go crazy every time there's an announcement of a performance. Perhaps the sensation of it is also felt by my friend whenever he sees a movie ad. Getting the ticket for a play, however, is not as easy as for a movie. First, I have to make sure that the registration opens already and then I could transfer the money for ticket booking. Then, some more phone calls for ticket seat numbers, confirmations and stuff. It gets more challenging if I want to go with my friends because I have to text them and arrange the schedule when we all could watch together. No worries, I like doing it even though it could give me headaches at times. After all, it's better to watch it with friends, right? Sometimes the four-hour play can be so boring that we end up giving comments about the play instead of quietly watching it.

Oh yeah, watching a play is like gambling. You can be in a play where the music is so beautifully composed and the dialogs are easy to understand with great costumes. At other times you have to bear a five-hour play with long recitals from famous people which leaves you with admiration on how the players could memorize such long lines without going back stage. In one performance I went to, there's no music at all. The 'music' was when the dancers made sounds when they stomped their feet on the wooden floor or when they used bamboo poles to create the music of sadness. Other performance in different occasion used technology to give the lightning effect whenever there's a fighting scene. Honestly, it didn't do the play much except that the effects made me cover my eyes many times because they were too bright. One truly cannot decide the score until he watches it.


A little bit of sharing from last Tuesday's performance. It gave me a different feeling. It was light, fresh and was done in a relaxed way. When we arrived, the players were all on stage doing their own things. The group leader (Djaduk and Butet) went to the audience and had their photos taken by the audience before the play began. All players were on stage during the whole sequence of the performance. For me, the use of Javanese language gave a different feeling tingling inside. Some Javanese words are indeed irreplaceable in Bahasa Indonesia. Too bad it had a bad ending. Too bad also that it was only for two and a half hours. I am used to going home at 12 or 1 so going home at eleven was a bit too 'early' for me. Anyhow, it was a great performance. I'd love to see another one by Gandrik in the near future.