Upon midnight tonight
I shall send over an imperial carriage
To escort both of you
An imperial carriage, 10 horses, one color...

Quite the pair: Putu Wijaya (right) and Lisa Ristargi play a forgotten French professor and his wife, in The Imperial Carriage, a play inspired by Eugene Ionesco’s Les Chaises and adapted by the late WS Rendra, Indonesia’s most talented playwright. JP/Wendra Ajistyatama

Theater nowadays seems like an unlikely place to learn about love and life, with most people choosing to go to the cinema, or watch TV to get their daily dose of human-interest stories.

But love and life did materialize on stage last Sunday at the Jakarta Art Building (GKJ), in The Imperial Carriage, a play inspired by Eugene Ionesco’s Les Chaises and adapted by WS Rendra, Indonesia’s most talented playwright who passed away a year ago.

The Imperial Carriage was part of the Schouwburg Festival IX, which marked the anniversary of the GKJ, a historic building from the 19th century located near Pasar Baru Market.

The idea of building a hall of arts in Batavia came from the well-known governor General Daendels, and came to fruition thanks to Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles.

The celebrated building has good acoustics and balcony seats, with a stage resembling Vienna’s Volksoper, so was more than a suitable venue for a play like The Imperial Carriage.

The actors would be familiar to most: Putu Wijaya played the husband, Lisa Ristargi from Teater Cermin the wife, while Izoem was in charge of music and sound effects.

The stage was very simple, as simple as the play itself. A white backdrop, a red chair, and an old couple talking.

But the intensity of their relationship, reflected by their discussion, together with the sound effects and music, brought the audience into the world of Henri, a retired and forgotten French professor, and his wife. A mysterious voice told them recently that their time was finally up. By midnight that night, they would be picked up by an imperial carriage, drawn by 10 horses.

Given the time limit, the two chose to reflect upon their life. They took turns in comforting each other when they felt sad. While their actions may have seemed childish, and sometimes a bit naive, doesn’t love always make people do unbelievable things? Jumping around as a clown to cheer a sad loved one, or writing love notes on the fridge just to give your spouse a jolt of love? This was no different to the act played by the couple in this enjoyable, funny, and tragic part of the play.

When an imaginary “prime minister” came to their house, the couple pretended they were chatting away with him and other imaginary guests — generals, captains, ministers — who all visited the professor to give him a last tribute.

It was a tragic display of loneliness, because despite the professor’s many acquaintances, none of the guests were visible: all imaginary, all silent.

What the audience saw, was just the old professor — who dubbed himself “an old rat” — and his wife, busy running around, tidying up their wrecked house, chitchatting with invisible guests. It was again an ironic depiction of real life, where the elderly are often forgotten in the society, no matter how great their contributions are.

The emperor then made an entrance, sat on the red chair, and parted with some final comments. As he left, all the guests left too, leaving the house empty, just the old man and his wife. As loneliness started to seep in again, a loud knock was heard.

It was the imperial carriage, in the middle of the night, as soon as the moon disappeared from sight, drawn by 10 horses, one color. Their time had come.

Audience members were gripped to their seats as the performance ended with a blackout, followed by a cheerful applause.

Putu Wijaya’s acting, together with Lisa Ristargi who could match her counterpart’s reputation by her own insatiable performance, was a breath of fresh air. The play was simple, yet enjoyable.

We could feel WS Rendra’s portrayal of life and love with his naughty but sternly honest nature — a display of affection not bound by age, and a celebration of love while knowing the end is near. The play was funny, tragic at times, but poetic at best, just like life itself.

It reminded the audience of a few lessons in love and life, in a much more elegant way than the glittering make up and pretty faces of today’s television shows.

Rendra must have smiled, as he rode his imperial carriage, drawn by 10 horses, one color.

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