Pram received international acclaim for his tetralogy — Bumi Manusia (This Earth of Mankind), Anak Semua Bangsa (Children of All Nations), Jejak Langkah (Steps) and Rumah Kaca (Glass House) — which he wrote while imprisoned on Buru Island by Soeharto’s New Order regime due to his alleged affiliation with the leftist and communist movement.

To commemorate Pram’s legacy, Titimangsa Foundation together with Yayasan Titian Penerus Bangsa will perform a theatrical play based on Bumi Manusia and Anak Semua Bangsa titled Bunga Penutup Abad (The Flower That Ends a Century).

The play tells the tale of Dutch concubine Nyai Ontosoroh and the Javanese boy, Minke, who fell in love with her daughter Annelies. The play centers on how Nyai Ontosoroh and Minke feel when Annelies returns to the Netherlands. Nyai Ontosoroh, who is worried about Annelies, sends one of her workers, Robert Jan Dapperste, to guard Annelies.

Dapperste sends letters to Nyai Ontosoroh and Minke to inform them of Annelies and the places she visits. The letters open up past memories.

One day, a letter from Dapperste informs the pair of Annelies’ death. A devastated Minke departs for Batavia to attend medical school, taking a painting of Annelies titled Bunga Penutup Abad, painted by his best friend Jean Marais.

Bunga Penutup Abad features well-known Indonesian actors — Reza Rahadian, as Minke, Lukman Sardi as Jean Marais, Chelsea Islan as Annelies and Happy Salma as Nyai Ontosoroh.

Apart from the cast, the director and crew are experienced and dedicated theater workers. Wawan Sofwan, directing Bunga Penutup Abad, has worked on several other adaptations of Pram’s works such as Mereka Memanggilku Nyai Ontosoroh.

Wawan’s crew includes Iskandar Loedin as artistic director, Allan Sebastian as stage manager, Deden Jalaludin Bulqini as multimedia manager, Aji Sangiaji as light manager, Ricky Lionardi on music, Deden Siswanto on costume and Ritchie Ned Hansel on graphics.

Wawan has stressed that all actors involved in the production must be fully committed and practice on a full-time basis.

“The actors agreed to not take on any other projects or jobs two weeks prior to the scheduled performance,” Wawan said.

The play is scheduled to take place at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta art center in Central Jakarta on Aug. 25 and 26.

Happy, the founder of Titimangsa Foundation and the producer of the play, said that she chose only the best actors and crew to work in the project because Pram deserved to have his works performed by the best.

“Pram is the only Indonesian writer to be nominated for a Nobel Prize in literature. No one has been able to take his place in our literary history. Around 200 of his books have been translated into tens of languages,” Happy explained.

“Pram’s great legacy is what I want to share with today’s young generation. We want to share it as a theater performance. The fact that the best Indonesian actors and actresses have decided to commit themselves to this project shows just how much Pram is appreciated,” she added.

— Photos by JP/Jerry Adiguna

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