Two sides: Performers stand on stage in a scene from Theater Garasi’s Yang Fana adalah Waktu. Kita Abadi, performed in Yogyakarta. (Photo courtesy of Budi ND Dharmawan)

Teater Garasi’s upcoming play Yang Fana adalah Waktu. Kita Abadi (Time is transient. We are eternal) tells a story of order and disorder. Although these two things may appear contradictory, we are asked to see things differently — to rethink the way we see order.

“After 1998, we’ve seen a lot of progress. We’ve become more democratic and more open than before. But then, it’s as if, we have to relearn everything. Our journey to understanding what order and disorder stand for is far from over,” play director Yudi Ahmad Tajudi said.

Yang Fana adalah Waktu. Kita Abadi is a part of Teater Garasi’s collective art projects, which have been going on since 2008. Along the way, they previously presented Je.ja.lan and Tubuh Ketiga, which focused on how the situation after the end of the New Order in 1998 created and revealed tension and violence.

“We’re really happy to be able to perform after three long years of practice and preparation. We all live in different cities so we’d practice on our own and gather once a month to consolidate our ideas,” Gunawan Maryanto, one of the leading actors in the play, said.

The performance explores order through a couple of major themes. It explores how wars, economic inequality, politics and tension between religious beliefs become the primary forces that drive the lives of many Indonesians. The play itself is filled with scenes signifying everyday life, such as voices of the mumblings and rumblings of the city life, the sounds of car engines and vehicles beeping.

The story centers on Rosnah, a former migrant worker who joins the mass exodus to celebrate Idul Fitri with her family. Soon after arriving home, she is flooded with various disturbing facts, like her older brother leaving for Afghanistan, her younger sibling’s obsession with performing the call to prayer or adzan, her mother’s washing sink, her neglected young child and her father’s bird-hunting hobby. Meanwhile, a cat killer is roaming outside.

Order itself has been explored throughout the ages by many philosophers. It leads to questions and more questions regarding the existence of God, why we are, who we are, who should have more power and how society should be organized.

“We want people to reflect on order and its impact on ourselves and our life as a whole. There may be a chance that what we call disorder actually has its own order that should be respected. The values we choose to uphold will determine how we see ourselves and the people around us,” Yudi said.

The two upcoming plays in Jakarta follow a successful performance in Yogyakarta.

Yudi promised to present new scenes, new visualizations and deeper theme in the upcoming shows, which involved a lot of young talents who provided fresh ideas during the creation process.

“The result is a story that mesmerizes me!” he said of the play, which is supported by Bakti Budaya Djarum Foundation and the Creative Economy Agency.

“We hope that art can help the audience to reflect more on the lives they’re living. On a bigger scale, we hope that art will contribute to the construction of a more compassionate society,” Yudi said.

— The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post

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Yang Fana adalah Waktu.
Kita Abadi

26 July 2016
4:30p.m.
Auditorium Gedung IX
FIB Universitas Indonesia
Jl. Prof. Dr. Selo Soemardjan, Depok

30-31 July 2016
8:00p.m.
Goethe-Institut Jakarta
Jl. Dr. Sam Ratulangi No. 9-15, Menteng, Jakarta

For more information, please contact Lusi on +62821 3677 0900 or Mitae on +62811 9252 923

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