TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
‘Opera Kecoa’ The litmus test for fear of expression
Victim: Roima, played by Bayu Dharmawan Saleh, recites a soliloquy over the death of Julini, played by Joind Bayuwinanda
Change Size
Victim: Roima, played by Bayu Dharmawan Saleh, recites a soliloquy over the death of Julini, played by Joind Bayuwinanda.
Thirty-one years ago, the ticket windows at arts and cultural Taman Ismail Marzuki, Central Jakarta, were smashed by people who couldn’t get in to watch Opera Kecoa (Cockroach Opera) by Teater Koma.
Seats had sold out a week earlier, forcing the troupe to add three more nights to the play’s season.
The hype surrounding the play loaded with social and political criticism was not only appealing to the public at that time, but also grabbed the attention of the authorities. As a result, the next show in neighboring Bandung, West Java, was stopped following a bomb threat that turned out to be a hoax.
In 1989, the theater company released a different play, Suksesi (Succession), which had never before seen the light of the day as it was banned from public stages. The following year, Opera Kecoa was banned from the Jakarta Playhouse although the play had been chosen by the Japan Foundation to travel to four Japanese cities and was performed at the Belvoir Theatre in Sydney, Australia, in 1992.
The controversial play finally made it to the stage in 2003, five years after the Reform Era, which changed the regime following a bleak period of economic crises in the region.
This week, Opera Kecoa will again greet the public from Nov. 10 to 20 at Graha Bhakti Budaya Theater in Taman Ismail Marzuki but with similar anxiety clouding the freedom of expression, like decades ago.
“If in the past the restrictions on performing came from the authorities, this time around the general public can exercise their power to do so based on likes or dislikes,” Teater Koma manager and producer Ratna Riantiarno said recently at the troupe’s workshop in Bintaro, Tangerang.
In the past few years, a number of performances and exhibitions at Taman Ismail Marzuki have been stopped by the authorities due to protests from certain organizations that believed the events would promote pornography or communism in society.
Previously the Jakarta Arts Council as the management of the arts and cultural center was responsible for requesting permits from the police before holding a public event inside the complex. Now the organizers are required to undergo the process themselves.
“We have to explain ourselves to the police now. But I believe the authorities, in this case the police, will uphold freedom of expression in the arts,” said Nobertus “Nano” Riantiarno, the scriptwriter and director of the play.
Opera Kecoa tells the story of people living on the street as thugs, beggars and sex workers, facing persecution and even death. The story revolves around Roima, a petty criminal, and his girlfriend, transgender sex worker Julini. Meanwhile, another character Tuminah, the prettiest female prostitute, dreams of quitting and marrying Roima.
Other characters in the play are Tarsih, who runs a brothel for poor sex workers; Tuminah’s brother Tibal; thug boss Kumis; Kumis’ minion Bleki; a local official who is a regular guest of Tuminah; and Tukang Sulap (The Magician) who lures people to buy cockroach repellent from him before they take over the world.
As the story progresses, the slum where the characters live burns to the ground, leaving many questions about how the fire started.
There is violence in the story. In the overture, Roima (Bayu Dharmawan Saleh) carries Julini (Joind Bayuwinanda), who died from a ricocheting bullet and was left in the gutter for days.
Nano said the play would be the original version, with music composed by the late Harry Roesli and rearranged by Fero Aldiansya Stefanus.
“The play is inspired by real events at that time and it can be a past portrait of the future,” said Nano.
“What happened in the past was violent and we really hope it won’t repeat itself in the future. People should always be able to express themselves with freedom.”
----------------------------------
‘Opera Kecoa’ by Teater Koma
Date: Nov. 10 to 20
Time: Starts at 7:30 p.m. except Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
Venue: Graha Bhakti Budaya Theater, Taman Ismail Marzuki
Tickets are available on loket.com for four seating classes, with prices ranging from Rp 100,000 (US$7.63) to Rp 400,000.
