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View all search results‘Mencari Semar’: Teater Koma seeks ancient wisdom in the digital age
The play unfolds in the futuristic realm of the Nimacha Empire, where humans are gradually being overpowered by droids and robots.
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Futuristic Semar: Cast members of 'Mencari Semar' pose with director Rangga Riantiarno (top, third left), scenographer Deden Bulqini (top, fourth left), Bakti Budaya Djarum Foundation’s program manager Billy Gamaliel (top, center) and Teater Koma’s cofounder Ratna Riantiarno (top, fourth right) on July 31, 2025, after attending a press conference at Galeri Indonesia Kaya in Jakarta. JP/Sylviana Hamdani (JP/Sylviana Hamdani)
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rotesque yet sacred, mischievous yet divine, Semar is one of the most intriguing figures in Javanese mythology. With his flat nose, pot belly and sagging features, he cuts a comical figure in classical wayang. Yet beneath his humble façade lies a celestial being—a former god sent down to Earth, not to rule, but to serve. As an advisor to kings, Semar embodies a precarious moral counterbalance to ambition and excess.
This enigmatic figure now takes center stage in Teater Koma’s 235th production.
Titled Mencari Semar (Seeking Semar), the play, presented in collaboration with Bakti Budaya Djarum Foundation, is staged at Ciputra Artpreneur in Jakarta from Aug. 13 to 17.
“Semar is not just an important figure in wayang,” said Rangga Riantiarno, playwright and director of the production, during a press conference at Galeri Indonesia Kaya on July 31. “He also represents the people’s voice, the guardian of truth and the incarnation of ancient wisdom, something we need more than ever today.”
The inspiration for the play, Rangga explained, came from observing how people increasingly rely on technology in their daily lives.
“Today, people tend to rely on AI [artificial intelligence] for everything, placing more trust in it than anything else,” he said. “As a result, they begin to lose their conscience and turn into something robotic.”
