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'Peer Gynts di Larantuka' depicts anxieties in globalized world
An adaptation of a classical play from Norway captivates the audience thousands of miles away in East Flores.
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Darkness surrounds her: Sri Lankan performer Venuri Perera appears on stage to express her anxieties as a citizen of conflict- prone Sri Lanka. (JP/Bambang Muryanto)
T
eater Garasi troupe director Yudi Ahmad Tajudin was at the city park in Larantuka, the capital of East Flores regency, when the sun began to set behind the region’s Mount Ilen Mandiri.
He was waiting for his troupe members, Venuri Perera, Takao Kawaguchi, Yasuhiro Morinaga and Mikari. Perera is from Sri Lanka while Kawaguchi, Morinaga and Mikari are from Japan. Together, they were going to rehearse for an upcoming performance at the park.
The park is on the edge of the Lewotobi Strait, with its blue waters separating Flores Island and Adonara Island. Facing Yudi was a small stage, set up for the performance on the shore bank adjacent to a berth for the boat that carries Tuan Manino (Little Jesus). Together the boat and Tuan Manino are a vital element of the local’s Easter procession called Semana Santa, which has been celebrated for around 500 years.
During the rehearsal, Adonara Island with its hills and fishing boats sailing on the strait apparently posed as the backdrop of the stage, which was also designed to look like a ship in order to blend in with local conditions and conform to the storyline of the play.
“When I was sitting on this bank in 2017, I imagined a Portuguese fleet passing the sea in the 16th century, and now everything has changed,” Yudi said.
