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number of artists from various disciplines are set to perform together in a staging of a theatrical performance based on the poetry of Leon Agusta.

That performance is Kapal Penyeberangan Hukla, which can roughly be translated to “long painful journey”, with kapal referring to the journey. Hukla is a sound referring to intense emotion or expression.

“A number of poems in the 235 pages conveyed the sound ‘hukla’ as a prerequisite. Strangely, ‘hukla’ does not convey a whole, unblemished meaning, but celebrates a variety of meanings,” literature expert Damhuri Muhammad said in his paper “Bersetia Dengan Sunyi, Kekal Dalam Bunyi”, which discusses Leon Agusta and his works.

Damhuri was referring to the latest book of Leon’s poems, Gendang Pengembara.

“This is the first theatrical poetry performance that Leon has undertaken since the early 1980s. He is dedicating it to Asrul Sani and Chairil Anwar, two literary figures who haveinspired him through his career as a poet, theatrical script writer, short story writer and novelist,” an announcement about the performance said.

Kapal Penyeberangan Hukla is scheduled to play on Tuesday and Wednesday at Graha Bhakti Budaya at Taman Ismail Marzuki. It will involve a number of art forms including movement and music.

Leon was born in 1938 in Sigiran, West Sumatra, and has published a number of poetry books, including Lagu Hujan dari Tenggara and Catatan Putih.

He is slated to be at the show.

Those involved in the performance include poet Afrizal Mana and Jose Rizal Manua, actor Teuku Rifka Wikana, as well as The Body Nothing Performance. Aidil Usman is directing the work. Ticket prices, which include a copy of Gendang Pengembara, start at Rp 75,000 (US$8.18).