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.
Playwright N. Riantiarno, cofounder of Teater Koma, dies at 73
The actor, playwright and fixture of Indonesian theater has passed away at 73.
Change Size
L
eading playwright, actor, director and all-around artist Norbertus Riantiarno, known best as N. Riantiarno or “Nano”, died on Friday morning in his home at the age of 73.
The news was shared by his family on the Teater Koma Instagram account, as well as on the account of the late artist himself.
“Norbertus ‘Nano’ Riantiarno, a beloved husband, father, and teacher of ours has returned to our Father in Heaven,” @teaterkoma’s Instagram story read. “Please forgive all his misdeeds.”
Nano had been hospitalized since Dec. 27 at Dharmais Cancer Hospital in West Jakarta for cancer treatment.
“We returned home on Monday and got outpatient treatment instead [...]. Because of his heart condition, getting [further invasive treatment] was risky,” Nano’s son Rangga Riantiarno told detik.com.
Born in Cirebon, West Java, on June 6, 1949, Norbertus “Nano” Riantiarno was a prominent actor in film and theater. He attended the Indonesian National Theatre Academy (ATNI) in Jakarta after high school and was one of the pupils of award-winning director Teguh Karya. Nano helped establish Teguh’s theater company Teater Populer and starred in some of his films, such as the 1973 romance Cinta Pertama (First Love).
Also a prolific novelist, poet and screenwriter, Nano was best known as the founder of one of Indonesia’s biggest theater troupes, Teater Koma, on March 1, 1977, which went on to produce an extensive list of plays from Rumah Kertas (Paper House) in 1977 to Tanda Cinta (Sign of Love) in 2005. He was often invited to perform his plays with Teater Koma in Singapore and Australia.
Nano’s plays were regularly censored under the New Order regime for their implicit criticism of the dictatorship. He was interrogated by the authorities for bringing up the topic of nepotism in 1990’s Suksesi (Succession) and underwent harsh scrutiny over plays such as 1985’s Opera Kecoa (Cockroach Opera) for its depiction of sex workers, transgender people and corrupt officials.
Nano won the SEA Write Award in 1998 for his play Semar Gugat (Semar Accuses) which premiered at the Taman Ismail Marzuki art center in Jakarta in 1995. The play, with a theme of social inequality and power abuse, follows the traditional Javanese wayang (shadow puppet) character Semar and his attempt to take revenge on Hindu epic characters Arjuna and Srikandi. He received the Literary Award from the Indonesian Language and Literary Development Center for the play in the same year.
Nano was regarded as one of the leading figures in contemporary world theater. A documentary about him and his influence titled Gesturing Notations was made in 2021 by director George Arif.
Nano will buried on Saturday at Giri Tama cemetery in Bogor. He is survived by his wife Ratna Riantiarno and three sons, Rangga Riantiarno, Rasapta Chandrika and Gagah Tridarma Prasatya.
Condolences poured in for Nano on social media.
“Farewell, Nano Riantiarno. Thank you for all the great works you’ve made for Indonesian and Asian Theater,” humanities scholar Ariel Heryanto said on Twitter.
“His works introduced me to Indonesian literature,” Twitter user Fia Masitha said. “Thank you, Pak Nano, for everything.”
