Arya Dipa, Bandung – After failing to be staged a day earlier because of pressure from a hardline group, a monologue performance about national hero Tan Malaka was eventually presented on Thursday under tight police guard.
Entitled Saya Rusa Berbulu Merah (I Am A Red-furred Fox), the performance was held twice, at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., in the auditorium of the Institut Francais Indonesia (IFI), the French cultural center, in Bandung, West Java. Performances were previously scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.
Bandung Police chief Sr. Comr. Angesta Romano Yoyol said 200 police personnel were detailed to secure the production. "We also took security measures yesterday, but it was conducted tightly," Angesta said, Thursday.
The police personnel were seen on guard in the yard, cafe and along the lobby heading to the performance venue. No members of the hardline group that previously objected to the performance were seen at the venue.
Bandung Mayor Ridwan Kamil was praised for reportedly supporting the show and guaranteeing that it would go on, although he did not go see it himself.
On Wednesday, representatives of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) went to IFI at 2 p.m., demanding the organizers cancel the performance over fears that the show would help spread communism.
Tan Malaka was a controversial leftist figure who fought for the country's independence against Dutch colonialists. President Sukarno's administration named him a national hero in 1963, but the New Order regime under the late authoritarian leader Soeharto decided to minimize Tan's role, given his ties to the communist movement.
Dedi Subu from the West Java FPI said on Wednesday that the group opposed the monologue because it spread communist teachings, and as communism had been banned by law, such an event had to be canceled.
Despite having protested against the show, Dedi admitted that he had not read the script provided by the organizers. "Why would I read it? We all know that Tan Malaka was a communist," he said on Wednesday.
The Mainteater group decided to put on a show about Tan Malaka to pay respect to the forgotten hero. The group believed Tan's ideology is still relevant to Indonesia's current situation. "We need to learn by example: how Tan Malaka put the country's interest above his personal and party interests," Ahda said.
The producer of the performance, Heliana Sinaga, said that although not all the seats were occupied during Thursday's first performance, all the tickets were sold out. The organizing committee sold 180 tickets for each of the performances.
Joind Bayuwinanda, who played the character of Tan Malaka, did not seem to be affected by the off-stage tension. For 67 minutes the audience was taken on the journey of the national hero who had to repeatedly adopt different disguises after being arrested by the Dutch colonial administration in 1922.
Director Wawan Sofwan set Tan Malaka as the narrator. "The original script by Ahda Imran has been cut from 35 pages to 20 for the performance," Wawan said.
Permata, a member of the audience, said that the performance was rich in dialogue but lacked body language. "The [actor's] body was less explored. It's maybe because the dialogue was too long," she said.
She added that the body language of Tan Malaka as an activist who was close to the people could not be seen in the monologue. "The messages through the words were too powerful," she said.
In the show the audience were able to discover Tan's thoughts about using revolution to get independence, which was not possible through diplomacy, as well as his idealism about getting 100 percent independence.
The fear expressed by those who protested the performance, that it was propaganda for communist ideology, was not borne out by what was presented on stage. "We will bring the show to various other regions in Indonesia," Heliana said.