I Wayan Juniartha, Denpasar – The All-Bali Theater Festival at the island's arts center in late April promises to provoke thought on the roles that women play in a traditionally patriarchal society, which is insensitive toward gender issues.
Organized by the Kelompok Tulus Ngayah, a Denpasar-based theater company founded by accomplished writer, actress and activist Cok Sawitri, and the island's Werddhi Budaya Arts Center the festival will feature six plays, a book launching, an exhibition of photographs and discussions.
"It will be a joyous moment for the island's theater community, a moment to be together and to learn from each other's experiences," Sawitri said.
"Most importantly, it is a moment of celebration, of embracing the birth of the island's new generation of playwrights and actresses," she added.
She was referring to the six participating theater groups – Komunitas Pena Patah, Kelompok Raka Rai, Komunitas Boekoe, Teater Seribu Jendela and Kelompok Adorasi Kiaq Miten – which are run and staffed mostly by young theater workers.
Moreover, the six dramas were written by the island's young playwrights: Frans Wisnu Murti, Ni Ketut Ayu Puspita Dewi, I Gusti Komang Ayu Willyani, Maliana and Kadek Sonia Piscayanti.
Most of them were born in the early 80s whereas the majority of the island's established dramatists and actors were born in the early 50s or mid-60s. This generation gap of some 20 years is apparent in the comparison of their work.
"My general impression is that they have a straightforward attitude in dealing with reality. They substitute their predecessors' poetic power of symbolic narratives with the emotional immediacy of their true-to-life characters. Metaphoric allusions are replaced with poignant, down-to-earth words," noted playwright Mas Ruscitadewi said.
Furthermore, these young writers are more preoccupied with social injustice than the psychological journeys of individuals. For instance, the struggle of women against the oppression of a male-dominated society takes center stage, whereas the trials and tribulations of female protagonists linger as a supporting backdrop.
"They possess a heightened social sensitivity compared to their seniors. Their ages apparently play a pivotal role in determining how strongly they voice their awareness and stances on social issues, such as gender inequality," Sawitri pointed out.
Gender inequality is undoubtedly the main theme of the festival as seen at an advance performance of the plays attended by The Jakarta Post. Sonia Piscayanti's Negeri Perempuan (Country of Women) portrays a bloodless revolution led by a prostitute who succeeds in overthrowing an oppressive, male-controlled regime. By launching a massive strike, which involves no work, no cooking and no sexual intercourse, the country's women reclaim their long-lost freedom.
Meanwhile, Puspita Dewi's Aib (Disgrace) explores the life of a Balinese girl. Raped and impregnated by her father, she must deal with personal loss, sorrow and humiliation inflicted by a prejudiced community. The desperate girl eventually resorts to violence, murdering her father before taking her own life.
Arik Sariadi's Nyunnyan... Nyunyen is undoubtedly the most solid script among the six. It narrates the journey of an intelligent, strong-willed girl who refuses to fit the mold. Overcoming her personal weakness and embarrassing past, the girl manages to elude a forced marriage, a violent boyfriend and a manipulating father without discarding her loving, trusting nature.
Surprisingly, the 21-year-old Sariadi managed to weave the ancient legend of Ki Barak Panji Sakti – a mighty warrior and founder of the Buleleng Kingdom, who spent his childhood without the presence of both his parents – and the Hindu myth of the Birth of Kala, which portrays the justified infidelity of Goddess Uma and the wrath of her insensible husband Lord Siwa, into the main story.
The two sub-plots give the script a haunting, dramatic intensity and maturity.
The festival is the culmination of Tulus Ngayah's six-month-long effort to build a strong, gender-sensitive theatrical community on the island.
In October 2004, Tulus Ngayah organized a theater skills workshop for the island's actresses and female theater workers that focused on production. It included sessions on writing, directing, lighting and setting, production management and literary appreciation.
The workshop was soon followed by a script-writing competition at the end of 2004.
"Twenty-three scripts were submitted from all over the island. In January 2005, the judges picked six scripts, which were later produced for the festival. We have also published them in a book titled Nyunnyan...Nyunnyen," Sawitri said.