Teater Satu to Stage Pramoedya’s Work: Bandarlampung, Sumatra

Teater Satu, a leading theater group in Lampung, will stage from April 13-14 Nyai Ontosoroh by the late senior writer and novelist, Pramoedya Ananta Toer, at the Taman Budaya cultural center on Jl. Cut Nyak Dien, Bandarlampung.

Adapted by Faiza Mardzoeki from Bumi Manusia (This Earth of Mankind), the first volume of the Buru Quartet novels — which were written while Pramoedya was imprisoned without trial by the New Order regime for a decade on Buru Island — Nyai Ontosoroh deals with the complex issues of feminism and nationalism according to an article in the Jakarta Post.

Through Nyai Ontosoroh, Pramoedya attempted to break the stigmatization of nyai, a Javanese term of address for a woman that was identified during the Dutch colonial era as a low-class, pretty woman taken as a mistress.

The protagonist is a strong character, persevering and unyielding in her struggle, possessed with rational thinking and a visionary outlook, and is a symbol of resistance against arbitrary power that challenges a nation’s dignity.

Unlike some other partial dramatic versions of the same work, the Teater Satu adaptation of Nyai Ontosoroh, directed by Imas Sobariah, will perform the piece in its entirety, featuring a cast of dozens.

Teater Satu, established 1996 in Lampung, is one of Indonesia’s leading drama troupes.

In 2003, Teater Satu was honored with the Gedung Kesenian Jakarta (GKJ) Award for best alternative theater group. In 2002 and 2004, under Lampung poet Iswadi Pratama, the troupe received artistic grants from the Kelola Foundation and in 2005, Teater Satu was invited to participate in the Indonesia Performing Arts Mart (IPAM) held in Denpasar, Bali.

Tickets are priced at Rp 10,000, and seats may be booked in advance at the Taman Budaya Lampung office on Jl. Cut Nyak Dien, Bandarlampung, or via phone at (0721) 253737, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tickets will also be available at the door.