THE POWER OF ART
"To lose courage is losing everything"
MARSINAH MENGGUGAT (MARSINAH ACCUSES)During twenty years of my time in the world of theatre I have been presenting works by Western playrights in adapted--to- Indonesian settings and existing ethnicities. In the early 90s, however, when Indonesian socio-political conditions continued worsening, I became less interested with Western plays. On the other hand, I became obsessed with the idea of writing my own works and bringing them to the stage.This obsession became even more articulated as the available dramas in my country were all written by men whose subject themes and approach to the matter did not match my own aspirations. It was not an easy thing to do, particularly as I was not certain at all about my ability of writing theater plays.
In 1993, as I was still searching for a suitable angle, I was struck by the news about a young, poor, woman laborer, who had been found dead in a teak forest after being brutally raped. Marsinah, as the young woman's name was, had led a rally in the watch factory where she worked as one of the lowest class laborers. All she demanded was for her and her peers to have a salary increase of Rp. 500 (five-hundred Rupiah). Marsinah's tragic lot shook me. There was a woman- like myself, a human being- like myself, brutally murdered just because she wanted an increase of the little sum of five hundred Rupiahs. It >made me sad and angry at the same time. I had to do something. Conducting a research on the case, I came to the conclusion that the Indonesian authorities give priority to stability instead of humanity. Industrialization was designed with an arrogance that abused the laborer to make huge fortunes for those who own the capical and those who hold the power. To continue such practices, the authorities deliberately trampled on democracy and human rights. Deliberately and by justifying the means Suharto's regime has exhaustively looted the people's right to democracy and successfully created an environment that enforced the sense of fear.
The death of Marsinah has been a very significant milestone on the path of my career as a playwright. The Marsinah case pushed me to put on paper everything that was touching my emotions relevant to upholding the truth and justice. I felt a particular empathy, probably because she was a woman like myself. That is how the script for ' Marsinah, the Song from the Underworld' came into being. I did realize that this script would not bring Marsinah back to life, but it is my tribute to her and to the fate of of the weak proliferating in my country. This is also to pay homage to the cause of human rights. By presenting this script I wish to remind all parties to stop sitting still while violation of human rights continues before our eyes.From the very beginning I realized that writing the script and staging it would mean facing the wrath of the authorities, including the banning of the play, harassment and scaring off prospective donators, and any other measures they could possibly think of. Unfortunately, my fears came true.
With no financial support but from peers who were in tune, I somehow managed to stage the play MARSINAH the Song from the Underworld (1994) anyway, and performances proceeded in Jakarta, Bandung (West Java), Surakarta (Central Java). And true to our fears, our performance was banned just two days before the actual staging on International Human Rights Day, December 10, 1994.
But not only the authorities and businessmen denied the play, there were also people in society who renounced it. Even several artists of name harshly critisized me. They accused me of taking advantage of one's misery to gain popularity. But how could I stop in the face of so much injustice and violence? I did not give up, and took all criticism as a boost to dare take a firm stand. In September 1997, the chief of the national police instructed to close the case, on the grounds that Marsinah DNA's sent to a lab in U.S.A. had not delivered any results, due to contamination, and as a consequence it could not be used to testify. This added even more to my anger. The investigation, the proceedings and the trial of the Marsinah case was drenched in lies and the involvement of the military in the Marsinah murder, the conspiracy of the Military with the police, the public prosecutor and the judiciary was clear enough in a disgracefully engineered trial. Nine persons were tormented, tortured and forced to admit that they had killed Marsinah, after which they went to prison.
Therefore, to me, the decision of the chief of national police was made for
the sole purpose of putting an end to the suit and force people to stop talking about the Marsinah's case. This pushed me even further in my creative efforts. It took me only a month to prepare a monologuein which Marsinah's voice comes from the grave. "Marsinah Menggugat" (Marsinah Accuses) was staged in 11 cities throughout Java and Sumatra. As could be expected, intimidation arrived in the earliest start of writing the script and continued throughout the process of preparing the staging and the staging itself . The first performance in Jakarta was heavily guarded with about four trucks of security officers placed on the alert around the place of the theatre. Heavy guards were also put in place in other cities where we performed. In Surabaya (East Java), the city where the Marsinah case was tried, also Bandung (west Java) and Lampung (Sumatra) were experienced grave repressive treatment and were ultimately banned.
 |
| EMPATHY AND COURAGE The many bitter and fearful experiences I have had since I began building my career as a playwright has convinced me of the fact that courage is a conditio sine quo non for artists. Sadly, the Suharto regime had successfully imprinted a sense of fear in virtually all layers of society, including the artists. They disstinctly took distance from social problems and sought to take refuge behind esthetic terms. After the latest ban in Lampung I decided to take a break from the theatre. The tiring and fearful events I had experienced, particularly during the performances of "Marsinah Menggugat" had made me see the real problem of my country, namely the existence of this very greedy, tyrannic and authoritarian person who had used his power to justify any means for remaining as a ruler. This made me decide to be politically involved. I directly led the greatest pro-democratic alliance, named the "National Coalition for Democracy" whose only goal was to bring down Suharto. Since then my days were filled with even more intimidations and terror. They burnt the gate of my house and brought down the brick-wall of my yard . Eventually I was arrested and incarcerated. It was March 10, 1998. But, even after I had been officially released, I continued to be the military's target. Whenever there was a commotion, my name would emerge as the scape goat to be forever chased. CONTEMPORARY SIGNIFICANCE In a society that has for ages been subjected to a gender concept that images women as pleasant, subdued and obedient, it should actually not be a surprise when women's new assertive stand shocks like a bombshell. Women's subordination to men is also enforced by (mis)interpretations of certain relgions. The intimidation and harassment I experienced in relation to the Marsinah and Alia plays, may be related to the shock of the changing tides, which confuses men AND women. Realizing the strength and the power of a theatre play, written and put on stage by a woman at that, was evidently too much. I had to be silenced. |
1993 - Dara Muning
Written : Ratna Sarumpaet
Director : Harris Priyadi Bah
Artistic : Sonny Sumarsono
Music Director : Tony Prabowo
Whole Characters playd by anak-anak muda dari Sintang (Kalbar)
1991 – Antigone - Batak
Written: Jean Anouilh
Directed : Ratna Sarumpaet
Music Director : Adi MS / Sianjur Mula-mula.
Theatre : Gedung Kesenian – Jakarta
Main Character : Ratna Sarumpaet, ….., …….,
1989 - Hamlet – Bali
Written: Willian Shakespeare
Translated : Trisnosumarjo & WS Rendra
Adapted : Ratna Sarumpaet
Directed : Ratna Sarumpaet
Gedung Kesenian – Jakarta
Music : Kompyang Rake
Main Character : Soultan Saladin, Sitoresmy, Renny Djayusman
1988 - Othello,
Written: William Shakespeare
Translated : Trisnosumarjo & WS Rendra
Directed : Ratna Sarumpaet
Artistic Director : Dede Erry Supriya (pelukis naturalis yang saya kagumi)
Theatre : Gedung Kesenian – Jakarta
Main Character : Ira Wibowo, Ria Irawan
1987 - Romeo and Juliet – Opera
Written: William Shakespeare
Translated : Trisnosumarjo & WS Rendra
Adapted : Ratna Sarumpaet
Directed : Ratna Sarumpaet
Music Director : Idris Sardi
Theatre : Teater Terbuka – Taman Ismail Marzuki.
Main Character : Denny Malik, Ria Probo, Renny Djayusman
1976 - Hamlet – Batak/Si Gale-gale
Written: William Shakespeare
Translated : Trisnosumarjo & WS Rendra
Directed : Ratna Sarumpaet
Theatre : Teater Terbuka – Taman Ismail Marzuki.
Main Character : Ratna Sarumpaet as Hamlet, Ron Puyundatu, Sri Ekowulani
1975 - Romeo and Juliet
Written: Willian Shakespeare
Translated : Trisnosumarjo
Directed : Ratna Sarumpaet
Theatre : Teater Terbuka – Taman Ismail Marzuki.
Main Character : Ahmad Albar, Awul (Sri Eko Wulani) …..
1974 - Rubayat Umar Khayam
Written: Ratna Sarumpaet
Directed : Ratna Sarumpaet
Theatre : Teater Terbuka – Taman Ismail Marzuki.
Main Character : Riris Sarumpaet, Ratna Sarumpaet, …..
