Phd Thesis Tamara Aberle
Socially-engaged theatre performances in contemporary Indonesia Tamara Alexandra Aberle Royal Holloway, University of London PhD Thesis 1 Declaration of Authorship I, Tamara Alexandra Aberle, hereby declare that this thesis and the work presented in it is entirely my own. Where I have consulted the work of others, this is always clearly stated. Signed: ______________________ Date: ________________________ 2 Abstract This thesis argues that performances of contemporary theatre in Indonesia are socially- engaged, actively creating, defining and challenging the socio-political environment, and that theatre practitioners are important members of a vibrant civil society who contribute and feel actively committed to democratic processes. Following an initial chapter about the history of modern theatre from the late 19th century until the fall of President Suharto in 1998, the four core chapters centre on four different aspects of contemporary Indonesian socio-politics: historical memory and trauma, violence and human rights, environmentalism, and social transition. Each of these chapters is preceded by an introduction about the wider historical and socio-political context of its respective discourse and is followed by an analysis of selected plays. Chapter 2 focuses on historical trauma and memory, and relates the work of two theatre artists, Papermoon Puppet Theatre and Agus Nur Amal (a.k.a. PM Toh), to processes seeking truth and reconciliation in Indonesia in the post-Suharto era. Chapter 3, on violence and human rights, discusses the works of Ratna Sarumpaet and B. Verry Handayani, with a specific focus on human trafficking, sexual exploitation, and labour migration. Chapter 4 discusses environmentalism on the contemporary stage. It investigates the nature of environmental art festivals in Indonesia, taking Teater Payung Hitam’s 2008 International Water Festival as an example.
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