Performances of the post-New Order Lauren Halligan Bain Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Tasmania, October 2005 Declaration of Originality This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for a degree or diploma by the University or any other institution, except by way of background information and duly acknowledged in the thesis, and to the best of the candidate's knowledge and belief, no material previously published or written by another person, except where due acknowledgement is made in the text of the thesis. kfime.^ Lauren Halligan Bain Date: itt- Novem‘ex 2frOr Statement of Authority of Access This thesis may be made available for loan and limited copying in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968. Jtimo(4111:41,- Lauren Halligan Bain Date: 14- No veoler Noir Performances of the post-New Order Abstract Performances of the post -New Order explores the ways performances staged in Indonesia since 1998 have made sense of, and contested, the political and social realities of their time. Investigating both performances staged in conventional theatres and those staged in the streets, the thesis looks at the ways these performances have told the story of Indonesia's post-New Order or `reformasi' era. The thesis contends that performance - which is essentially temporal and necessitates multiple interpretations - is an ideal site for the investigation of reformasi, which has similarly tenuous, contested, evolving and unstable meanings. Performances of the post -New Order is an inter - disciplinary project. It comprises four inter-related but separate chapters, each of which is informed by its own theoretical approach, and engages with a different aspect of reformasi. This structure reflects both the tensions inherent in inter-disciplinary work and the need to tell several different stories in order to capture the complexities of the reformasi era. An important aspect of reformasi has been the implementation of regional autonomy across Indonesia. The first chapter of the thesis looks, therefore, at the ways in which theatre performances and events in Sumatra, Sulawesi and Java have attempted to re-articulate the relationship between regional and national identities. Case studies used in this chapter describe the ways theatre groups have taken advantage of greater political space in which to re-imagine cultural identity and their relationship with the political 'centre'. Violence - in different ways - has been a constant feature of both the New Order and the reformasi eras. Representations of violence and of distressed bodies have been a prominent feature of Indonesian theatre since the 1990s. The second chapter of the thesis discusses representations of violence and physical pain and investigates to what extent it is possible to represent violence without reproducing it. It also draws attention to the fact that representations of violence in contemporary theatre almost always privilege the male body as the site of suffering, usually rendering women invisible. The third chapter picks up on the theme of women's invisibility, and looks at representations of gender in post-New Order era theatre. This chapter investigates the ways in which gender ideologies are both reproduced and contested in performance, against a background of greater interest in gender issues in the `reformasi . era. While the first three chapters draw on case studies of theatre performances staged in conventional theatre venues, the final chapter engages with the idea of performativity in its much broader sense. Looking at one particular site, the bunderan Hotel Indonesia in Jakarta, this chapter engages with questions about public space, democratic participation, and the 'performance' of political processes and events. It uses the bunderan Hotel Indonesia as a site through which to describe some of the complexities of the reformasi era and to provide historical context for contemporary uncertainties. All four chapters of the thesis in different ways expose the often illusory and ambiguous natures of post-New Order 'Indonesia'. Acknowledgements This project began unofficially when I undertook an internship at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta from March to July 1998. This internship was funded as a kind of brave professional development experiment by Arts Victoria, the Victorian State Government's arts and cultural funding and policy agency, for whom I worked at the time. I would like to thank Lesley Alway, then Director of Arts Victoria, and the staff and management of Gedung Kesenian Jakarta for enabling this internship to happen at what was a very volatile but extremely interesting time. Subsequent fieldwork in 2000-2001 was made possible by funding in the form of an Australian Postgraduate Award. A Weary Dunlop Asia Fellowship enabled me to return to Indonesia in the second half of 2002 for what was valuable additional research time. These periods of fieldwork drew on the knowledge and experience of many Indonesian artists and arts workers, many of whom offered friendship as well as insights into their work and the work of others. I would like to thank sincerely, in rough alphabetical order: Hasif Amini, Cici and Randa nTovea, Dicky Chandra, Radha Panca Dahana, Retno Ratih Damayanti, Nirwan Dewanto, Arman Dewarti, Dindon, Firman Djamil, Edy Effendi, Shinta Febriany, Djaduk Ferianto, Sudirman Gondrong from Jambi, Halim HD, Hanindawan, Yunarius Harisinthu, Linda Hoemar-Abidin, Butet Kartaredjasa, Amna and Sardono Kusumo, Yanto leHonzo, Afrizal Malna, Gunawan `Cindhir Maryanto, Bahar Merdu, Russy Maulana, Asdar Muis, Pandhu at Majalah Gong, Iswadi Permata, Jujuk Prabowo, Asia Ramli Prapanca, Ugoran Prasad, Harris Priadie Bah, Sri Qadariatin, Nano and Ratna Riantiarno, Toto, Norman and Dewi from Teater Stock at IKJ, Rachman Sabur, Joko Bibit Santos°, Fahmi Syariff, Lono Simatupang, Landung Simatupang, Didin Siroz, Wawan Sofwan, Sitok Srengenge, Clink Sugiarto, Yudhistira Sukatanya, Syuhendri, Yudi Ahmad Tajudin, Besar Widodo, Putu Wijaya, Yuzrizal KW and many others who are not named here. Amna Kusumo and her team at Yayasan Kelola provided great insights into the Indonesian arts scenes and in 2002 sponsored my visa for six months. Teater Utan Kayu sponsored my visa in 200 1 and were likewise always ready to share ideas about theatre and politics. I had the pleasure of living in Solo for five months with Ibu Wied Senjayani and her dance students, and in Yogya I shared a house for six months with Jeannie Park and the always entertaining Lantip. Thanks to them and to the bocah bengkel in desa Kembaran, for their hospitality, warmth and mechanical know-how. A large number of other people have been great friends and fellow travelers during various stints in Indonesia: thank you to Alex Dea, Rachael Diprose, Rebecca Conroy, Farah Farouque, John Gamut, Matt 'Travis' Hegarty, Vanessa Johanson, Frank Jotzo, Peter Kerr, Jennifer Lindsay, Chloe 01liver, Lucy Rhydwen-Marrett, Matt Stephens, Simon Wellington and Sally White. My family, especially my father Alastair, have put up with my long disappearances to Indonesia often at politically unstable times, including during the May 1998 riots and the bombings in Jakarta in 2000 and Bali in 2002. My fieldwork inevitably caused worry, and for this I apologise. Encouragement from colleagues in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, where I have worked since early 2003, has spurred me on in the final stages of writing this thesis. I would particularly like to thank Michael Kachel, Dean Bialek for their support in Canberra and Elizabeth Allsopp, Simon Merrifield and other colleagues at the Australian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur. Ex-colleagues at Asialink, particularly Alison Carroll, have also been supportive and always interested in this project. Various parts of this thesis have been published prior to submission. Parts of Chapter 3 appear in the forthcoming book The Agency of Women in Asia edited by Lyn Parker, whose comments on various drafts were very useful. Parts of Chapter 4 have been published in separate articles in Kalam in 2002 and in the Indonesian performance journal Le Bur in 2004. Since 2000 I have published several shorter articles on theatre performances in Majalah Djakarta, The Jakarta Post and Inside Indonesia. Several of these articles drew on material that also appears in this thesis. Barbara Hatley has supervised this project, mostly from a distance, since it began. I am indebted to her for her thorough and insightful comments as well as for her patience and persistence with my sometimes erratic pace of work. Finally, Peter Eckersall has been my partner since before this project began. I could not have completed (and possibly would not have begun) this thesis without him being there. It is to him that I dedicate this work. All these acknowledgements are made with the usual caveat that I bear responsibility for any shortcomings in this thesis. Translations and photographs, unless otherwise marked, are my own. Lauren Bain Kuala Lumpur, March 2005 Table of Contents Performances of the post-New Order: Introduction 1 1: Performing regional, national, 'Indonesian' identities 19 Otonomi daerah and the arts 27 New centres, new paradigms: Forum Teater Se-Sumatera 33 Regional identity, randai and reformasi 39 The Makassar theatre scene 49 Celebrating nationhood in South Sulawesi: Petta Puang performs 17 53 August Reclaiming memories of 'Java' and 'Indonesia': the case of Waktu Batu 66 2: Re-inscribing and contesting violence 86 Violence in