5 Portraits Of The Greatness Of The Senjakala Drama When The Popular Theater Is Performed Through The Dag Dig Dug Lacon

Dag Dig Dug Lacon Player (Bambang E Ros/VOI)

JAKARTA - One manuscript by Putu Wijaya entitled Dag Dig Dug was again staged by the Popular Theater group on Friday, January 24, at the Salihara Theater building, Jakarta. Exactly at 20.00 WIB the play which was handled by a seasoned director and actor and co-founder of the Popular Theater, Slamet Rahardjo Djarot, began.

This drama captures human life, starting with the story of an elderly husband and wife but not having a child and managing an boarding house in their big house. The problem arose when a telegram was obtained that one of the students who had boarding houses at their home named Chaerul Umam, a person who was known to be friendly and kind, was reportedly hit and killed in an accident on the street. The husband and wife were devastated by Chaerul Umam's death, but also pretended to know the student well.

Problems began to arise when two envoys (played by Reza Rahadian and Donny Damara) brought compensation, but it turned out that the amount was not the same as the one stated in the receipt receipt. Another conflict between the husband and wife also arises regarding what the funds will be used for.

Suspicion, anger, emotion, and suffering emerged through small fights and rows between the two of them and those around them, including Cokro, a housemaid who has always been a party oppressed by her employer.

Putu Wijaya's Dag Dig Dug is an eraless drama by photographing human anxiety in the face of the absurdity of life. This drama features irony, tension, and intimidation in human life. Slamet Rahadjo made a small change from the original script, but still displays the lives of the main story. For this reason at least he made it up to three revisions.

"This play is very relevant to the current situation, haven't we been nervous lately?" said Slamet Rahardjo Djarot after the performance.

"For me the theater is home, and this performance brought me back home, namely the theater. Age is a gift and I don't want age to be an obstacle, because as a theater player, I memorize 47 pages," he added.

Dag Dig Dug displays various situations that will make his connoisseurs reflect and laugh bitterly at the kind of chaos that is happening in humans and their surroundings. Dialogue is sometimes without a root and part of it feels told not to the co-stars, but to the audience. more precisely to the current situation.

Slamet Rahardjo performed with Niniek L. Karim bringing the main role as an elderly couple. Both of them were also involved in the same play, and were also played by the Popular Theater in 1977 at Taman Ismail Marzuki, Jakarta, also directed by Slamet Rahardjo. At that time both were still 28 years old. This means that they returned to the same stage and play after 48 years later.

"I accept this acting challenge, not only because the script is interesting, but also my respect for Teguh Karya, as the founder of the Popular Theater. If not for his services, I would not be like now," said Niniek L. Karim, who is also known as a lecturer at the Faculty of Psychology, University of Indonesia.

Apart from featuring Slamet Rahardjo, Niniek L. Karim, Donny Damara, and Reza rahadian. This performance also presented Jose Rizal Manua, Kiki Narendra, and Onkar Sadawira Pentas Dag Dig Dug which were also produced by Paquita Wijaya and Samuel Wattimena, with Taba Sanchabakhtiar as co producers.

This performance is also Paquita Widjaja's debut as a producer. He started his career in art as a singer in 1980, and then starred in a number of films, of course he will never forget the drama produced by the Popular Theater in the final period of Teguh Karya Berkarya, namely Jewelry Gelas, a mix-and-match performance from Tennesse Williams, where Paquita Widjaja became one of the main players.

When asked by Slamet Rahadjo and Niniek L. Karim to become producers, Paquita saw this as an opportunity to restore kindness to the Popular Theater, because he had joined the last generation.

"My involvement in this performance is a kind of my responsibility for the Popular Theater to come back to life. I am very grateful to have received a lot of help from players, artistic arrangers, lighting arrangers, stage managers, who incidentally are not from the Popular Theater. But they are willing because of their respect for the Popular Theater," said Paquita Widjaja, who received artistic education at the School of Design, New York, United States.

The performance of the Dag Dig Dug play is presented by the Bakti Budaya Djarum Foundation in collaboration with AP Production which will also be held on Saturday, January 25 and Sunday, January 26 starting at 19.00 WIB at the Salihara Theater, Pasar Minggu, Jakarta.

"The Popular Teater, which has been established since 1968, is one of the important milestones in the history of performing arts in Indonesia, and it is important for us to support it so that the Popular Theater can continue to be creative in preserving meaningful cultural and artistic values for the people of Indonesia," said Renitasari Adrian as Djarum Foundation's Culture Bakti Director Program.

The Dag Dig Dug play was first staged by the Popular Theater in 1977 and has been featured with various inspiring approaches in recent decades. This performance at the same time re-celebrates Putu Wijaya's work which is not only entertaining, but also raises the thoughts and feelings of the audience," he concluded.