YOGYAKARTA - Indonesia Dramatic Reading Festival (IDRF) will host the Asian Playwrights Meeting (APM) 2026. APM is a forum that brings together drama script writers, theater artists, and performing arts activists from various countries in Asia. Held on July 26-31, 2026, this series of events presents various readings of plays and discussions related to the process of writing scripts, theater forms, cultures and realities from where they emerged.
One of the works staged under the title of the event is Crossing Sudirman Bridge, a production of Green Open Space Theater. Unlike the reading of the theater script in general, this performance takes place in an open space in the afternoon in response to the area around the Gondolayu Bridge or now also known as the Sudirman Bridge, Yogyakarta. All performances are presented in two languages, Indonesian and English so that they can be followed by international participants who attend the APM 2026.
Directed by Irfanuddien Ghozali with English translation by Tola Agusta Jufany, Crossing Sudirman Bridge is an expansion of the artistic practice of Green Open Space Theater. Reading the play offers a different dramaturgical approach to romantic theater that is synonymous with performance halls and evening performances. Instead, their work utilizes public spaces during the day or afternoon and connects local stories with social issues that are still relevant today.
This performance takes inspiration from the play Jembatan Gondolayu by Nasjah Djamin which was written in 1957. Through this adaptation, the audience is invited to revisit Yogyakarta during the transition period after it was no longer the capital of the Republic of Indonesia. The story in the play presents seven characters whose lives are brought together by poverty, marginalization, hope, and important choices in living life.
The ultimate offer of this performance lies in the way the audience experiences the story. The reading of the play is performed in two open green spaces located on the north and south sides of the Jembatan Gondolayu Bridge. After the first reading session is completed, all participants together walk across the bridge to the next location to continue the reading. The journey is not just a change of place, but an important part of the dramaturgy that connects the text, the city space, and the real experiences of the participants.
Residents of Gondolayu Lor Village and Ledok Code Village are also involved as collaborators. Their presence makes the community not only a spectator, but also helps build artistic experiences together. In this way, the city space is treated as an important part of the performance, not just the background of the story.
Through this approach, the Gondolayu Bridge is not positioned as a mere historical document. This play is actually used as a way to re-read the face of modern Yogyakarta. The audience is invited to reflect on how a bridge stores the memory of the city, brings together various life experiences of the community, and reminds us that issues of inequality, marginalization, and human relations are still part of daily life.
Walking together, reading together, and listening together are the main experiences offered by this performance. The Gondolayu Bridge not only connects the two sides of the Code River, but also brings together two villages, two reading spaces, and two different times, namely Yogyakarta in 1957 when the manuscript was written and present-day Yogyakarta.
"This approach wants to show that theater works can be closer to the community while reviving public spaces as a place to share stories and make sense of the city," said Irfanuddien Ghozali on Sunday, July 26.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
