Drawing examples from as early as a 1619 production of "Hamlet "and as recent as 2007 performances by Indonesia's most famous presidential impersonator, this book considers how theatre functions as a uniquely effective medium for representing the contradictions of Indonesian identity in the urban colonial/postcolonial metropole.
Indonesian Postcolonial Theatre explores modern theatrical practices in Indonesia from a performance of Hamlet in the warehouses of Dutch Batavia to Ratna Sarumpaet's feminist Muslim Antigones. The book reveals patterns linking the colonial to the postcolonial eras that often conflict with the historical narratives of Indonesian nationalism.
Indonesian Postcolonial Theatre explores modern theatrical practices in Indonesia from a performance of Hamlet in the warehouses of Dutch Batavia to Ratna Sarumpaet's feminist Muslim Antigones. The book reveals patterns linking the colonial to the postcolonial eras that often conflict with the historical narratives of Indonesian nationalism.
'Winet's work has much strength in the detail and analysis of plays and productions, and he has to be commended on making the theatrical productions and movements of postcolonial Jakarta easily accessible to a readsership from various backgrounds and with different levels of familiarity with Indonesia's political and theatrical history.' - Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism
'Meticulously researched...the book offers fascinating insights into each historical period...Indonesian Postcolonial Theatre is an important addition to the field of Asian performance, and is among the few works to argue for and map out an original analytical framework, making the book accessible to the reader unfamiliar with contemporary Indonesian theatre.' - Theatre Research International
'Meticulously researched...the book offers fascinating insights into each historical period...Indonesian Postcolonial Theatre is an important addition to the field of Asian performance, and is among the few works to argue for and map out an original analytical framework, making the book accessible to the reader unfamiliar with contemporary Indonesian theatre.' - Theatre Research International