Kingdom Come
Sekar Ayu Jiwanta Foundation presents an undiscovered part of Indonesian history in ‘Genta Sriwijaya’.
The majestic details of Sekar Ayu Jiwananta Foundation’s Genta Sriwijaya
We all know that Indonesia has rich culture and history, but it is rare to put on a historical play. P erhaps quite bold and ambitious, the Sekar Ayu Jiwanta Foundation (YSA J) managed to successfully bring such a colossal project come to life. On N ovember 20, Genta Sriwijaya was presented live at Teater Besar Jakarta in Taman Ismail Marzuki, involving more than 200 people from all walks of life—most of them non-professional art performers who participated voluntarily in the show.
lawyer Harry Ponto, as well as members of the Mobile Brigade Corps (Brimob).
Not only that, Genta Sriwijaya was also supported by equally illustrious crew members: Director Teguh “Kenthus” Ampiranto; Creative Director Denny Malik; Art Director Rangga Djoned; Music Director Tohpati; and scriptwriter Undung Wiyono.
“Although it is about Indonesian history, the performance blends modernity in its music, dance, costume, stage layout, and video mapping, which is really amazing,” says Kenthus.
Creative Director Denny Malik adds: “I am eager to showcase traditional dance, which can always be explored in the present without eliminating the original version, so that it becomes an interesting entertainment with a background of historical past.” Meanwhile, Music Director Tohpati also admits that this is his first experience to conduct a live orchestra for Indonesian historical play. “We are using Javanese gamelan instruments with a hint of Melayu melodies,” Tohpati says.
With a two-hour running time and seven acts, Genta Sriwijaya tells the story of the Kingdom of Sriwijaya between the period of AD 671 to 702, which was ruled by Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa, who went on a spiritual
journey called ngalap berkah in order to conquer other kingdoms and make the Sriwijaya Kingdom prosperous.
Rangga Djoned, who previously worked on the preparation of Asian Games 2018 opening ceremony, said that the main challenge was finding reliable sources. “There are a few literatures about Sriwijaya Kingdom, but almost none of them, not even on the Internet, actually show the visual images of Sriwijaya. I did some research and decided to combine historical elements from Malacca, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia,” says Rangga.
Emi Wiranto, Chairwoman of YSAJ and executive producer of Genta Sriwijaya, says that this play is not quite like anything before. “I am proud to say that this show happened because of our genuine love and respect for
Indonesian culture. Almost all participants here are volunteers. Furthermore, a play about Sriwijaya Kingdom has never been brought to life because there is no studio in Indonesia that has the costumes and the music. So we really developed everything from scratch,” Emi says.
Hanita Oktavia, lawyer and founding member of YSAJ, says that initially she and Emi established YSAJ to raise funds for education, but together, they had the spark of initiative to create a historical play. Through Sekar Ayu Peduli, proceeds from the ticket sales of Genta Sriwijaya, totalling Rp1.5 billion, are being donated to Yayasan Kemala Bhayangkari to raise education funds for underprivileged children in South Sumatera. Furthermore, this initiative was also fully supported by Tri Suswati Karnavian, one of the advisory board members.
The two main cast members, singer Andrea Miranda and seriosa singer Daniel Christianto, also share excitement for this project. Andrea, who played Princess Tritaradewi from the Melayu Kingdom, is not new to the theatrical world. Meanwhile, Daniel, who played as Prince Dharmapala of the Sriwijaya Kingdom, said that this is the first time he starred in a theatrical play. “For me, the biggest challenge is how to balance between singing and dancing, and learning the Melayu dance moves,” Daniel says.
Lawyer Harry Ponto, who played King Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa, says that Sriwijaya Kingdom was a major part of our majestic history. “But, we want to make it different and special. That’s why we gather people from multiple professions. From my character, Dapunta, we can also learn that peace is the key to unity,” Harry says, closing the interview.