Modernising Indonesian puppet shows for millennials: from WhatsApp-using ancient queens to current jokes and local instruments
- Wayang potehi glove puppet theatre is being given a modern twist, with jokes and references to WhatsApp and other elements of digital culture
- The traditional Chinese art form is also being localised through the use of Javanese regional dialects and Indonesian instruments
In a pitch black auditorium in South Jakarta, about a hundred people – a mix of men and women in their 20s and older parents with children – are laughing at the antics of the puppets on stage.
Wayang potehi, or glove puppet theatre, was first brought to Indonesia in the 16th century by Chinese immigrants, and for hundreds of years the stories of traditional Chinese legends were performed in their temples. Now, Indonesian performing arts group Rumah Cinwa (Cinwa House) has given these traditional shows a modern twist, with jokes and references to WhatsApp and other elements of digital culture.
Another of the group’s jokes makes fun of the way some people in Jakarta pretentiously pepper their daily conversations with English words and phrases. In the show, these English words are pronounced with “a thick Javanese accent”, Rahmadi says, a gentle jibe that makes the crowd laugh.
Rahmadi, 22, joined Rumah Cinwa in 2018. He works with the group to bring the wayang potehi art form up to date and rid it of the stigma of being “heavy” and “old”.
“If it continues to be performed only in a serious way, who will be in the audience?” he says. “We are here to revitalise wayang potehi as well as make it more millennial.”