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'The
Theft of Sita' is an adaption of part of the ancient epic 'Ramayama',
enacted by Australian and Indonesian puppeteers and musicians. The
story
of a demon kidnapping a princess who must then be rescued by her prince
and his helpers will seem at least half familiar to anyone who has
ever
enjoyed a fairy tale, but the staging is unique. The vast majority
of the
story is told in a style owing more to ballet than traditionally drama,
in
shadows cast by paper puppets onto a vast sheet hung across the front
of
the stage. The skill with which these puppets have been crafted and
the
dexterity with which they are handled by the five puppeteers is
astonishing, as everything from tigers to logging machines to peasants
is
portrayed in a distinctive and often humorous fashion, encouraging
comparisons as diverse as 'The Muppets', 'Monty Python' and 'Bambi'.
The
action is accompanied by relatively sparse dialogue, and music from
a
striking variety of instruments and styles, both Indonesian and western.
This accompaniment shifts seamlessly from traditional Indonesian to
jazz,
rock and even electronica to suit the mood and style. The background
too,
while mostly in the form of shadows as well, occasionally features
photos,
paintings or even film, these sudden bursts of colour and motion all
the
more effective for their unexpectedness.
Ironically
given the skill with which eastern and western styles and
traditions are fused to produce such a spectacular production, the
moral
of the tale is all too blunt. In a few rather clumsy and wordy pieces
of
expositional dialogue, the enemies of the piece are explicitly identified
with western influences such as tourism and the International Monetary
Fund. Destructive though these forces may be to the lives of Indonesians,
it seems heavy handed if not actually propagandistic to equate such
complex political, social and economic factors with the unmitigated
evil
of a fairy tale villain. However, if you can look beyond a moral stance
as
black and white and two-dimensional as the puppets, I strongly recommend
this production. You will never have seen anything quite like it.
Reviewed
by Alex Williams. 14/11/01
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