Seeking Bagong in Sriwedari

Punakawan servants without Bagong? That is what happened recently in a Sriwedari Wayang Orang stage performance in Solo. The traditional art form is now hovering between life and death.

May 6, 2003

THE loud, distinctive call of a tokek house lizard could suddenly be heard coming from a corner of the Sriwedari Wayang Orang theater. The sound rose to a piercing intensity, shattering the stillness of the night. Simultaneously, the 19-strong audience (no more, believe me) that night raised their heads to look up, seeking the source of the sound from the ugly little fellow. Briefly noisy, their bored gazes then returned once more to the middle o

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