Puppets give history a voice in the 4th Asean Puppetry Festival
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A puppetry performance by Indonesian troupe Wayang Ajen. -- PHOTO: ARTSOLUTE
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Puppets from the Daklak region of Vietnam. -- PHOTO: ARTSOLUTE
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Production stills from a performance of Mwathirika in Bandung, Indonesia, by Papermoon Puppet Theatre. -- PHOTO: SONDHIAR HITOMARTANOE
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Traditional Burmese puppets from Htwe Oo Myanmar Traditional Puppet Troupe. -- PHOTO: HTWE OO MYANMAR
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Singapore puppet group Paper Monkey Theatre will perform Three Big Bullies at the Asean Puppetry Festival 2012. -- PHOTO: PAPER MONKEY THEATRE
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The Kidnapping of Siti Dewi by Pesiban (Malaysia). -- PHOTO: PESIBAN
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Production stills from a performance of Mwathirika in Bandung, Indonesia, by Papermoon Puppet Theatre. -- PHOTO: SONDHIAR HITOMARTANOE
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Production stills from a performance of Mwathirika in Bandung, Indonesia, by Papermoon Puppet Theatre. -- PHOTO: SONDHIAR HITOMARTANOE
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Production stills from a performance of Mwathirika in Bandung, Indonesia, by Papermoon Puppet Theatre. -- PHOTO: SONDHIAR HITOMARTANOE
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A scene from Mwathirika, by Papermoon Puppet Theatre (Indonesia). -- PHOTO: SONDHIAR HITOMARTANOE
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Shadow puppetry by Makhampom Theatre Group (Thailand). -- PHOTO: MAKHAMPOM THEATRE GROUP
A puppetry performance by Indonesian troupe Wayang Ajen. -- PHOTO: ARTSOLUTE
Puppets from the Daklak region of Vietnam. -- PHOTO: ARTSOLUTE
Production stills from a performance of Mwathirika in Bandung, Indonesia, by Papermoon Puppet Theatre. -- PHOTO: SONDHIAR HITOMARTANOE
Traditional Burmese puppets from Htwe Oo Myanmar Traditional Puppet Troupe. -- PHOTO: HTWE OO MYANMAR
Singapore puppet group Paper Monkey Theatre will perform Three Big Bullies at the Asean Puppetry Festival 2012. -- PHOTO: PAPER MONKEY THEATRE
The Kidnapping of Siti Dewi by Pesiban (Malaysia). -- PHOTO: PESIBAN
Production stills from a performance of Mwathirika in Bandung, Indonesia, by Papermoon Puppet Theatre. -- PHOTO: SONDHIAR HITOMARTANOE
Production stills from a performance of Mwathirika in Bandung, Indonesia, by Papermoon Puppet Theatre. -- PHOTO: SONDHIAR HITOMARTANOE
Production stills from a performance of Mwathirika in Bandung, Indonesia, by Papermoon Puppet Theatre. -- PHOTO: SONDHIAR HITOMARTANOE
A scene from Mwathirika, by Papermoon Puppet Theatre (Indonesia). -- PHOTO: SONDHIAR HITOMARTANOE
Shadow puppetry by Makhampom Theatre Group (Thailand). -- PHOTO: MAKHAMPOM THEATRE GROUP
A puppet play about the dark days of the 1965 anti-Communist purges in Indonesia will be one of the headlining acts in the upcoming Asean Puppetry Festival, which will run from Nov 2 to 10.
Indonesia's Papermoon Puppet Theatre will stage Mwathirika, a haunting non-verbal performance about a small family and their neighbours, whose lives are turned upside down. The show recalls the hundreds of thousands who were killed and imprisoned during those tragic years.
Papermoon's founder and artistic director, Maria "Ria" Tri Sulistyani, 30, tells The Straits Times: "The story of Mwathirika is basically about the history of loss, and the loss of history."
She adds: "Many of Papermoon's audiences are young people, and many of them have never heard about this history. That was a big thing. It was like a slap on many people's faces - it was only 40 years ago, and this really happened."
