Wayang Performance with Nyi Suharni Sabdhowati

The Melbourne Community Gamelan

under the direction of Poedijono

Overview

In May this year, Nyi Suharni Sabdhowati, a renowned female dhalang (puppeteer) from Central Java was invited to Melbourne to perform. She was accompanied by Pak Soedarsono, a teacher at the STSI (music conservatorium) in Solo.

Nyi Suharni is the first Indonesian female dhalang to perform outside Indonesia. She first peformed in 1961 and ahs studied under the direction of famous dhalangs, in particular Narto Sabdho. Helen Pausacker and Bu Suharni met when Helen was first studying to be a dhalang in Solo in the 1980s.

Bima Bungkus

The two wayang performances for school students was attended by very enthusiastic teachers and students. The story related how when Bima was born, he was enclosed in a tight ball, which no one could break to allow the baby out. It had to be broken open by an elephant before Bima could emerge.

Kunthi Duta-Kresna Gugah

Through her skilled manipulation of many different puppets, Nyi Suharni brought the characters to life as they sought to wake Kresna from his meditation and return his soul to his body. This story, taken from the Mahabharata, involved four hours of serious dialogue, battled scenes and humours sections. Helen Pausacker also performed two sections during the performance in English to keep the audience up to date with the story. With humours twists and turns, making reference to the performance as well as political issues, she drew lots of laughter from the audience.

With cues from the dhalang and Pak Poedijono, the sounds of Srepegan and Sampak and other gendhing leapt from Melbourne Community Gamelan as the shadows passed across the screen. The performance which was held at the Basement Theatre, Sidney Myer Asia Centre at the University of Melbourne was part of the University's 150 year celebrations. The gamelan acknowledges the assistance of the University of Melbourne in presenting this performance and also the continued support of Dr. Cathy Falk.