The Streets

Performance collective Teater Garasi bring the streets of Jakarta to Adelaide and they do so with a frenetic energy. From the moment you are ushered into the performing space you are a part of the show. Hawkers selling their many wares, a karaoke singer with her mobile amplifier and the locals going about their daily activities. The background noises are structured yet offer a feeling of chaos.

Overlapping narratives paint a picture of the fear instilled in the poorer population by the government and the inequality of living standards within a nation. Anguish and panic is shown through contemporary dance and it is successful in portraying the raw feelings of a generation. A wedding in the streets is minus the bride as she has had to take employment abroad to support her family, symbolic of the struggles and sacrifices made by this country’s stoic inhabitants.

A vast performing space with sheets of corrugated iron scattered with old torn posters of dictators, nothing is hidden. Audience members sit where there is space; we are quite literally a part of the haze and hurry.

A talented ensemble of musicians provides the soundtrack to this cross section of life in Jakarta. Beautiful individual performances of traditional songs provided normality, but it was all too brief.

Powerful choreography and direction allowed us to witness a captivating performance that highlighted the immense talent of this theatre collective.

Kerry Cooper