The Making of Raja Edepus is a documentary that has captured on film the explosive theatrical moments and the buildup of excitement that occurred when two world famous forms of theatre coalesced, one the ancient Greek tragic theatre and the other, the traditional Balinese Topeng. The concept to bring about such a fusion of cultural forms, that is, to do an all Balinese adaptation of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, was first conceived in Vancouver, Canada, but its initial hatching occurred in Bali in the summer of 2005 when highly talented and popular Balinese theatre personalities endorsed the project with enthusiasm and were calling the work, by its translated Indonesian name, Raja Edepus and it was agreed that a production of the tragic drama would be staged at the Bali Arts Festival 2006.
In December 2005, regular rehearsals and preparation were well underway and Balinese cameraman had been given assignments to record the happenings surrounding the build-up of the theatre production. The activity of all of this happening, had created a buzz about the show as many artists and theatre people were looking forward to witnessing the culture collision that was slated to occur at the Bali Arts Festival in 2006 in the capital city of Denpasar. The public wanted to see what product would be produced when one takes the structured characterizations of Classical Greek theatre and revitalizes it with Hindu choral developments, exotic dress and the brassy gamelan sounds of the Balinese stage. They were also curious to see if indeed it would be possible to create an artistic fusion integrating ideas, emotions and moods that have a humanity separation of 2500 years.
What could be more thrilling for an audience than to watch well-known Classical characters walk a stage in colourful dress accompanied by the rhythmic sounds of a gamelan orchestra with its full-bodied expressions, metallic hammers, rising, twirling and crashing and to witness the chorus respond to dramatic circumstance with the hypnotic chirping of the monkey chants? Fortunately, we were well prepared for the final night and 6 well-positioned cameraman in the house captured the entire production as it unfolded..
In total 24 hours of HD tape had been shot and this having been skilfully edited, and reduced to this current 30 minute documentary. What had started out as an exploration into the world of merging cultures has culminated in the production of a unique theatrical experience with no equivalent.
The production earned Best International Documentary at the Rome International Film Festival in 2008 as well as 14 reviews and an accommodation from the governor of Bali and by all accounts, what has been achieved on the Balinese stage can only be described as a world-class event.
Available to order from Villon Films http://www.villonfilms.com/