2018 REVIVAL
Theatre, dance, music and poetry unite when the Indonesian epic I La Galigo comes to the stage. A visionary work by the internationally acclaimed master of theatre Robert Wilson, I La Galigo features a cast of over 50 of Indonesia’s finest performers.
The theatre work I La Galigo was inspired by Sureq Galigo, an epic poem of the Bugis people of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, passed on through oral tradition and believed to have been written down in the 14th century. Longer than the Mahabharata and comparable to the adventures of Ulysses in Homer’s Odyssey, to the Bugis Sureq Galigo was a bible, history book and practical guide to everything from wedding rituals to planting and sailing. The adaptation of this complex work brought to life on stage is a captivating story of love, destiny and tragedy. It tells of the creation of the Middle World and the battles, loves and adventures of the first six generations of its inhabitants. The adventures of the main characters illuminate the cosmology of the ancient Bugis world, much of which is still alive in the music, costumes, architecture and ritual of the Bugis people today.
I La Galigo defies categorisation. It is performed entirely without dialogue, with the story presented through movement, music played on traditional Indonesian instruments, stunning visuals, and narration sung in ancient Buginese, a language all but lost even in the region of its origin. This groundbreaking event was first performed in Singapore in 2004 and has since toured the world until 2011. Now it will be presented in its 2018 revival in Bali where the audiences can experience a spectacle that merges the traditions of the Bugis people with Robert Wilson’s contemporary and visionary theatrical language in a must-see experience.
“Visionary magic.” NEW YORK TIMES
“[Indonesia’s] heritage can only be enriched when one of the most vitally creative men in theatre revitalizes an epic tale that might otherwise have been forgotten.” TIME ASIA
