The production I am reviewing is the theatre performance Harto, which I experienced live in a blackbox theatre. The intent of the play is to depict the results of a power-hungry person who corrupts himself to attain power via immoral and prohibited paths: the worship of devils and binding oneself to blackmagic. Harto, the central male character, chooses to abandon God and worship the demon Gahayu. With this pact, Harto is granted dominion over women but ultimately loses himself in his own fantasies and moral decline. Selaseh is one of the two female protagonists and the first woman that melts Harto's heart but also the breaking point of Harto's emotional collapse. Selaseh is also sinful, as she has lived a life stained by prostitution and lies.
The narrative progresses through a succession of disturbing and grotesque scenes: the birth of a baby without skin, a series of cult-like actions, and finally an array of women turning into replicas of Selaseh due to Harto's manipulation. The climax of the play is tragic: Harto violently disembowels a pregnant woman named Tari, mistakenly thinking she is Selaseh, and then gets himself brutally destroyed by the demon he once characterized as a servant. The performance took place in a blackbox theatre, a flexible and personal space that encouraged close proximity between the performers and the audience. There was effective use of sound effects, lighting design, props, and costumes, to produce a ghostly immersiveness in the original play writing. When we consider Harto through an ethical lens, it closely resembles a classical tragedy. The narrative abides by a landscape of dramatic action with an exposition, a conflict, a climax, and a resolution.
The exposition introduces Simbok, Harto's mother, as she struggles to dismantle her family's generational pact with the demon Gahayu. Her tragic demise (in addition to the birth of a cursed child) sets up a relatively bleak tone for the rest of the play. The conflict becomes increasingly more complex as Harto is in love with Selaseh and fear becomes an obsession with her memory and image. The climax occurs when Amina, another female character and victim, refuses Harto's authority, but he overcomes her in the end and kills her. Finally, Harto is punished in a brutal, but overly fitting, punishment for going against his pact with Gahayu. As far as visuals and sound are concerned, the aesthetics of the production were both disgusting and attractive. The costumes, particularly those of Gahayu and the possessed women were blood-soaked, dirty and meant to be in a nightmarish, hellish domain. The lighting designer relied heavily on dim, red light which worked to conjure a ritualized feel and helped transition between surreal and horrific scenes.
The way the history of sound, both traditional music and warped radio static was used helped amplify the suspense and oppressive atmosphere of the play. Moreover, there were some items used in the production that fed into the emotional experience of the production. The dry leaves scattered across stage, the tattered clothing pieces, and things like knives and other significant props helped generate the effects of fear and dread. Of all the elements in the aesthetic experience of the play, the most impactful was the scent of the performance space. It was reminiscent of incense or burning offerings (disgusting, but still very symbolic of more sinister messages about demonic worship). This performed atmosphere pulled the audience deeper into the play and its thinking about the imagery of worship. These decisions resulted in the performance's intensely immersive, complex, and disturbing aesthetic. Harto's performance can be understood to exemplify an allegory about the perils of unrestrained ambition; emptiness; and the ability of individuals to rationalize immoral behaviour as ‘victims’ of circumstance. Although Harto views himself as someone who is suffering from his situation, it is his own greed, pride, and lust that result in his monstrosity. Selaseh and the other women are also symbolic.
They exemplify how people, even after suffering abuse or misfortune, are still forced to reckon with the moral impact of their actions. The director seems to adopt a melodramatic form with an intense emotional delivery. This works well with Gahayu since the larger-than-life gestures of the actors were reflective of the characters' internal suffering and chaotic fear of the supernatural. Some may see this as overacting, but within a play riddled with spiritual corruption and psychological trauma, it felt justified and appropriate. The blackbox theatre space facilitated the director's vision of transcending a 'theatrical' experience and creating a visceral and immersive one for the audience. The lack of a stage or barriers between spectators and actor provided an intimate place for the performances to unfold.
This physical, and psychological proximity enhanced the impact of the emotionality of scenes of violence, possession, and fear. Many moments of silence made you feel like the audience was collectively holding their breath. This felt quite effective in terms of the staging allowing for such an immersive experience. Harto is an unsettling yet beautifully crafted piece of theatre which generated feelings of fear, reflection, and emotional unease. The performance aesthetics, with deliberate choices regarding lighting, costume, makeup, scent, sound design, and arrangement of space are a demonstration of strong artistic vision and direction. The play followed an obvious tragedy structure, and the audience was led through phases of suspense, emotional intensity, and relief as the emotional arc progressed consistent with philosophical principles. In conclusion, the overall experience of the theatre was powerful and unforgettable.
The performance aesthetics were memorable, but the themes presented will make one think deeply about morals, belief, and one's actions and the consequences of those actions. Harto is exceptional theatre that tells a fascinating story and conveys an important moral. I would be more than happy to go to another performance of this style in the future, if the chance arises.
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