Cultural Shifts on “The Returning” A.K.A “Kembali”
Cultural Shifts on “The Returning” A.K.A “Kembali”
Bayu Baharul Islam
“The Returning” is a play written by Fredrik Brattberg and had been translated into two languages; English and Indonesian. It was performed and adapted into Indonesian “Kembali” on October 2013 in IFI Bandung, directed by Sahlan Bahuy. “Kembali” is a tragic comedy which is tells a story of parents who lost their only son without knowing whether the son is dead or still alive. Though they presumed that their son is dead, they’re still hoping someday their son come back home. Until one day, their son really back home with an unexplainable condition. The parents are happy at first, knowing their son is still alive, and they can live together again. However, their family life become more complicated as the son keeps dying, and then revives repeatedly. I found this adapted play is really interesting to be analyzed, in this essay I will be focused on the cultural shifts of the play.
As we know, “Kembali” is adapted from the original version “The Returning”, based on this fact; there are also some cultural elements that need to be shifted into the targeted culture (Norwegian culture to Indonesian culture) to help the targeted audiences understand the story. Beside the language itself, there is a cultural shift shown in “Kembali” which is “gulai kambing”. Gulai kambing is an Indonesian authentic food. In this play, the director appears to have an intention to maintain Indonesian culture in this play, maybe he wanted to prevent the absurdity from the audiences’ interpretation, I can’t imagine if the director still used Norwegian food in the play, maybe there will be a question in my mind that bothering me while watching the play, and make me distracted. Fortunately, this change (gulai kambing) is not reducing the quality of the story. Compared to “a Dolls House” or “Rumah Boneka” performed in 2012 in Dago Teahouse, the cultural shifts in “Kembali” is more precise and comprehensible. In “Rumah
Bayu Baharul Islam
“The Returning” is a play written by Fredrik Brattberg and had been translated into two languages; English and Indonesian. It was performed and adapted into Indonesian “Kembali” on October 2013 in IFI Bandung, directed by Sahlan Bahuy. “Kembali” is a tragic comedy which is tells a story of parents who lost their only son without knowing whether the son is dead or still alive. Though they presumed that their son is dead, they’re still hoping someday their son come back home. Until one day, their son really back home with an unexplainable condition. The parents are happy at first, knowing their son is still alive, and they can live together again. However, their family life become more complicated as the son keeps dying, and then revives repeatedly. I found this adapted play is really interesting to be analyzed, in this essay I will be focused on the cultural shifts of the play.
As we know, “Kembali” is adapted from the original version “The Returning”, based on this fact; there are also some cultural elements that need to be shifted into the targeted culture (Norwegian culture to Indonesian culture) to help the targeted audiences understand the story. Beside the language itself, there is a cultural shift shown in “Kembali” which is “gulai kambing”. Gulai kambing is an Indonesian authentic food. In this play, the director appears to have an intention to maintain Indonesian culture in this play, maybe he wanted to prevent the absurdity from the audiences’ interpretation, I can’t imagine if the director still used Norwegian food in the play, maybe there will be a question in my mind that bothering me while watching the play, and make me distracted. Fortunately, this change (gulai kambing) is not reducing the quality of the story. Compared to “a Dolls House” or “Rumah Boneka” performed in 2012 in Dago Teahouse, the cultural shifts in “Kembali” is more precise and comprehensible. In “Rumah
Cited: Brattberg, F. (2013, October 18). The Returning A.K.A Kembali. (M. A. Hanna Rosiana, Performer) IFI, Bandung, Jawa Barat, Indonesia. Ibsen, H. (2012, April 26). Rumah Boneka. (A. D. Heliana Sinaga, Performer) Dago Tea House, Bandung, Jawa Barat, Indonesia.