Indonesia-Japan Co-Production of King Lear Theater Staged in Jakarta

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - The Bumi Purnati Indonesia Foundation and the Japan Foundation staged a theater production of King Lear, adapted from the work of William Shakespeare, at the Jakarta Arts Building in Central Jakarta on 16-17 September 2026. The theatrical performance is expected to strengthen ties between Indonesian and Japanese arts communities through a creative process.

“King Lear is part of a long journey to build artistic synergy while bringing together Japanese experience and Indonesia’s cultural wealth. We hope this collaboration will continue to grow and create opportunities for young people to pursue their work together in the arts,” said Chairperson of the Jakarta Arts Council’s Executive Board, Bambang Prihadi, on Wednesday, September 16, 2026.

This strategic cross-border initiative was launched by the Bumi Purnati Foundation and Suzuki Company Toga (SCOT) with the aim of strengthening global cultural ties. The collaboration is also expected to provide young Indonesian artists with opportunities to learn and develop within the arts ecosystem.

“We want to build a collaboration that is not merely short-lived, but develops into a long-term artistic endeavor with fellow artists. Through our friendship with SCOT and Tadashi Suzuki, we continue to create opportunities for sustained collaboration with Indonesian artists,” he said.

Indonesian artists have taken part in the production and are considered to possess considerable theatrical ability. “The cast consists of eight actors from Indonesia, Japan, Italy, the United States, Russia, South Korea, China and Chile. Indonesia has particularly caught my attention; the Indonesian actors performed their roles very well,” said King Lear Director, Tadashi Suzuki, at a press conference for the production on Wednesday.

Suzuki specifically praised the three Indonesian actors involved in the performance. He said their abilities demonstrated a level of quality capable of competing with artists from various countries.

He also noted that the American actor had extensive experience working with him in the theater world. One of the American actresses, he said, had worked with Tadashi for more than 40 years.

In addition, he mentioned Anton from Russia and Ambrose from China as actors who had added distinctive elements to the King Lear production. The participation of actors from diverse backgrounds enriched the production’s creative process.

Suzuki said he had worked with Indonesian artists for many years and held a positive view of the development of the performing arts in Indonesia. He expressed hope that the collaboration would continue to expand through exchanges of experience among artists.

“I am very happy to work in Indonesia and have maintained a long-standing collaboration with Indonesian artists. I hope these artistic ties will continue to develop,” he concluded. (Annaila Azzahra-EN)