Surat-Suratnya

A collaboration between Stage of Wawan Sofwan, Sandra Fiona Long and Ria Soemardjo

This sensorial work full of delicious smells, evocative sounds and disturbing testimony is based on the true story of 'Ibu Helen', an Australian woman living in Jakarta with her Indonesian husband- a trade unionist- and their children, during the 'communist purges' of the mid 1960's, where an estimated 1.5 million people were killed with Western complicity.

Based on letters Ibu Helen wrote home to her family in Gippsland, recent interviews and media archives, it weaves her story, performed by actor Ellen Marning while preparing the last family meal of 'Sayur Lodeh' (Javanese vegetable curry) before escaping to the safety of Australia, with a magical rendering of Javanese food philosophy and live performed contemporary gamelan and song by Indonesian musician/composer Eka Kurnia.

First performed to sell out audiences and critical acclaim in December 2023, this work created by artists from Australia and Indonesia is accompanied by a sound installation 'Behind the Letters' created by artist Ria Soemardjo, exploring her family's experience during the communist purges.

Surat-Suratnya will appeal to anyone interested in politics and history, bearing witness to a still untold story where millions are estimated to have been massacred in the ‘communist’ purges.