Disclaimer: This review is part of my personal takes on the works presented at Pesta ARTI 2.0. The thoughts and opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer (i.e. me, myself and I) and do not reflect the views of the organizers, jury, or any affiliated parties. The intention is to engage critically with the work while supporting the growth of indie theater.
Team 4:
By Kelambulan
Written by Amylia Atirah & Adam Syahmi
Directed by Aiman Zulhakim
Karma Sutera is an unfortunate case of a mock trial gone in too many directions. The title, a plain pun on the well-known Kama Sutra, feels like it needed more thought, just like the play as a whole. It lacks cohesion in theme and plot, even by the loose standards of absurdist theatre.
This is an absurd piece, both in the formal sense of the genre and in the everyday meaning of the word. Absurd theatre is difficult to pull off: it’s a genre that demands sharp execution and an audience willing to stay engaged through its disorienting logic. It’s a risky choice and the gamble doesn’t always pay off. A rough survey of the audience reactions showed a mixed reception. But then again, that’s the nature of absurdism: some will stay on its strange ride, others will tune out entirely.
The story touches on social injustice, capitalism, consumerism, institutional critique, and the pressures of societal conformity. At times, it felt as though the script had been fitted to meet the competition’s required theme, that is climate change, which only became apparent about halfway through the show. The plot developed in a direction that felt quite distant from what one might expect in a competition centered around climate change. In fact, the elements inserted into the story arguably leaned more towards environmental pollution rather than climate change itself. While the two issues are related, the emphasis here seemed to stray from the core theme, barely touching on the deeper issues of climate crisis.
I believe that if they had focused fully on their apparent original themes (social injustice, capitalism, and institutional critique) the script could have been stronger, more focused and allowed for a deeper exploration through absurdism. However, because ARTI 2.0 required climate change to be included, they had no choice but to weave it in and unfortunately, it felt forced. I do hope Kelambulan will continue to develop this script, refine it further, and restage it outside of competition constraints. With the freedom to pursue their own direction, they might be able to deliver a more impactful absurdist piece. After all, in a competition setting, you inevitably have to follow certain rules, but outside of it, they could really let the work breathe and find its full potential.
Visually, I’d say they did quite a good job (well of course depending how well could you accept absurdism). The setting is sometime after the year 2290. It’s mentioned in the play that the "90s" refer to the 2290s, though how much further into the future is never clearly stated. Their imagined world is one where fast fashion has reached a ridiculous extreme: people are required to constantly buy new fashion items, wear them once, and immediately discard them. They even have a "Mahkamah Fesyen" (Fashion Court) to judge those who fail to meet the ever-changing style standards. Picture the Capitol from The Hunger Games, but cranked up ten times more absurd.
They clearly pushed themselves to build a distinct world, one that still feels somewhat recognizable but layered with much greater peculiarity. And that’s a smart move: if you’re going to set your story far into the future, it would be a missed opportunity not to embrace the freedom to make things as absurd as you want. A distant timeline gives you license to exaggerate and deviate wildly. That said, it’s interesting that the character on trial wears fairly typical clothes (a blazer, shirt, and slacks) similar to what we wear today. In the play, it’s mentioned that these clothes date back to the 2290s, suggesting that the extreme turn toward fast fashion consumerism happened sometime after that era.
They also made a conscious effort to avoid using real-world brands in the set and dialogue. While brand names are mentioned, they are all playful twists on existing brands, keeping everything firmly fictional. It’s a smart move, it helps create a necessary sense of difference and estrangement between the world of the play and the audience’s reality, strengthening the absurd atmosphere they’re aiming for.
There are a few lines in the play that, in my opinion, should be cut. However, I’ll leave that as a private note for the production team to consider for future refinements.
Overall, Karma Sutera is a daring attempt at absurdist theatre, with a clear intention to explore creativity, especially in its world-building and visual presentation. However, the script struggles under the weight of competing themes and the pressure to meet competition requirements, resulting in a piece that feels stretched in too many directions. Still, the spirit of experimentation is evident, and with further development and the freedom to fully pursue its original ideas, I believe Kelambulan has the potential to shape this into a much more solid and compelling work.
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