Barikan: A Wayang Ritual Drama with Gamelan and Shadow Puppets

This performance of Barikan, a ritual drama of Indonesia, uses shadow puppets (wayang kulit) from the Dr. Walter Angst and Sir Henry Angest Collection of Indonesian Puppets, a recent major gift to the Yale University Art Gallery. Barikan is a traditional play about the abduction of the people of Amarta by invisible spirits and their eventual rescue by magical means.

The piece is performed by puppeteer Matthew Isaac Cohen, Senior Visiting Fellow, Yale University Art Gallery, and Professor of International Theatre, Royal Holloway, University of London, with the Central Javanese Gamelan Ensemble. It is directed by Maho Isiguro and Darsono Hadiraharjo (Javenses master musician), with vocals by special guest artist Anne Stebinger.