Tuesday, 9 November 2010
I love great theatrical and musical performances and the new Bali Theatre presentation Bali Agung is awesome, rivalling those amazing theme park presentations and performances the US has become so good at.
When I was privileged to be taken to Bali Theatre, I was told that the spectacular Bali Theatre performance of Bali Agung was inspired by the historic and legendary account of Sri Jaya Pangus, King of what was the unassailable Balingkang Kingdom of 12th century Bali, which romantically takes its name from marriage between a Balinese king and princess of Kang family of China. Today, many of us will have seen effigies of the King paraded through the streets of Bali as an ogre-like Barong Landung, warding off bad luck and evil spirit.
Bali Theatre recreates this epic and brings the legend to life in a rare display of Bali’s diverse cultural heritage, in an entirely new concept for Bali, with Bali Agung described as a massive collaboration of 150 performers mirroring every aspect of the Bali’s historic past retelling an epic Balinese tale with scenes of the island’s paradise, its royal atmosphere and the magical forests that are the settings for the romantic and heroic scenes, which helps any visitor really understand and appreciate Bali’s cultural heritage.
Bali Agung takes place in a massive 1,200 seat indoor theatrical complex built to international standards in stage settings, state-of-art lighting and sound systems, offering luxurious seating, located in the heart of Bali Safari Marine Park along the newly developed seaside highway, Jalan Ida Bagus Mantra, on Bali south-eastern coastline of Gianyar.
Bali Theatre is a mega-stage theatrical complex, fully equipped with advanced multi-media technology and state-of-art sound and lighting systems, the entrance featuring the island’s tallest 8-metre high Ganesha statue, the God of science and knowledge, who appears to be persuading visitors to enter the lobby and discover the many aspects of theatre. The statue even suggests to people that the theatre was built with highly sophisticated technology, and performers that will guide their audiences to a better knowledge of Bali and its charming people, unique tradition, history, and culture.
A walk through the tunnel behind the statue leads visitors to the luxurious pre-function area, decorated with warm lighting, a wooden floor and a beautifully landscaped garden filled with exotic flowers, shrubs and extensive ponds. The lobby can be considered as a perfect pre-function venue for cocktails as well as an ideal location for a private party or theme function.
The Bali Theatre brings a whole new experience to theatrical art performances, especially in Bali, by combining stunning and very colourful traditional and contemporary dance, modern puppetry and live animal parades and all highlighted with a combination of three different awesome musical and melodic influences.
The music was especially written and was performed and recorded by a western orchestra accompanied by a live Balinese pentatonic gamelan ensemble and loud Chinese cymbals and drum.
The setting is just amazing and something you have to see if you go to Bali, with the huge main stage separated from the audience by a river pond, with boat skippers voyaging on it and the mega-stage setting transporting the audience into a timeless journey and through a magical performance that shows the true colours of the island as it was several hundred years ago.
To see a sample of this amazing performance and hear what the visionaries behind this superb performance and also its Balinese and Australian directors have to say, please click on the video below: -
http://www.etravelblackboard.com/article/111018/bali-agung-at-bali-theatre-stunningly-recreates-bali8217s-historic-past
