Komedie Stamboel : popular theater in colonial Indonesia, 1891-1903 /
"Come, see, and judge for yourself!" Originating in 1891 in the port city of Surabaya, the Komedie Stamboel, or Istanbul-style theater, toured colonial Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia by rail and steamship, performing musical versions of the Arabian Nights, European fairy tales and oper...
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Athens, Ohio : London :
Ohio University Press ; Eurospan [distributor],
2006
Athens, Ohio : Ohio University Press, c2006 Athens, Ohio : ©2006 Athens, Ohio : [2006] |
| Series: | Research in international studies Southeast Asia series ;
no. 112. Research in international studies Southeast Asia series no. 112. |
| Subjects: |
| Summary: | "Come, see, and judge for yourself!" Originating in 1891 in the port city of Surabaya, the Komedie Stamboel, or Istanbul-style theater, toured colonial Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia by rail and steamship, performing musical versions of the Arabian Nights, European fairy tales and operas such as Sleeping Beauty and Aida, Indian and Persian romances, Southeast Asian chronicles, true crime stories, and political allegories. It was the region's first cross-ethnic theater: actors were primarily Eurasians, the original backers were Chinese, and audiences were made up of all races and classes. Spectacle, stirring music, and comedy appealed to the masses, but the theater also sparked public outrage, with racial frictions between actors and financiers, sex scandals, fights among actors and patrons, bankruptcies, imprisonments, and a murder "Originating in 1891 in the port city of Surabaya, the Komedie Stamboel, or Istanbul-style theater, toured colonial Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia by rail and steamship. The company performed musical versions of the Arabian Nights and European fairy tales and operas such as Sleeping Beauty and Aida, as well as Indian and Persian romances, Southeast Asian chronicles, true crime stories, and political allegories. The actors were primarily Eurasians, the original backers were Chinese, and audiences were made up of all races and classes. While audiences marveled at spectacles involving white-skinned actors, there were also racial frictions between actors and financiers, sex scandals, fights among actors and patrons, bankruptcies, imprisonments, and a murder. Matthew Isaac Cohen's evocative social history situates the Komedie Stamboel in the culture of empire and in late nineteenth-century itinerant entertainment. He shows how the theater was used as a symbol of cross-ethnic integration in postcolonial Indonesia and as an emblem of Eurasian cultural accomplishment by Indische Nederlanders. A pioneering study of nineteenth-century Southeast Asian popular culture, The Komedie Stamboel: Popular Theater in Colonial Indonesia, 1891-1903 gives a new picture of the region's arts and culture and explores the interplay of currents in global culture, theatrical innovation, and movement in colonial Indonesia."--Publisher's website Matthew Isaac Cohen's evocative social history situates the Komedie Stamboel in the culture of empire and translocal flows of itinerant entertainment. He shows how the theater was used as a symbol of cross-ethnic integration in postcolonial Indonesia and as an emblem of Eurasian cultural accomplishment by Indische Nederlanders. A pioneering study of nineteenth-century Southeast Asian popular culture, The Komedie Stamboel: Popular Theater in Colonial Indonesia, 1891-1903 gives a new picture of the region's arts and entertainment through an exploration of the interplay of global culture, theatrical innovation, and the movement of people and ideas in colonial Southeast Asia |
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| Item Description: | This WorldCat-derived record is shareable under Open Data Commons ODC-BY, with attribution to OCLC |
| Physical Description: | 496 pages : illustrations xviii, 473 p. : ill., maps ; 22 cm xviii, 473 p. ; 22 cm xviii, 473 pages : illustrations, maps ; 22 cm xviii, 473 pages ; 22 cm |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (p. [455]-459) and index Includes bibliographical references (p. [455]-459) Includes bibliographical references (pages 455-459) and index Includes bibliographical references (pages [455]-459) and index |
| ISBN: | 0896802469 (alk. paper) 0896802469 (pbk.) 0896802469 9780896802469 (alk. paper) 9780896802469 |