Sounds of silence: Indonesia stages first musical with deaf artists

In a Jakarta theatre, the music pulsed from speakers as a group of young artists danced in a musical, bathed in multicolour stage lights. But no one was singing.

Theatre troupe Fantasi Tuli (Deaf Fantasy) was performing Indonesia's first musical with mainly deaf artists and crew on Saturday, using screens around the stage showing dialogue and lyrics as actors performed with their facial expressions and hand signs.

The musical "Senandung Senyap" (Songs of Silence) depicts the plight of students in a middle school for children with disabilities. Directors Hasna Mufidah and Helga Theresia created it to raise awareness and promote the use of sign language.

"My hope is, going forward, inclusivity can be strengthened, that between deaf and hearing people, hearing is not superior – we're equal," Mufidah, who is deaf, said through Indonesian sign language.

Involving more than 60 deaf actors and crew, aged 16 to 40, the musical took three months to prepare. It is inspired by Deaf West Theatre in the United States, Helga said.

The performance examines special-needs education in Indonesian schools, where deaf students are often taught with an emphasis on speech training and lip-reading, more than on sign language, amid a wider debate about the best education methods for children with hearing disability.

Some in the deaf community argue oral education can lead to a sense of alienation, and that sign language is a more natural way to communicate for them. Proponents of such a method say it could better integrate people with hearing disability with the more dominant hearing community.

For deaf actor Hanna Aretha Oktavia, the musical was her introduction to sign language and the wider deaf community.

"Throughout dialogue rehearsals we had to use as much expressions as possible and to follow the storyline," Hanna said.

"What's interesting is in rehearsals we have to feel the tempo and vibrations and match them with the choreography. I think that's the most intriguing part because I love to dance. And we paid close attention to the beats with the help of hearing aids. We use big speakers to help guide us," she said.

More than 2 million of Indonesia's 280 million people have a hearing disability, including 27,983 students in special-needs schools.

Reuters