ELEFTHEROTYPIA
(daily
newspaper)
26
August 2004
A
stage bus from Indonesia around the Peloponese
Indonesian culture visits
Greek culture in towns of the Peloponese. A whole theatre is traveling
from town to town on four wheels and offers a spectacle unique and
traditional to all seven Peloponnesian prefectures.
It is the traveling show
‘Stage Bus’ which performs with singing, dancing, music, shadow
theatre and video projections. This colourful tour is under the auspices
of the Indonesian government and the Cultural Olympiad.
A specially transformed
multi-purpose bus with all the necessary equipment (shadow theatre screen,
video projector, grand piano, drums) brings the 20 Indonesian artists to
towns like Argos (26 / 8), Lerna (27 / 8), Tripoli, Sparti, Gytheio,
Kalamata, Ancient Olympia etc. performing a-la-carte in each town, in case
the space and conditions need some adjustments to the show.
The
purpose of this unique trip within culture, which is taking place in the
spirit of the Olympics and Paralympics in Athens 2004, is the deeper
understanding among nations and civilizations as it is presented through
the diversity and the variety both of the Indonesian culture and of the
multicultural-multinational aspect of the means of expression.
The
‘Stage Bus’ was constructed in Holland in 1994 based on the design by
visual artist Aart Marcus and the Helsdingen Trio team. Since then, it has
traveled and given performances in the whole of Europe, the USA, Australia
and, naturally, Indonesia, the latter having also funded the project.
This
moving theatre is none other than a 12-metre long vehicle, whose side
unfolds and forms a stage on which all the action takes place.
The
‘Stage Bus’ has its own audio systems, lighting systems and musical
instruments, the most impressive being a grand piano.