Review: IMC's Zeventien Attempts to Harmonize Musical and Realist Theatre

(Review and photos by Nabila "Hana" Hananti, editing by Rakaputra Paputungan)

On July 28, 2024, the realist musical XVII (“Zeventien”) serves as the debut performance from the newly-established Indonesian Musical Company. Performed at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta, IMC brought a tale about a succession conflict in the 17th century – the heyday of VOC (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie), the Dutch trade company governing Indonesia (then known as the Dutch Indies). Directed by Venantius Vladimir Ivan with music by Charis Joshua Untung, IMC made their debut in the Indonesian theatre scene.

The story of XVII begins with the arrival of Martin, one of the two sons of Bram van Goudberg—a Hereen XVII (the board of directors of the VOC)—in Dutch East Indies. He came with Charles, an optimistic soldier and a good friend of Martin. His arrival there was due to his father looking to find a successor, between him and his stepbrother Marco, who was born out of wedlock.

At the moment, the VOC was having trouble acquiring land owned by the inlanders. Martin was tasked to figure out the cause, and during the process, he became entangled with an inlander lady named Ambar. Ambar’s parents have been fighting over whether to protect or sell their land. Amidst his budding romance with Ambar, Martin began hesitating to take the land of her birth.

Eventually, Martin chooses to ally with the inlander while his brother, Marco—and by extension, their father and VOC—seeks to acquire the land by force. It leads to a fight between inlanders who want to protect their land and the colonizers who seek to take theirs. The brothers dueled. The bloody conflict ended with Charles jumping in the way of a bullet to save Martin and Ambar stabbing Marco in the back. The conclusion sees Marco dying in his mother’s arms while Martin and Ambar escape to safety, presumably to live and fight for another day.

Interestingly enough, IMC is making a sequel titled “LEGACY, A XVII STORY” that will be performed on November 30th and December 1st this year. Perhaps then we’ll be able to see the continuation of Martin and Ambar’s story.

Having the show take place in what used to be a colonial estate set the atmosphere of the performance early on. It's still a rare choice in contemporary Indonesian theatre, despite the country's long history with colonialism. The show carried an unnerving mystery before its unveiling, and it began the moment the MC arrived on the stage. Then, coming with him was a gentle and almost familial tone—ultimately, putting a focus on the aspects underlying the story: friendship and hope.

The music works wonders in setting the lighthearted tone of the performance in the beginning. However, as the story progressed, the musical approach broke the tension instead. A lot of moments could’ve gone thrillingly, with a build-up that would’ve made us anxious to follow the characters’ fates. However, the tension kept getting broken by the unfitting music. While the songs in their own right are fun and masterfully composed by Charis Joshua Untung, the music and the story felt like they were clashing against each other. It didn’t feel like what the story needed.

For a musical company, I found it curious that they made a play which relies more on its monologue and tension-filled dialogue instead of the numbers. It shows too, as the play shined its brightest during its realist moment. The show’s plot itself is quite interesting, showing how interpersonal conflicts can intermingle with wider conflicts of class, race, and economy; the writing manages to ramp up the stakes until its climactic resolution. Unfortunately, the musical numbers tended to break the tension in the storyline.

The idea of the staging design it had was great. From a technical standpoint, the synchronization of the cast, crew, and musicians was incredible. The lighting, set, and costumes really helped in bringing the Dutch Indies to life. The show also made the most out of the theater space, having actors come out between the audience or in the box, making for some interesting theatrical moments.

Unfortunately, the show wasn’t without its fault. There were problems with the sound system – especially since it was only used during musical numbers, making for a quite jarring overall experience – and also a lack of key light. 

The highlight of the show would be Daniel Anargya’s (Charles) stage presence during his scenes. His on-stage characters were very enjoyable and his—spoiler alert—death was one of the saddest moments on stage. Fernandes Handika’s voice shone during his monologue and remained consistent throughout. Achmad Fadlan & Christina Maria’s vocals sparked during their duet. Additionally, the sword fights were executed impressively. The crowded ensemble also helped create the liveliness that musicals ought to have, but it was unfortunate that they seemed exhausted—possibly due to performing four times that day.

The attempt to unite a realistic play with a musical didn’t quite work out for Zeventien. The musical approach didn’t fit with the narrative writing, making for an unbalanced theatre performance. The songs were slow and hopeful while much of the story heads toward chaos and despair. The comedy was dry and only picked up its pace in the second half. It wasn’t easy to understand the flow of the story as well. The story had potential, but it didn’t manage to realize that potential just yet.

For their first performance, IMC brought a solid work with Zeventien. It was a fascinating attempt in mixing the theatrical strengths of musical theatre and realist theatre. It certainly has much to improve, but I believe that they bring a unique offering that can give a refreshing new color this rapidly growing industry.

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