Hades Memudar –
(Hades Fading)
A stunning vocal and visual performance by Melbourne-Bandung theatre collaboration Mainteater, written & directed by Sandra Fiona Long.
Hades Fading (Hades Memudar) is a vocal and visual performance work which re-imagines the Ancient Greek realm of Hades fading away in a post-apocalyptic time in which no humans are left to believe in it or imagine it. Hades Fading reflects on memory, media, belief, and the potential catastrophe awaiting humans if we don’t care for our world. The work features a sophisticated interweaving of English and Indonesian language, stunning projections, and an original score, performed live.
Hades Fading is the latest of Mainteater’s 22 years of award winning vocal and multilingual collaborations between artists in Bandung and Melbourne, reflecting on consumerism and its impact.
Hades Fading is multi-lingual and accessible across Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa English through use of surtitles and mutual vocal translation.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer/theatre maker Sandra Fiona Long (Melbourne) | Performers Heliana Sinaga, Wawan Sofwan, Godi Suwarna and Rinrin Candraresmi (Bandung) | Composer and performer Ria Soemardjo (Melbourne) and Sisca Gunzeng Harp (Bandung) | Costume and set designer Emily Barrie (Melbourne) | Bamboo and video mapping artist Deden Bulqini (Bandung) | Lighting designer Aji Sangiaji (Bandung) | Producers Sahlan Mujtaba & Osi Presepti (Bandung) and Kath Papas (Melbourne).
DOWNLOADS
LINKS
La Mama Theatre
Asia TOPA
Mainteater
Asia TOPA Virtual Labs
SUPPORTERS
Hades Memudar is made possible through the support of: Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding & advisory body; Besen Family Foundation; Creative Victoria; Helen Soemardjo Foundation; Playking Foundation; Auspicious Arts Projects Inc.
CREDITS
Photos by Mohammed Sa’iq
Email us for the link and password for the full length video
Reviews
“A haunting fusion of Indonesian and Western performance traditions, Hades Fading uses spellbinding visual theatre, bilingual text and music to explore contemporary themes through ancient mythology. … Shadowplay has long featured in Indonesian theatre, and this 21st-century iteration – with lush projections from Deden Jalaludin Bulqini – is a triumph.” **** 4 stars, The Age/SMH
“Hades Fading (Hades Memudar) is breathtakingly beautiful and incredibly haunting as it speaks to forgetting the past and losing the lessons of old, inevitably heading to a future without human life.” ***** 5 stars, What Did She Think?
“… the collaborators, some of whom have worked together for more than two decades, are well-matched, with an obvious sense of mutual respect permeating throughout the entire production.” Arts Equator (Singapore)
“This collaboration between two countries was able to embrace two cultures into one beautiful dish of a show” –Kompasiana (Indonesia)
“Stunning from all sides. Acting, design, music and especially the direction create a performance which is truly an aesthetic work of art from all angles.” – Tribune Jateng (Indonesia)
“This is a compelling, extremely entertaining production that moves easily between the light-hearted and the dark, the playful and the deadly serious.” The Sunday Age on Happy 1000 1000 Bahagia
Production History
WORLD PREMIERE
28 – 30 August 2019
@NuArt Sculpture Park
(Bundung, Indonesia)
AUSTRALIA PREMIERE
27 Feb -1 Mar 2020
Asia TOPA at La Mama Courthouse
(Melbourne, Australia)
ASIA TOPA VIRTUAL LABS
“What type nymph was she?”, launched in June 2022
In Hades Fading, Eurydice sits in the fading library of Hades, trying to remember what type of nymph her mother was, before humans stopped believing in the ones who look after the forests and waters. Here, collaborators from the project discuss nature worship as they reflect on scenes from the work. See more about Asia TOPA Virtual Labs
