Wayang Kulit, Yogyakarta Overview

Wayang Kulit is a form of traditional performance art, native to Javanese, Balinese and Lombok cultures in South-East Asia. It is quite a stunner of a puppet show, where carved leather figures are played against light to cast shadows from on a taut linen screen. It has been around for centuries and this much-loved artform is now spreading out from Indonesia to the rest of Asia.

Wayang Kulit is especially known for telling elaborate and meaningful stories with the help of shadow puppetry. On any given day, if you walk into a theatre hosting a Wayang Kulit show, there is a high chance it might be about a story from the Hindu epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata, or stories of the Indonesian hero, Amir Hamzah.

The Show

There are other small theatres scattered all around Central Java and Yogyakarta region which stage similar performances. It is an artistic gem that the Javanese culture is proud of and they should be. It takes immense skill to manoeuvre a Wayang Kulit show. Other than playing the leather dolls, a puppeteer has to tell the story, change character intonations, enact voice modulations and sometimes ing as well. There is something very poignant and haunting about this particular artform, which is why you should never miss it while in Yogyakarta.

Venues

There are two prominent Wayang Kulit shows you can go for if you are in Yogyakarta. One takes place in Sonobudoyo Museum near Kraton Yogyakarta (Palace) in Malioboro Area. The timing of the show is from 8 AM to 10 PM every day and tickets are sold on-spot at IDR 20,000 per head.

Another one takes place inside the Yogyakarta Palace complex, in Bangsal Sri Manganti. The show itself is free, but entry to the kraton costs IDR 12,500. The show is held every Saturday from 9 AM to 1 PM.