New Tradition in a Modernity-Deficit Postcolony

A binary opposition between ‘tradition versus modernity’ has preoccupied the Indonesian public and its analysts for a century. The ‘New Theatre’ is the country’s most celebrated form in the performing arts for its amalgamation of ‘tradition and modernity’, but the dualism persists. A critical reexamination of the New Theatre will benefit substantially from a review of the broader debate about a flawed modernity that has allegedly characterised many postcolonies, due to the legacies of their traditions.