Earlier this month, Indonesia Kaya in collaboration with Garin Nugroho, Teater Musikal Nusantara (TEMAN) and BOOW Live released musical web-series NURBAYA as part of the #MusikalDiRumahAja programme that has commenced since last year. Highlighting Indonesian folklore, programme director Renitasari Adrian hopes that the new concept of virtual musical series will give the Indonesian theatre scene a fresh perspective, as well as familiarise the younger generations with the magnificent Indonesian literature.

NURBAYA is adapted from a 1922 novel titled Sitti Nurbaya: Kasih Tak Sampai written by Marah Rusli. However, unlike the original novel that is set in the 1920s Minangkabau, the musical series’ setting has been changed to 1970s Jakarta.

“For the NURBAYA Musical Series, we developed some changes from the original story to make it more relevant with today’s era. Jakarta in the 1970s is considered as the most suitable setting as during that time there were a lot of changes in pop culture, including fashion and music. We also added some additional characters to strengthen the musicality in the series," said executive producer Garin Nugroho at a media preview and virtual press conference. 

The scriptwriter, Chriskevin Adefrid from TEMAN, said that, “This could be a proof that Sitti Nurbaya is a timeless literary work whose premise and messages are still relevant until today.”

Starring Arawinda, Bukie Mansyur, Bima Zeno Pooroe and many more Indonesian talented performers, NURBAYA is available free of charge on Indonesia Kaya’s YouTube channel.