Tonight Theatre “My Name Is Ingrid”: A Forgotten Building Awakens, the Voice of Art Refuses to Die

By Leni Marlina

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Padang, West Sumatra — Suara Anak Negeri News, October 25, 2025| Tonight, Saturday, October 25, 2025, at 8:00 p.m., a long-abandoned cultural building in Taman Budaya Sumatera Barat, Jl. Diponegoro No. 31, Padang—commonly known as the “Mangkrak Building” due to its unfinished construction—will come alive. The revival will not come from hammers, cranes, or ceremonial openings, but from the breath of artists, cultural enthusiasts, and performers determined to restore life to a space that has long been forgotten. Once silent and covered in dust, the building will now host an experimental theatre performance, blending symbolism and reality, imagination and history.

Teater Kuliek Padang, in collaboration with Studio 31, presents the performance “My Name Is Ingrid,” produced by Dr. Andria Catri Tamsin, M.Pd., directed by Boyke Sulaiman, and written by Ilhamdi Sulaiman. Both Boyke and Ilhamdi represent a shared creative vision dedicated to reigniting the flame of Indonesian art. In a written interview on October 24, 2025, Boyke explained that what motivated him was not only nostalgia, but also a sense of responsibility toward a space left to die. “The abandoned building is like a human body that has lost its voice, yet echoes of laughter and footsteps from past artists remain on its walls. I want to restore it to its original function as a living space, not merely a structure,” he said.

From the silence of the building emerged Ingrid, a character who is more than just the ghost of a Dutch colonial dance house. She represents the collective memory of abandoned art, the “soul of the stage” that refuses to vanish. “When I first looked at the empty stage, I felt someone calling from the past. That name: Ingrid,” Boyke recalled. Ingrid becomes a guardian spirit, reminding audiences that culture is an essential part of life that must not disappear.

The performance incorporates industrial and metallic sounds—oil drums, chains, and rusted pipes—not merely as props but as the voice of a weary city. “The drums, chains, and pipes replace an orchestra. They are the cries of old spaces pushed aside by economic machinery. From rust, I discovered poetry,” said Boyke. Each sound serves as a medium to convey the pain and hope of neglected cultural spaces.

Described as a ritual of awakening the space, the performance honors history, the building itself, and nearly lost art. The “awakening” is not of ghosts, but of consciousness: the awareness that every abandoned art space is a spiritual loss for the community. Boyke added that rehearsals offered a spiritual experience for the actors—they did not only rehearse lines, but also listened to the walls, inhaled the dust of history, and integrated it into their performance. In one rehearsal, an actor reportedly cried, overwhelmed by the energy of the space, highlighting the production’s deep emotional and spiritual dimension.

The play also establishes a dialogue between past and present. Boyke emphasized that the past never truly leaves—it lives among us through memories, buildings, and recurring policies. “The dialogue of two eras is a meeting of consciousness—between those who built the cultural spaces of the past and us, who often forget them today,” he explained.

For audiences, this theatre experience cannot be replicated digitally. “Watching live theatre is witnessing life itself—raw, vulnerable, and honest. There is no ‘rewind’ or ‘delete’ button. The actors’ energy, breath, and sweat under the stage lights cannot be downloaded,” Boyke stressed.

Beyond its artistic beauty, the performance also serves as a subtle social critique. Many cultural spaces remain abandoned, while economic priorities often favor profit over artistic life. “My Name Is Ingrid is a quiet protest against a system that values art only by its financial return, not by its vitality,” Boyke said. A line from the script underscores this message: “You are not only driving away my ghost; you are killing the culture that was paid to be nurtured.”

The production team includes Dr. Andria Catri Tamsin, M.Pd. (Producer), Mak Ye (Lighting Designer), Ikhsan Rasha (Music Director), Ery Mursyaf (Choreographer), and the FPSB Property Team—Zamzami Ismail, Yenni Ibrahim, Dadang Leona, who transform discarded materials into symbols of rebirth. Four lead actors—Rifa, Ayat, Roma, and Dalo—do not simply portray characters; they embody the building itself, carrying the memory of its past, its home, and its aspirations.

The deepest message of the performance is clear: what appears dead is not necessarily gone, and what is alive is not necessarily aware. Ingrid reminds audiences that culture cannot be buried as long as there is a single soul brave enough to revive it. Boyke added that even if the building returns to silence, the enduring spirit of creation will remain, and the echo of Ingrid’s voice will stay with those who witness it.

Open Invitation

Theatre “My Name Is Ingrid” will be performed tonight at the Department of Culture of West Sumatra, Jl. Diponegoro No. 31, Padang, at 8:00 p.m. For information and reservations, contact Mas Bambang Art at +62 812-6844-1946.

As the stage lights pierce the shadows and dust, a soft voice will echo:

“My name is Ingrid.”

Come and experience a journey that intertwines history, art, and mystery. Theatre is not just a stage—it is the living soul of culture refusing to die.

(Leni Marlina, Editor-in-Chief – suaraanaknegerinews.com)