Rama-Sinta: A Love Story at Prambanan

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I have wanted to see this classical Ramayana ballet for so long that when I finally had a chance, I felt so excited about it. And the most exciting part of it is, it was held at open air theatre, with the figures of three Prambanan temples as a far-away background.

The air was so magical, felt like we were brought back to the ancient time with palaces and soldiers and prince and princess and magic, all together came into life. An eternal love story between Rama and Sinta, and Rahwana who tried to separate them by kidnapping Sinta, and the battle to bring her back in the name of love was reminding me of many other beautiful love stories around the world.

This story, along with beautiful Prambanan temples on the background, created magical moments for us back there. And it's even lovelier to watch it under the full moon.

Although it's a classical performance, we don't need to be that formal to be able to watch it. We'll be seated at stones chairs, perfectly arranged around the stage, so we could get a perfect look at every angles. The performers would show up from backstage, and sometimes from the entries around spectators. We could laugh loud, gave comments, and even took pictures with blitz. And, at the end of the performance, we've given 5 minutes to go on stage and took pictures with the performers. My lucky day it was, for I took pictures together with Rama and Shinta. I still wanted to take pictures with the antagonist, Rahwana, and the-half-monkey-half-man, Hanoman, but the five-minute-chance was up and they've already gone into the backstage.

For you who want to see this lovely performance, please come to Yogyakarta. There are two performances of Ramayana classical ballet here, one at Prambanan Temple and another at Purawisata. The difference between them is on the style of performance and also the costume. The one at Prambanan is Yogyakarta-style, while the other at Purawisata is closer to Surakarta-style.

For the performance at the Prambanan Temple, I would prefer the one that is held at open-air stage. It's around May-October, from 19.30-21.30. The ticket fares vary from Rp 75.000-Rp 250.000. Well, from my own experience, the lowest fare still has a good view to the stage, so don't worry. But if you prefer indoor performance, then do come in November-April, for it will be held at indoor stage of Trimurti. Same schedule, same fares. But remember, Monday is a day-off. They need a break after 6-days on stage after all, so let just give them a break, will ya 😊

So, enjoy the show and feel the magic in the air!

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