W.S Rendra

W.S Rendra

Willibrordus Surendra Broto Rendra (7 November 1935 - 6 August 2009 in Depok, West Java - aged 73), widely known as Rendra or W. S. Rendra, was an Indonesian dramatist, poet, activist, performer, actor and director.

Born to a Roman Catholic family (his father was a Catholic English teacher) and baptized as Willibrordus Surendra Bawana Rendra, he changed his name to 'only' Rendra when he embraced Islam in 1970. After studying English literature and culture at Gajah Mada University in Yogyakarta (Central Java), he didn't make time to graduate because with his first theatrical project he was already gainfully employed. In 1963 he staged his first play ( "Dead Voices"), became fascinated with the craft, and from then on, with his traditional religious ritual performances, as well as Western avant-garde experiments, captured and kept large audiences. Because of the nature of his poetry readings and his sexy performances on the stage, he was given the nickname "Burung Merak“ (the Peacock) by the press.

Rendra continued to create numerous literary and cultural projects. In 2003, now long recognized internationally as a great poet, he hosted the first international poetry festival in Indonesia (in Makassar, Solo, Bandung and Jakarta). Rendra repeatedly stood on the list of candidates for the Nobel Prize for Literature and he saw international publications of his texts and made numerous appearances at literary festivals around the world. Until his death, he worked continuously on books, literature, and various projects and productions, and occasionally as a movie actor. His last home, in Depok, south of Jakarta, was a farm and until recently was also the home of the Bengkel Teater, where Rendra and his actors and artists lived, worked and also maintained an ecologically sustainable farming operation.