Butet Kartaredjasa

Born into an artistic family, Butet Kartaredjasa is the son of the famed dancer and a grand master of Indonesian arts, Bagong Kussudiardja,. Butet grew up immersed in Jogyakarta's artistic environment, watching dancers, painters and performers of traditional theatre. Butet also studied dance, but decided to pursue the spoken word when he was a student at the Performing Arts High School.

Butet kept a low profile when he began his work in theatre, playing to limited audiences and with little or no publicity. In the 1990s he gained a somewhat scandalous reputation as an actor who would parody Indonesian ex-president Soeharto onstage in his monologues. He rose to stardom despite the odds and was soon a household name and a TV star. Butet finally came into his own, stepping out of the shadow of his famous artist father.

Butet is inspired to perform with a specific cause that is common to the Indonesian psyche.

”I tried to help effect political change. I tried to do it wherever I could; whether it was on stage, at demonstrations. I wanted to help in the political deconstruction. We were all united by one word -'opposition'. ”