History
The idea for the creation of a theater in Batavia (the colonial name
for Jakarta) came from the Governor-General of Batavia at that time,
Herman Willem Daendels. This idea was realized by
Stamford Raffles,
who was known for his passion for the study and preservation of local
culture. In 1814 Raffles ordered the construction of a simple bamboo
theatre near Waterlooplein (a square in Jakarta, now
Lapangan Banteng), under the name "Military Theater Venue".
[1] It was built by English soldiers and had a capacity of 250 people.
[1] This first theater in Batavia was used from 1811 to 1816 for the entertainment of British soldiers.
On August 1816, the English gave the Indies back to the
Dutch East Indies and Batavia was under the governorship of the Netherlands once more.
[clarification needed (see talk page)] Performances were again held in the building on April 21, 1817, by groups of Dutch amateur performers.
Gedung Kesenian Jakarta in the late 19th century
In 1820 the bamboo theater began to show signs of deterioration, and
in 1821, supported by the Dutch colonial government, it was replaced
with a more permanent structure. The architect chosen to design the
building was J.C. Schultze. The building contractor was Lie Atjie, who
took material from the
spinhuis in the
old town area to use for the new theater. Construction took 14 months. The new building was designed in
Neoclassical style and was called
Schouwburg Weltevreden, also popularly known as
Gedung Komedi ("Comedy building").
[2] Inauguration was planned for October 1821 but had to be postponed until December 7 because of a
cholera epidemic. The first performance in the building was Shakespeare's
Othello.