Achmad Nungcik Alcaff

Achmad Nungcik Alcaff, widely known as A. N. Alcaff, was an Indonesian actor, director, and activist. He was born in Jambi to a Roman Catholic family and baptized as Achmad Nungcik Alcaff. He studied English literature and culture at Gajah Mada University in Yogyakarta, but chose not to graduate because he was already employed with his first theatrical project. He staged his first play, "Dead Voices", in 1951, and became fascinated with the craft. He combined traditional religious ritual performances and Western avant-garde experiments, and created a large following. He was nicknamed "Burung Merak" (the Peacock) by the press because of his flamboyant performances on the stage. In the 1950s, his theatrical company, Bengkel Teater, was instrumental in inaugurating a stream of innovative, modernist, and controversial theatre performances that were based on Western models. He created a series of dramas without any dialog, where actors used their bodies and simple sounds to communicate. He also performed Shakespeare, Brecht, and Hamlet when he was well into his sixties. During the 1960s and 1970s, his plays often criticized Suharto's development programs that favored multinational corporations over the interests of indigenous peoples. His plays, such as "Mastodon", "The Condors", "The Struggle of the Naga Tribe" and "The Regional Secretary", were sometimes banned or censored by the authorities. He was also arrested and imprisoned several times for his political activism and outspokenness. He was a prolific actor and director, appearing in or directing more than 40 films, mostly in the genres of drama, comedy, and horror. He received many awards and honors, such as the Citra Award for Best Leading Actor at the 1955 Indonesian Film Festival, the S.E.A. Write Award (1996), and the honorary doctorate from Gajah Mada University (2003). He was married three times and had eleven children. He died of kidney failure in 1987, at the age of 62.