Surabaya, E. Java. Eighty-one years after Indonesian nationalists tore the blue stripe from a Dutch flag flying over the Hotel Yamato, one of the defining moments of Surabaya’s revolutionary history returned to the site in a mass theatrical performance on Saturday.

The annual Merah Putih Bertanya (The Red and White Asks) brought the Sept. 19, 1945, incident back to life through the performances of 750 actors from across the community on Jalan Tunjungan, directly in front of the historic hotel, now known as Hotel Majapahit.

The historical episode was brought back to life through the annual mass theatrical performance Merah Putih Bertanya (The Red and White Asks), featuring 750 performers from different backgrounds in front of the historic hotel.

The performance combined theater, music, and mass choreography to recreate the tense atmosphere of Surabaya in September 1945, just weeks after Indonesia proclaimed independence on Aug. 17.

The drama built toward the confrontation at Hotel Yamato on Sept. 19, 1945, when Indonesian nationalists objected to the Dutch tricolor being flown above the building. In the reenactment, Indonesian fighters climb the hotel, bring down the Dutch flag, tear away its blue section and raise the remaining red-and-white flag — Indonesia’s national colors.

The episode has become one of the defining symbols of Surabaya’s revolutionary history, a period when tensions between Indonesian nationalists and forces seeking to restore Dutch colonial rule escalated rapidly.

The city would later become the scene of the Battle of Surabaya in November 1945, one of the largest and bloodiest confrontations of Indonesia’s struggle for independence. The battle, which involved Indonesian fighters and British-led Allied forces, has since been commemorated as a symbol of national resistance.

The Red and White Asks

For Merah Putih Bertanya, however, the story is not simply about recreating a dramatic moment from the past. Director Heri Lentho said the performance was intended to make audiences reflect on what independence means more than eight decades after the events portrayed on stage. The title itself poses a question: what does the red-and-white flag ask of Indonesians today?

“Reflecting on the flag-tearing incident of Sept. 19, 1945, we raise the major theme ‘Merah Putih Bertanya.’ In the current situation, when it comes to filling the meaning of independence, what is each person’s contribution?” Heri said on Saturday.

Rather than presenting patriotism solely as a historical struggle, Heri said the production seeks to connect the sacrifices of the revolutionary generation with the responsibilities of people living in independent Indonesia.

The question, he said, is what keeps the spirit represented by the red-and-white flag alive in people's hearts.

“In filling independence, what is it that makes the red and white burn in each person's heart?” he said.

The question gives the annual performance a contemporary dimension. The struggle portrayed in the opera may belong to 1945, but its central theme — what citizens contribute to their country — is presented as an ongoing one.

Among the hundreds of performers was Surabaya Mayor Eri Cahyadi, who took on the role of Resident Sudirman in a scene depicting negotiations with Mr. Ploegman, representing the Dutch side.

His participation blurred the boundary between the city's present-day administration and the history being reenacted on its streets.

For the audience, the setting itself added to the experience. The performance took place directly in front of the Hotel Majapahit, whose historical identity as Hotel Yamato connects the contemporary city with the events being portrayed.

The surrounding Jalan Tunjungan, one of Surabaya's best-known streets, was transformed into an open-air stage as residents gathered to watch.

For Lisa Kurniawati, who attended with her child, the performance succeeded in making a familiar chapter of history feel immediate.

“It was really good. It felt like we were taken back to the time when the Dutch flag was torn down,” she said.

Although the production is staged annually, Lisa said Saturday was her first time watching it in person. She was willing to squeeze through the crowd because she wanted her child to experience the performance as well as learn about Surabaya's history.

“This is my first time seeing it, and it was really good. I came here with my child, partly to teach them history — that Surabaya witnessed a very important event known as the tearing of the Dutch flag,” she said.

More than a historical reenactment

The Hotel Yamato incident occupies a special place in Surabaya's collective memory because it captures the uncertainty and defiance that characterized the first months of Indonesia's independence.

The proclamation in Jakarta did not immediately translate into uncontested control across the archipelago. Indonesian nationalists had to establish authority while Japanese forces remained in the country following Japan's surrender in World War II, and Allied troops arrived to disarm Japanese forces and manage the transition.

At the same time, Dutch officials and forces sought to return to the former colony.

In Surabaya, those tensions produced a volatile political and social atmosphere. The confrontation over the flag at Hotel Yamato became an early manifestation of the struggle, months before the city was engulfed in the November battle.

By bringing the episode back to the location where it unfolded, Merah Putih Bertanya turns history into a public performance — not just something read in textbooks, but something experienced collectively.

Its message ultimately extends beyond the flag on the hotel roof. The fighters of 1945 are remembered for what they did to defend independence. The opera asks a different generation to consider what it is doing with that independence.

Add as a preferred source on Google +