Groh Goh (Rehearsal for Rangda)

Directed by Leyla Stevens

With Karina Utomo, Ni Ketut Putri Minangsari, Ida Ayu Wayan Prihandari, Ni Kadek Thaly Titi Kasih and Ni Kadek Dwipayani

Groh Goh re-imagines performance lineages surrounding the mythological figure of Rangda: Bali’s queen of the graveyard and patroness of black magic. The story of Rangda, and her alter incarnation, the legendary witch widow Calonarang, occupies a central role within Bali’s spirit cosmology and frames a narrative around an undesirable woman as a dangerous and deviant social disrupter. Alongside her feared otherness, Rangda is also conceived as a balancing force for spiritual order, and a powerful matriarchal protector. The film centres upon a matrilineal building and passing of knowledge around Rangda, channelling her presence through different bodies, performance genres and landscapes.