Founded in 2001 by a group of artists from Solo, Central Java, has created a new genre of wayang which is made of leather in human shape. Its characters are taken from the plural kampong community (villagers), consisting of pedicab drivers, women selling traditional herbs (jamu), thugs, prostitutes, the community head, the village head, up to big city officials.

The group’s performances are intended to create a certain format of wayang performance which could provide a platform for telling a real story of modern lives in a more straightforward and freer way without fearing limited by such intricate aesthetic norms as in classical format of wayang show. By using local vernaculars – both in Bahasa Indonesia and Javanese – the message is easier perceived by the audience. Actual issues in the present society, concerning politics, economy, social, culture and environment, are an endless source for storytelling. The dominant contents of cynicism, satire and criticism in this performance are packaged in a such fresh way, full of humour using the plot, characters, dialogue or the song lyrics.

The performance of Wayang Kampung Sebelah does not use the gamelan music as background. Instead, they use other music whose songs are mostly composed by the group’s members. Based on its instrumentation and arrangement, the music belongs to the so-called ‘alternative’ music. To enhance its entertainment side, sometimes the group invites popular singer/comedian as a guest performer.

In the shows of Wayang Kampung Sebelah, which literally means ‘wayang from the next kampong/village’ the story on the screen does not exclusively belong to the dhalang (puppeteer). Musicians and audience members have their rights to comment on the dialogue or what the dhalang says. In every scene, it is very possible a discussion between wayang characters, dhalang, musicians and audience members to take place. For special occasion, we can even hold a post-performance discussion by inviting an expert talking a certain theme.