Astaman also known as Tirtosari, was an Indonesian actor active from the 1910s until the mid-1970s. He was a leading actor in the influential theatre company Dardanella and, after entering the film industry with 1940s Kartinah, acted in 43 films.
Astaman in 1941
Astaman, in a promotional still for Ratna Moetoe Manikam (1941)
Astaman in 1964
Dardanella (theatre company)
Dardanella was a touring theatre company from the Dutch East Indies established by Willy A. Piedro in 1926. Arising from a background of musical theatre, the troupe focused on realistic stories, both adaptations of foreign works and original stage plays about life in the Indies. Starring Dewi Dja' and Tan Tjeng Bok, the troupe performed original works by Piedro and Andjar Asmara. Popular both in the Indies and abroad, Dardanella dissolved during an international tour after 1936. Several of its members later went into film.
Advertisement for a Dardanella performance, 1929
Advertisement for the premiere of Dr Samsi; the play became Dardanella's most popular.