Devdan Show: getting there, what to see

Where the theatre is

The show is staged at the Bali Nusa Dua Theatre, with an address in the ITDC complex, Nusa Dua 80363. The theatre's site places it next to Nusa Dua Beach and the Bali Collection shopping centre. Nusa Dua is a resort area on the southern coast of Bali, built in the 1970s, covering 350 hectares and holding more than 20 mostly five-star resorts. The core area is a gated community with security checkpoints, so tell a taxi driver the theatre's name, not just "Nusa Dua".

Getting there

Nusa Dua sits about 22 km from Denpasar, and Ngurah Rai airport, at Tuban, is about 13 km south of Denpasar. The Bali Mandara toll road, 8.3 km long and opened in 2013, links Nusa Dua with the Ngurah Rai airport area and Benoa across the Gulf of Benoa. If you stay in ITDC Nusa Dua, Sawangan or Tanjung Benoa, the show's shuttle collects you and brings you back, as long as your seat category includes it and there are at least two of you. From anywhere else in Bali, arrange your own car for both legs and agree the return before you leave.

Timing the evening

The theatre advises arriving about 30 minutes before the show. The show runs a little over an hour, with no intermission, so once it starts you stay in your seat. Performances run on set evenings, not every night, and reservations open up to three months ahead. The booking calendar and your confirmation show the start time for your date. If you take the shuttle, your pickup time comes by email after you book. Some travellers' reviews mention waiting a long time before the show, so bring something to do or ask whether a later pickup is possible.

What to wear

The theatre says there is no formal dress code. The hall is fully air-conditioned, so a light layer is a sensible thing to carry even on a warm Bali evening. Choose clothes you can sit in comfortably for a little over an hour. The theatre is dark during the show, so keep bags tidy and phones put away. If you take the shuttle or a taxi, you walk very little, so shoes are your choice.

Language, story and context

You do not need Indonesian. The story is simple: two children from a Bali tour group leave their itinerary, climb a cliff and find a treasure chest that takes them across Indonesia, and dance, music and staging carry it from there. A 2016 review in The Jakarta Post found the plot thin, but called the show a good starting point for learning about Indonesian culture. Indonesia has more than 700 indigenous languages and hundreds of ethnic groups, so treat roughly an hour on stage as an introduction, not a survey.

What you will see

The theatre's site lists traditional dance, contemporary choreography, aerial acrobatics, live stage effects and advanced lighting, taking you through Bali, Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan and Papua with costumes, music and legends from each. The Jakarta Post review describes a Sumatran woven-fabric dance involving a loom, local houses and ethnic costumes, and, as a highlight, an acrobatic dance of lovers performing ballet in the air in a Kalimantan jungle. It also notes that performers approach audience members and invite them to dance. The theatre's site cites the Indonesia Leading Tourism Show award for 2014/15.

The traditions behind the regions

Devdan is a staged production, not a ceremony, and the regions it names have living traditions of their own. For context, Saman comes from the Gayo people of Aceh in Sumatra. Dancers kneel in tight rows, clap, slap their chests and thighs, and sway in unison, led by a singer. UNESCO inscribed it in 2011. Gamelan, the percussion orchestra of hand-forged metal gongs, drums and xylophones, was inscribed in 2021. Neither the theatre nor this guide says which traditions appear on stage on a given night.

Fire, noise and the dark

The theatre is dark during the show, and its own site warns that fire effects, loud music and dramatic lighting may startle very young or sensitive children. It states no age policy, and describes the show as family-friendly. The booking page describes it as suitable for all ages and wheelchair-accessible, while the theatre asks you to mention any accessibility needs, including a wheelchair, when you book. For a toddler, choose a seat where leaving quickly is easy and ask the theatre about it first.

Read next: Is Devdan Good for Toddlers, Kids and Grandparents?

Photos, food and drink

Food and drink from outside, flash photography and video recording are not allowed in the theatre. A snack counter sells light refreshments, including snacks, bottled water, soft drinks, coffee and tea. VIP guests have snacks, coffee and tea in the VIP lounge. Because the show has no intermission, eat before you arrive, or allow time at the counter. Keep your phone away once the lights go down, and photograph the building and your companions beforehand instead.

Nusa Dua by day

If you have the afternoon free, Water Blow is a cliff site in the ITDC area where waves can throw spray as high as about 30 metres at high tide, and it has a small entrance fee. Geger Beach in Sawangan, about 3 km from the south of Nusa Dua, has calm water used for seaweed farming and swimming. Tanjung Benoa is the peninsula immediately north of the enclave. The Bali Collection is next to the theatre, so an early dinner and a short walk is simple to arrange.

Who this isn't for

Skip this evening if you want to stay in Ubud, Canggu or Seminyak and avoid a long drive south: the shuttle will not collect you there. Skip it too if you want a single Balinese tradition in its own temple or village setting, which is a different night. Think twice if your child is very young or easily startled, because of the fire effects, loud music and dark hall. And if you want to film or photograph the show, you cannot. Flash photography and video recording are not allowed, so plan to watch rather than record it.

Read next: Devdan Show tickets: which seat to pick