Yogyakarta. The internationally acclaimed group of German directors Rimini Protokoll joined hands with Indonesian theatrical group Garasi Performance Institute to launch "100% Yogyakarta," a unique production performed by laymen sharing their everyday life experiences, at Taman Budaya Yogyakarta cultural center on Saturday.

Protokoll's "100%" projects are aimed at bringing communities together by discussing hard hitting issues with the intention of increasing social tolerance. The unique concept has already been launched in other cities, such as Berlin, Vienna, Zurich, London, Tokyo and Melbourne, making Yogyakarta the 27th city to take part.

The production however, is not your average documentary theater performance. Staying true to its name, the cast members are residents of Yogyakarta, from local food vendors, housewives who make batik wear, a 90-year-old woman and a transgender man to a woman who was imprisoned without trial during the 1965 anti-communist purge and an Islam extremist, to just name a few.

"The cast are all non-actors because [the play] is about people of Yogyakarta and we call them the experts of life [as] they have something that actors don't have: their own stories," Helgard Haug, Protokoll's co-director, told the Jakarta Globe.

The audience remains actively engaged throughout, as cast members share personal stories of their day-to-day lives and invoke conversation about socially-sensitive issues, including cancer survival, suicide, HIV and seeking companionship.

The production slowly develops into an open mic format, where the audience is encouraged to ask the cast questions.

"We tried out every way [of presenting the issues to allow] the people to tell their stories [of Yogyakarta]," Haug said.

Magdalen, a 38-year-old mother diagnosed with HIV, said she decided to join the production in order to educate the people of Yogyakarta about HIV prevention.

"We want to erase the stigma against those diagnosed with HIV in Yogyakarta," Magdalen said.

When asked how it felt to join a theatrical production, Magdalen said she was "very nervous" and admitted she had difficulty in practicing her lines, even though it was largely unscripted and based on her personal stories.

"[The show] is about diversity, we are all different and you shouldn't be afraid of that, and that's the beauty of understanding differences," Haug said.

Meanwhile, for Magdalen, the show meant something greater.

"Aside from being a platform for the cast to tell their stories, I think the show is a reflection of the current situation – where tolerance has depleted," Magdalen said.

Melia Saraswati, a 19-year-old theatre enthusiast, told the Globe after the show that she could see herself relate to many parts of the production.

"For young people like me, I got to see and understand more of Yogyakarta," she said.

The production is part of the ongoing German Season, an Indonesian-German festival celebrating the long friendship between the two countries, organized by the Goethe-Institut Indonesian.