Another type of wayang show is wayang orang, performed by humans. This kind of wayang is believed to originate in the palace of Mangkunegaran in the late 18th century and has been spreading outside the palace walls ever since.

Wayang orang depicts stories from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata as well, and involves dancers, gamelan music and of course a narrator, the dalang.

Wayang Orang is performed from 08.15 to midnight except on Mondays and Thursdays at the Bharata Theatre, on Jl. Kalilio.

Ketoprak is a compromise between the classical and the popular forms of wayang. The performers move much more naturally on the stage and there is no dalang involved. But gamelan music is still there, and the songs and dialogues are in Javanese. The stories depicted in the drama are not derived from the Ramayana or Mahabharata, however, but based on Javanese histories and ballads.