Afrizal wrote for the avant-garde Teater Sae in the 90’s, producing works such as ‘Pertumbuhan Di Atas Meja Makan’ (Things Growing On The Dining Table) and ‘Biografi Yanti Setelah 12 Menit’ (The Biography of Yanti after 12 Minutes). It has been said that Afrizal’s works were a reflection of the increasing state-jargonisation, bureaucratisation and militarisation of Bahasa Indonesia during Suharto’s late New Order era; ultimately there was very little substantive difference between the mind-constricting gibberish in Indonesian public discourse and the slogans and non sequiturs Afrizal was putting on stage.