HOW THE LOST IS FOUND

Major Western players in the performing arts usually veer south of Thailand to Singapore, but thanks to the British Council and Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok got to see Tim Crouch last week with his Obie-winning “An Oak Tree”.

It was part of the “World Performances @ Drama Chula” series at the Sodsai Pantoomkomol Centre for Dramatic Arts.

Crouch wrote and directs this show and plays a stage hypnotist who, three months before, killed a girl in a car accident. The only other character is the father of the girl he killed, who volunteers to be part of the hypnotist’s act thinking the encounter might help him deal with the death of his daughter.

A different actor plays the father in each show, and none of them has seen or read the play. He (or in some cases she) meets Crouch an hour before curtain time and is given the script.

Crouch also gives cues to the actor onstage, instructions that might be audible to the audience or passed discreetly via a microphone and headphones.

The lack of rehearsal doesn’t mean anyone can take the father’s role. Wherever he goes, Crouch asks the show’s local producers to select trained actors. As he explained in a post-show discussion, he wants a co-star who’s secure in the insecurity of not knowing.

The Bangkok shows featured familiar faces from the theatre – Pattarasuda Anuman Rajadhon the first night and Nophand Boonyai the next became Crouch’s 297th and 298th co-stars in “An Oak Tree”.

The title comes from conceptual artist Michael Craig-Martin’s celebrated declaration that a glass of water was in fact an oak tree. Crouch’s play is as much about perception, presumption and transformation as it is about how a father’s loss and a motorist’s guilt. The father is ultimately convinced he has turned a tree into his late daughter. He assures the hypnotist, “She’s fine.”

With this work, Crouch deliberately reveals the mechanics behind the production in order to challenge the notion that a theatre audience has to believe what happens onstage.

Amid the layers of plot and instructions being doled out, viewers could clearly see the actors transforming into their characters and the stage becoming the hypnotist’s performance hall.

Pattarasuda’s strong stage presence and deep, sweet voice made her perhaps more engaging than the neutral Nophand, who seemed more like an empty canvas.

At the same time, watching Nophand floating along gently with the script and instructions was somewhat more comfortable. With him, I didn’t feel I had another strong element onstage to take in, and I could sit back, see the whole structure of the show, and better understand the complex intertwining events.

Addressing various issues with innovative panache, “An Oak Tree” was indeed an awe-inspiring play. The constant change of actors certainly isn’t just a cheap gimmick.

Still, with its philosophical inclination and artifice, the play often appeals more to the head than the heart, and viewers might leave feeling exhausted or confused.

As always with Chula’s World Performances, it’s never just the show. Crouch gave students and theatre professionals a lecture on “Exploring Theatre’s Substance” and a workshop on “Exploring the Role of the Audience in the Making of Theatre”.

        CIRCUS TIME

•  The Sodsai Pantoomkomol Centre for Dramatic Arts hosts the French modern circus troupe Iéto today and tomorrow at 8pm as part of La fête.
•  Seats cost Bt400 (Bt100 for students). See www.ThaiTicket|Major.com or call (081) 559 7252.
•  Find out more at www.Ieto.fr or www.LaFete-Bangkok.com.