Picking the parents

The last time I laughed out loud during a play was at M Theatre last year when Dreambox staged the post-flood comedy “Tuen Tuek IV”. Nophand Boonyai’s latest work “Adoption” had much the same effect, offering entertainment value so high that two hours passed in a matter of minutes.
After a brief video showing a young pregnant northeastern Thai woman explaining why she had decided against aborting her daughter Nadia even while knowing that she’s unable to raise her, the action switched to the stage where Parnrut Kritchanchai, portraying an uptight Catholic university professor, was being interviewed by adoption agency officer (Grisana Punpeng). He informed her that the interview would be videotaped and the close-up shot of her on the back wall alerted the audience that this was no normal adoption agency operation. We were later introduced to her husband, an equally conservative professor, played adroitly by “Dreamgirls” director Dultat Vasinachindakaew.
Two other couples also wanted to parent Nadia: the free-spirited and indie-music loving middle-class pair performed by young thespians Lapin Laosoontorn and Sirima Chaipreechavit, and a gay couple comprising a superstar and a French embassy employee, played by Wasurachata Unaprom and Panchana Soonthornpipit.
The contrasts between the three couples added to the show’s comedic supremacy. After all had been interviewed, both as a couple and individually, the audience came to realise that the adoption agency was in fact a set up for a reality game show. In the series of quizzes and games that followed, three members of the audience were picked to act as commentators/jury members to decide which couple would be the perfect parents for Nadia.
The show’s hilarity didn’t completely overshadow its substance, though. Occasionally, amidst all the jokes, the audience got to hear both heart-wrenching and thought-provoking dialogue on the contemporary meaning of parenthood. I found myself thinking of the pregnant woman at the inefficiency of sex education in Thailand.
Nophand’s slap on the face of reality TV game shows was sharp, if not harsh. In an age when TV producers fiercely compete for audience ratings, the message was that the life of a baby girl is interchangeable with any commodity, as long as the show is sensational and talk-of-the-town.
“Adoption” was a firm reminder that the future of a citizen should never be decided by questions like who are the longest and shortest serving prime ministers of Thailand and that parenthood is a private matter, despite our love for using social media to make our private matters public.
Equally commendable was Nophand’s ability to make full use of the live nature of theatre as he blurred the line between memorised script and improvisation. It was evident that he had spent ample time in rehearsal with his actors, developing their characters to the last detail. As a result, they were always realistic and believable in whatever they did or said. And as his actors were all focused on the here and now, really listening to one another’s dialogues and responding accordingly, it was difficult for anyone in the audience to guess which lines or jokes had come from rehearsal or the previous performance and which were totally improvised.
“Adoption” ended its three-weekend run on Saturday. I’m sure that those who booked their tickets late and ended up missing the show will be hoping for a restage.