The ladies of Lanka

Four Chulalongkorn University drama professors have been working on contemporary interpretations of episodes from the Thai version of Indian epic “Ramayana” with support from the Thailand Research Fund, since the project “Ramakien: Our Roots Right Now” started in 2011.
Last January as part of “Our Roots Right Now”, a conference and festival on Asean contemporary dance and theatre, the public witnessed the full production of Pornrat Damrhung’s “Lanka Sip Ho” and Bhanbhassa Dhubthien’s “Yok Rop” as well as staged readings of Dangkamon Na Pombejra’s “Ravanasura” and Parida Manomaiphibul’s “Bitches of Lanka”.
Parida, who also teaches playwriting and performance studies after earning her PhD from the University of Exeter, is now ready to entertain and intrigue with her “Bitches of Lanka: The New Episode”, or “Nang Rai Nai Longka” as it’s known in Thai. For this production, which focuses on what happened to the women in the palace of Lanka after Thotsakan’s defeat, Silpathorn Award laureate Nikorn Saetang is once again at the helm.
He directed the staged reading of the first draft in 2011 while Pace University professor and Romanian director Cosmin Chivu was in charge of the second reading just a year ago. The third version, a full production directed by Parida’s colleague Bhanbhassa, represented Thailand in the Asia-Pacific Theatre Schools Festival in Ho Chi Minh City last September.
The latest version of “Bitches” sees the story shifts back to the night before the demon king Thotsakan leaves the palace for the last battle with Phra Ram.
Nikorn, the artistic director of the 8X8 Theatre Group, has directed many adaptations of “Ramakien” during his long career, among them last September’s “Maya Yak” (“A Demon Hero”).
“The stories of the ‘Ramakien’ are integral to our life and always contemporary,” he says. “The characters have reasons behind their actions and it’s up to us to pick an episode to interpret for our audiences. We tend to think that a story of war like this once deals with men and often forget the fact that women were often behind men’s decisions and actions. Given their nurturing nature, they can be a force even be more powerful than men. Whether a woman is as virtuous as an angel or as vicious as a witch depends on which side of her she’s willing to reveal to you.”
Parida’s script is a play-within-a-play with the Lanka women’s situation linked to another plot in which a graduate student is defending her thesis.
“In this version, I focus on how each main character is trying to prove her righteousness through various discourses,” Parida explains.
“The two plots proceed along their own paths but they’re not in symmetry. I’m playing with the concept of ambiguity, especially in the authorship of each character’s story, and when it’s too ambiguous it may become vague. But despite all these ideas, it is a highly entertaining play.”
The professional cast includes Pichet Klunchun Dance Company’s Porramet Maneerat as Thotsakan; Anatta Theatre Group’s Duangjai Hiransri as Montho; 8X8 Theatre’s Akeera Modesakoon as Suwankanyuma and Pavinee Samakkabutr as Benyakai, as well as B-Floor Theatre’s Dujdao Vadhanapakorn Boonyai as Sida.

WHAT WOMEN WANT
“Bitches of Lanka” is at Chulalongkorn University’s Sodsai Pantoomkomol Centre for Dramatic Arts from tonight until January 19, daily except Monday.
Shows are at 7.30pm from Tuesday to Saturday and 2pm on Saturday and Sunday. The venue is a 15-minute walk along Henri Dunant Road from BTS Siam, exit 6.
It’s in Thai with English surtitles. Tickets cost Bt600 (students Bt300). Call (02) 218 4802 and (081) 559 7252 or visit Facebook.com/DramaArtsChula.