More spaces, fewer musicals

More spaces, fewer musicals

Three new theatre studios add more vitality to the contemporary Thai stage

Pawit Mahasarinand

Special to The Nation

 

The political unrest that continued from last year reached its climax early this year and as a result, many stage works, which required audiences to stay out late at night near some demonstration areas, were either postponed or cancelled. Another possible result of the protests was a decrease in the number of grand scale musicals and imported works.

Local production company Scenario, for example, staged only “Lueat Khattiya: The Musical”, which was continuing its run from last year, and restaged “Si Phaendin: The Musical”, marking a record low in terms of quantity since the opening of Rachadalai Theatre in 2007. 

Other than its “Mahajanaka the Phenomenon Live Show” at Benjakiti Park this month, Dreambox was quiet as well.

JSL Global Media’s Suntraporn songbook jukebox musical “Phleng Rak Khong Thoe” at M Theatre in January and the Support Foundation’s Royal Khon Performance “Nagabas” at the Thailand Cultural Centre in November both relied heavily on the same format as in previous years and thus didn’t contribute much to the development of Thai theatre though they did enjoy success at the box office. 

The surprise hit musical of the year was the Musical Society of Bangkok’s “Cixi Taihou” at M Theatre in May, while the most memorable one, at least in my opinion, was Young Novice Repertory’s “Monrak Transistor” at Blue Box Studio in August. 

Democrazy Theatre Studio, now with a small cafe in front, remained the hub of contemporary Thai theatre and I predict that both “In Their View” by New Theatre Society and “Hipster the King” by NonCitizen, staged there in March and May respectively, will be picking up several awards from the Thailand Centre of International Association of Theatre Critics. The latter has also been invited to the “Open World: International Festival Ludwigshafen” next February in Germany.

The great location of the newly opened Thonglor Art Space, a mere three minutes on foot from the Skytrain and in a vibrant neighbourhood made it a welcome addition to the Bangkok theatre scene. And with two flexible performance spaces, a caf and programmes like the recent hit “The Maids”, it is here to stay. The space also adds to the nearby Pridi Banomyong Institute where Poonsuk Banomyong Auditorium, Crescent Moon Space and B-Floor Room are already regular venues. 

Festivals were also much in evidence in 2014. The Culture Ministry’s Office of Contemporary Art and Culture celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Silpathorn Awards with a festival of interdisciplinary works in March, which, due to political unrest, had to be moved from their arts centre on Ratchadamnoen Avenue to Chang Theatre in Thung Khru. Although artists from different fields didn’t have much time to really collaborate, the event helped both artists and audiences to get out of their comfort zones.

While the French Embassy’s La Fete in June was smaller in size, it showed greater collaboration between artists as well as increased cooperation between organisations of both countries. This was evident later in the year, when internationally renowned French playwright and director Pascal Rambert made a short visit prior to the Southeast Asia premiere of his play “Cloture de l’amour”, performed in Thai with French and English surtitles at Sodsai Pantoomkomol Centre for Dramatic Arts.

In September, another small theatre studio Sun Dance Theatre raised its curtains in Silom with the country’s first queer theatre festival, featuring both dance and theatre works by veterans and amateurs that continued through this December.

From September to October, the 16th Bangkok’s International Festival of Dance and Music at the Thailand Cultural Centre, which now boasts better leg room, had both hits and misses. The hits included Ballet Preljocaj’s “Blanche Niege”, Danish Dance Theatre’s “Black Diamond”, Stuttgart Ballet’s “Onegin” as well as Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. 

The year’s largest festival was the Harmony World Puppet Carnival, the timing of which overlapped with the Bangkok Theatre Festival (BTF) in early November. There was, unfortunately, neither collaboration nor cooperation between the international festival, which may or may not be hosted here again and the local festival, which we’ve been hosting for 13 years. 

B-Floor Theatre’s “Satapana: Iceberg” and Hanchu Yuei’s “Girl X”, brought here by Japan Foundation, swept many BTF awards. The Thai version of “Girl X” is now in the making and will be staged at the Tokyo Performing Arts Market next February – another example of the intercultural collaboration foreign cultural institutions are promoting. Premiered at the BTF, “Virginian” and “I Am Thai” are now Germany-bound.

Another noteworthy new venue is Creative Industries, another flexible space on the second floor of M Theatre, which hosted 8X8 Theatre’s restage of “Phop Rak” as well as the unforgettable Japanese play “Smell” during the BTF.

Last but not least, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre’s support for the performing arts was stronger than ever. Apart from co-hosting Asiatopia, the BTF, the International Dance Festival and International Butoh Festival, the BACC’s Performative Art Festival, now spanning five months from August to December, also included restaged works like “Hipster the King” and “2475: The Musical”. 

All in all, it seems that lack of performance space is no longer a problem for contemporary Thai dance and theatre but with audience numbers rarely increasing at box office-dependent small productions, we should now turn our attention to underlining support structures and audience education. 

Finally, no round up would be complete with expressing our thanks to local and international artists as well as producers and presenters whose efforts and creativity have helped make 2014 another exciting year for contemporary Thai dance and theatre.