Cinema on the boards

Five months later than originally slated and more than Bt700 million over budget, the show that promised to combine cinema and circus on the live stage is finally up and running at the new stylish theatre D’Luck in Pattaya.
Costing a hefty Bt1.2 billion, the 90-minute show called “Kaan” is being performed nightly except Monday and takes the audience into a fantasy world where the hero, also called Kaan, encounters characters from Thai legends. But what really makes “Kaan” stand out is its special effects that are so life-like that viewers feel like they are part of a film, close to the furious sea giantess Nang Phanthurat or the black dragon horse Maa Nil Mungkorn from Thai literary work “Phra Aphai Manee” and watching the crocodile king Chalawan transform into a giant alligator fighting with Kraithong, who no longer has a modified raft made from a bamboo but a steel contraption complete with turbo engine.    Panjaluck Pasuk, a company formed through a crowd-sourced funding campaign in October 2014, has partnered for the adventure with entertainment company Scenario, Baan Rig, which handles safety rigging for stunts and special effects in films, Xtreme Plus, a provider of interactive-multimedia and projection-mapping, and creative house Sanookdee Thaweesuk, which is the business unit of the former GTH film studio. Run by filmmakers Yongyooth Thongkongtoon and Paween Purijitpanya, Sanookdee Thaweesuk's past projects have included the "Spooktacular Halloween" events in Sentosa Island, Singapore.
The Singha D’Luck Cinematic Theatre is a new concept in performance space with a show area of 1,000 square metres equipped with Asia’s latest projection system that supports 1,500 square metres. The theatre also boasts state-of-the-art technology, such as a sling system, audiovisual system and world-class control panels. It can easily set 1,400 spectators per show.
The theatre attracts the visitors from the word go with the outdoor area boasting an illusion concept makes the theatre appear to be levitated in the air. 
Yongyooth and Paween have put together a story that’s told through the eyes of Kaan, a boy who is plunged into different mythical worlds with his sidekick Gabilpuksa. As he struggles to find his way home, he experiences adventures from six well-known Thai stories.
“Kaan is like most young Thais. He is bored with Thai literature but is forced to react when he is time-warped into the stories,” says director Paween. 
His mission, adds the director, is similar to any classic game, Kaan has to accomplish every task in each story if he is to get back to the real world.
Paween chooses each story based on its entertainment value then transports the old tale and its characters into a more contemporary setting with a little help from the movies. Thus “Phra Aphai Manee” becomes a form of “Pirates of the Caribbean,” the mythical Himmapan forests and creatures like the world of “Jurassic Park,” and the war in Ramayana similar to the robotic conflict in “Transformers”.

“We don’t bring the exact original story to the stage. We just extract the character and then adapt the tale to make it entertaining,” he explains. 
“It’s something like a greatest hit album. Each song has a highlighted part of its own,” Paween says. 
Kaan’s first mission is in the world of “Phra Aphai Manee” where he meets Sud Sakorn who is flying in the sky with Maa Nil Mungkorn before tumbling down into the ship of Phra Aphai Manee. The ocean is whipped into a fury as giantess Nang Phanturat chases after Phra Aphai’s ship. The visual effects and production technique work efficiently in mapping the scene on the giant screen and audience members really feel that they are floating in the stormy seas.
Kaan then goes to the world of Himmavanta where he encounters mythical friendly beasts and the half woman-half bird Kinnaree. The youngsters finds himself in a “Jurassic Park” setting and quickly moves into the middle of the battle between the God of Thunder Ramasoon and the Goddess of Lighting Mekhala. As the two fly across the sky, she uses a flash from a crystal ball to blind Ramasoon as he throws his axe. That flash is spectacularly produced through the use of Tesla coil lighting. The axe misses its mark and rattles harmlessly across the heavens as Mekhala makes her escape.
Kaan then enjoys a temporary respite from fighting and finds himself part of the proposal ceremony involving six foreign princes who have come to compete for the hand in marriage of the pretty princess from the story “Sangthong”. 
But his adventures soon continue when he dives into the underwater kingdom of the crocodile king Chalawan and helps Kraithong to beat the massive beast. For his final mission he moves to the realm of the “Ramayana” though in a “Transformers” version where Thotsakan transforms himself into a gigantic steel-animatronic with countless weapons. 
The deft hands of the filmmakers are evident in bringing film to a thrilling live show. The mapping technique is awesome and the audience can clearly see the giant crocodile’s head coming out from the screen while his body continues to move inside it. It’s a show that combines the talents of the actors with special effect, synching them with a terrific music score and scenes showing on the gigantic screen behind.
“Being a filmmaker is to control everything, pick the best scenes, edit them then combine them as a finished work on screen. This live show is however uncontrollable, it’s fresh and live and as the performers are human beings, mistakes get made. My job is ensuring the direction is there for them to cling to when needed and carry the show through to its end.”
Though the show is intending to draw tourists, the director admits that those who know the stories – and that means mainly Thais – will find it more entertaining, as they’ll be fascinated to see what the characters they have grown up with have become. 
All the characters are designed by well-known cartoonist Ekasith Thairath who collaborated with Paween on such movies as “Body Sop 19”. The music is put together by Chatchai Pongprapapan.
“It is much more difficult than composing a music score, but it’s challenging and fun,” says Chatchai who has spent two years working on this project. Music in this show is pivotal to driving the show forward as it’s non-verbal. “It is full of details. In film, we don’t need a music score all the time but for this show the melody works like the storyline. For me, the 90-minute ‘Kaan’ is like a three-hour movie and at the same time, the audience is probably not aware of it, so taken up are they by the action on stage.
Paween says that they are still working on improving the show even though it has already opened to the public.
“It’s actually very stressful. It’s a burden. Making a film with a Bt30 million budget was stressful enough but it can’t compare to working on a Bt1.2-billion million project that will use my visions as a director to please the audience and get it right. I never thought about pulling out, though. Despite the stress, I enjoy working everyday,” he says.
He’s also pleased that “Kaan” is opening opportunities for young talent.
“Some of the acrobats and, B-boy dancers can now pursue a serious career and not just show off their skills for fun,” he says. 
  CINEMATIC LITERATURE
 - Kaan is now daily except Monday at 8.30 with additional 5pm performances on Friday through Sunday.
- Tickets cost Bt2,500, Bt3,000 and Bt4,000. Special promotions are available. For more information, visit www.KaanShow.com or Facebook.com/KAAN Show/ or call (02) 029 0092.