Life after the deluge - and beyond

In another instance of the flooding affecting theatre – and affirming yet again that the show must go on – Nikorn

Saetang is finally presenting “Reincarnate” this month, first in Chiang Mai on Saturday and later in Bangkok.
The Silpathorn Award-winning playwright, director, actor and artistic director of the 8X8 Theatre Group planned to

premiere the play at last month’s Bangkok Theatre Festival.
“But many members of our troupe had houses and family to take care during the flooding,” he explains.
“Reincarnate”, featuring professional actors from 8X8, was also booked for a performing-arts festival at Burapha

University in Bang Saen in mid-November.
“But I didn’t want to cancel that. Instead I held an audition at the university and got four young actors – one a student

there and the others graduates – to do the show with one 8X8 member, Suchawadee ‘Cherry’ Phetphanomphorn.”
The fundamental shift in planning saw Nikorn developing the play further as they rehearsed on site. It proved to be a

revelation.
“The energy and enthusiasm of these young actors was so strong that I wanted more than just the one performance,

even though many people drove up from Bangkok to see it. So we’re going to Chiang Mai and Bangkok with the

same cast.
“And, since they’re all theatre majors, it’ll be a good learning experience about how to tour a play!”
“Reincarnate” is about a man named Somphop who yearns to escape the endless cycle of reincarnation. He wonders

who planned such a system.
“Many of us believe in an afterlife, even though we can’t prove it exists,” Nikorn says.
“I do believe in reincarnation, but I question what conditions determine how it happens and how many systems there

are concerning the afterlife.
“I’ve been studying the Lord Buddha’s reincarnations and how the human mind can be reincarnated. I also read myths

and tales about the afterlife, like the one where an old lady pours you a cup of tea so you forget who you were in your

previous life.
“My play doesn’t provide any definitive answer about the afterlife, but it will be thought-provoking!”
The stage is set up for theatre-in-the-round, so all viewers will be close to the action. As is often the case with 8X8,

there’s no set or props. The focus is on the acting, and every player has more than one role.
Pornchanok Kanchanabanka composed the music and will perform it live on cello, Nikorn says.
The dialogue is in Thai but an English translation will be projected on a screen above the stage, one of the reasons why

8X8 is increasingly popular with expatriates.
At any rate, the subject matter is universal.
   

 TWIN LIFETIME
-  See “Reincarnate” at the Chiang Mai City Art and Cultural Centre on Saturday at 7pm for Bt100 or at the Pridi

Banomyong Institute in Bangkok from December 20 to 22 at 8pm for Bt300.
-  Reserve seats at (081) 685 7588. Learn more on the “theatre 8X8” page at Facebook.