THE CURTAIN RISES AT LAST
Play
It looks like the wait for the |10th Bangkok Theatre Festival will have been worthwhile
Postponed due to our waterlogged autumn, the Bangkok Theatre Festival is at last ready for its 10th anniversary, even if some of the intended participants haven’t been able to reschedule.
That includes B-Floor, which had a prior commitment for February, says programme director Nut Nualpang, “and even my Saosoong Theatre Group, partly because two of the members just got married”.
And Oriza Hirata’s android-human play was scheduled to make its first Asian appearance outside Japan at the festival in November, but now that can’t happen until after the event is finished.
“Most members of Bangkok Theatre Network are still involved, though, so in terms of scale the festival is pretty much the same. Actually, there are more shows than I expected to have when we had to postpone.”
A fixed time of year for the festival will be decided after this one, Nut says. “Personally, I think this month is better. There’s Valentine’s Day, and the weather is milder, and there’s never been political turmoil at this time of year.”
Santi Chai Prakan Park and nearby restaurants will continue to host productions on the weekends – the official opening is in the park this Saturday at 4pm. But this year many of the weekday shows will be in small playhouses like Blue Box Studio on New Petchaburi Road, Crescent Moon Space on Soi Thong Lor and Democrazy Studio on Rama IV Road.
The closing ceremony on March 4 will be at Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, “a great supporting partner”, as Nut calls it.
“Since the middle of last year we’ve held the Khuen Khieng talks by network members there. They’ve been very beneficial in terms of sharing expertise and background with the public. We’re putting all that information in print to create a much-needed theatre database.”
A multitude of events are in Thai and English, including a re-staging of important works from last year – 8X8 Theatre’s “Reincarnation 2012”, Kabuki-la’s “A Dream Within a Dream” and “The Return of Wanthong” by festival founder Pradit Prasartthong’s Anatta Theatre.
We’ll also see fun shows like New Theatre Society’s “Angry Birds”, Babymime’s “Smile Fight Flood”, Sommood’s “Revenges OS: Karmic Retributions Operating System”, and TVMunk’s “Suthee’s Serial Birth”.
And then there’s the intense “Sunrise in My Hand” by Moradok Mai.
“There are many shows by theatre students as well,” Nut says. “It’s a little different this year, though, because we’ve encouraged some of them to re-stage their senior-project productions for a wider audience instead of just friends and professors.”
Looking back at the festival’s first decade, Nut says the chief legacy has been “a tighter and stronger theatre community” and a maturing and “sustainable” audience.
“The artists have also proved that we don’t need to spend a lot of money renting a formal theatre – anyplace can be a theatre. In the latest example, Sommood is using the second floor of the Popular Society Restaurant on Phra Athit Road for its theatre-studio.”
Nut acknowledges, though, that most people still don’t consider a trip to the theatre as “cool” as attending a concert, “like the Fat Festival”.
“It remains a special occasion. It’s art, but not as cool. We considered dressing the festival in new clothes, but decided to keep its ‘temple fair’ ambience, with four shows going the same time for example. That’s become part of our signature.”
This year’s festival will witness the birth of the International Association of Theatre Critics, which will afterward award trophies for the best production, actor, script, etc – and for the best written review of a show by a university student.
HERE WE GO
-The 10th Bangkok Theatre Festival runs from Saturday through March 4, with free performances in Santi Chai Prakan Park and pay-to-see shows in nearby restaurants on the weekend and small theatres city-wide on weekdays.
- Get the details at www.BangkokTheatreNetwork.com or call (083) 802 7414.
