LEAR CONDENSED BUT A GREAT DANCER
Play
The censors waved this Shakespeare through, but he does experiment
Director Jaa Phantachat’s “Lear and His Three Daughters” opens with characters battling to reach a caged bird on top of mountain. Lear (played by Teerawat Mulvilai) gets to the prize first and places the cage on his head.
It’s an intriguing scene – and of course one that appears nowhere in Shakespeare’s “King Lear”. Nevertheless, this is a faithful, if abbreviated, version of the bard’s play.
Electric fans will cool the audience in the outdoor fountain courtyard of the Pridi Banomyong Institute for B-Floor’s hour-long show – running all next week with the tagline “If you want to love, don’t ever forget to love with consciousness.”
Try keeping that in mind as Lear divides his kingdom between his undeserving daughters Goneril and Regan. Dujdao Vadhanapakorn Boonyai and Duangjai Hirunsri will play Goneril on alternate evenings while Nana Dakin and Ornanong Thaisriwong share Regan’s role.
Three clowns form a chorus without comic relief. Lear descends into insanity. His righteous daughter Cordelia (played by Sasapin Siriwanij and Vidura Amaranand) commits suicide. The king dies even more tragically.
This capsule version of the original is so abbreviated, in fact, that the audience gets little sense of Lear and the sisters’ relationships.
Instead, the show’s strength – as usual with B-Floor productions – is the roof-raising energy and the cohesion of the ensemble. The cast includes several guests from other companies and young actors plucked from a recent B-Fest workshop.
Thanapol Virulhakul has choreographed them enticingly as a group, yet individual characters’ movements tend to be too literal, looking more like ballet pantomime than the promised dance theatre.
The lighting and graphics make full use of the large space, but the appealing visuals occasionally steal focus from the performers.
Shakespeare has a poor track record on the Thai stage – few productions, and they rarely wander from the original script. “Lear and His Three Daughters” ought to be seen as a not-quite-successful experiment that breathes fresh life into a venerable classic.
It underscores the possibilities and reminds Thais that Shakespeare isn’t just about fancy language, that his characters and subject matter are timeless and universal.
Now in its 13th year, B-Floor Theatre is the country’s only professional company that plans its seasons in advance. Its 2012 programme came out in February, detailing the shows it’s working on for the rest of the year. Other companies would do well to follow suit.
B-Floor’s next production, “Oxygen” in early July, has already been booked for New York’s Undergroundzero Festival, along with last year’s delightful “Taste of Curry”. More than a dozen members now need airfare to the US so they can work with the renowned Ping Chong.
That’s the other reason why “Lear and His Three Daughters” had a press preview on Tuesday – to generate some travel funds. Chip in if you can.
SEE THE BARD
- “Lear and His Three Daughters” is at the the Pridi Banomyong Institute on Thong Lor from tonight until May 7 except on Tuesday and Wednesday. Shows start at 7.30.
- Tickets cost Bt450. Call (089) 167 4049 or visit www.BFloorTheatre.com.
