Devil in the details

IN ROBIN SCHROETER’s “Compassion”, translated into Thai by Jaturachai Srichanwanpen as “Hen Chai Kan Bang Mai Di Roe” and performed with English surtitles, Rachel, a female demon, is called on to kill Damien, the human demon slayer. Notwithstanding a number of human fallacies, her contact with him turns hate into love.
“Compassion” would be a straightforward story were it not filled with the German expat playwright’s overwrought commentaries on life in the 21st century including how university students are over-obsessed with their grades.
This overfilling – which at some points made it feel as though the playwright either had spent too much time writing the play or doesn’t plan to write his next one for at least the next five years – resulted in two immediate problems.
First, the dramatic suspense was lost and many audience members already knew how the play would finish the moment Rachel met Damien for the first time.
Second, the humour was dry, if not scarce, and despite the playwright calling it a tragi-comedy, it was merely a drama. That probably explains why the young man to my left spent most of the play checking his smartphones for messages while the middle-aged lady on my right seemed to be reading a book. I amused myself by glancing intermittently – and all three of us were sitting in the front row.
Schroeter’s first professional attempt at playwriting and directing, after years of acting, “Compassion” is a good example of a new play that needed a script doctor, a dramaturg or a staged reading before being shown to the audience. I also wonder if the script would have had fewer loopholes had the play been presented by a well-established company like New Theatre Society – which would have meant more input from seasoned company members – instead of independently.
Performing different roles both on the earth and in the hell quite convincingly and coping with the quick costume changes, the six young thespians worked well together as an ensemble. I wished, though, that they had lowered their voices in the first few scenes. Perhaps the experience would have been more enjoyable had Rachel and Damien been portrayed by more experienced thespians, who would have stronger stage presence, offered more vibrant characterisation and been more relaxed in their delivery of dialogues. It must be said though that Punika Rangchaya and Wasu Wanrayangkoon were natural, energetic and sincere.
Despite the commendable costume design by Nicha Puranasamriddhi, the set design by Surachai Petsangrot and Lapin Laosoonthara didn't help to create. While I rather liked the striking steel sculpture that looked like an upside down tree, the black trash bags covering all four walls resembled nothing more but trash bags. It would have better just to cover the walls with a coat of black paint. Furthermore, the blackness made it seem that hell was the setting for all the scenes, further reducing the play’s comedic level and posing many challenges for lighting designer Phalatt Sangkhakorn.
“Compassion” had little to do with the Schroeter’s background as a foreign expat. Instead it sounded and looked like a foreign play originally written for an audience elsewhere then translated into Thai. This was evidenced by the garbage collector character, who appeared to be the wisest of all thanks to all the thoughts the playwright expressed through him.
However, this was, to begin with, an immense artistic risk and Schroeter deserves praise for staging it rather than a foreign work that’s already delighted audiences and critics elsewhere.
 SHOW MORE
“COMPASSION”
- “Compassion” is being staged at 7.30 from tonight until Monday in the Crescent Moon Space at the Pridi Banomyong Institute on Thong Lor. It’s in Thai with English surtitles.
- Tickets are Bt500. Students get a Bt20 discount. For details, call (099) 179 5731 or (085) 135 3433.