All men are not created equal

At the beginning of “Nay Nai”, which had its world premiere in Singapore last week, Paiboon Budkhun’s musical score of “Lok Ni Khue Lakhon”, literally “All the world’s a stage”, played softly through the loudspeakers of Theatreworks’ 72-13 home.
It was immediately followed by national artist Suthep Wongkhamhaeng’s rendition of the song, accompanied by the English translation projected on the back wall as four male members of Pichet Klunchun Dance Company entered the stage their costumes picked out by the LED lights.
The stage lighting shifted as Kittipong Tamsuay KAZZ’s “Up Up Up” filled the space giving the theatre the ambience of a club.
What followed was a series of contests by these four men, clad in grey tank tops and camouflage-printed shorts so short that the military might have cause to blush.
They started by pairing up and fighting each other with punch bags before adapting the traditional children’s game “Ti Chap” into their own version of physical battle.
The performance veered in another direction when these sweating wrestlers segued into a classical Thai dance scene that saw each performer adjusting his movements in accordance with the one preceding him in much the same way as the dancers in last year’s “Tam Kai”. But this wasn’t a question of beauty replacing strength in a few short moves: in fact, there was as much beauty in their fights as strength in their dance.
On the surface, as evidenced by frequent laughter from the audience, “Nay Nai” appeared to be the company’s most light-hearted work to date. It was also considerably cheekier than anything they have staged before.
Although Pichet was inspired by Chanan Yodhong’s controversial book “Nay Nai Samai Ratchakan Thi Hok” (“Men-in-Waiting During the Reign of King Rama VI”) published last year, the performance didn’t make any historical references. As a result, and with the line “All the world’s a stage” continuously popping up on the back wall, it became a contemporary social observation rather than a historical account.
My thoughts wandered to the Thai women’s football team going to the World Cup next year, while participation in the competition remains a dream for their male counterparts and the fact that while only three Thai women have been crowned Miss Universe, many Thai men have picked up the title of Miss Tiffany Universe. I was also reminded of my many friends and students who have watched Pichet dance and afterwards wanted to know if he’s gay
That there was an underlying political message was obvious from the programme notes, which read: “Due to the political situation in Thailand right now, I cannot say what I want to say in this performance.”
Pichet underlined that message by refusing to take a bow at the curtain call and remained in his plastic chair upstage centre adorned with LED lights. His face remained stoic as he waited for his performers to join him there.
I was suddenly reminded of Noncitizen and Democrazy Theatre Studio’s “Hipster the King” which ended its run last week. Putting these two works in a double-bill presentation would surprise international audiences, showing not only show how cutting-edge our contemporary performing artists have become but also confirming that they always have something to say about our society and politics on stage, no matter how subtle they are in doing so.
A commission by Theatreworks, “Nay Nai” is the Thai company’s third work in five years to have received the support of Singaporean producers and enjoyed a world premiere in the island state. The first was “Nijinsky Siam”, which was staged as part of the Singapore Arts Festival and ConversAsians in 2010 while “Black and White” made it to Esplanade’s da:ns festival in 2012. What does this say about the state of contemporary arts and the support structure in Thailand?
Talks are now in progress to bring “Nay Nai” home to Bangkok. Stay tuned.

Next up at Theatreworks
From July 25 to August 2, Theatreworks will present “Retrospective” featuring a dance performance co-created by French choreographer Xavier Le Roy and 12
 Singaporean dance-makers.
Find out more at
 www.Theatreworks.com.sg and Facebook.com/Theatreworks.sg.