A well-balanced act

THE GALA OPENING last Saturday of Life Theatre’s revival of Thai gay drama “The 4 Sisters + 1” officially raised the curtain on Bangkok’s newest performance space, the Sun Dance Theatre, and drew a capacity crowd, many of them dolled up in costumes to rival those of the performers.
Easily accessible by both BTS and MRT, Sun Dance is one of the most conveniently located theatre studios in town, leaving no room for complaints about a lack of parking space. And although it’s on the 5th floor, the climb up the stairs is less tiring than one minute on the treadmill.
Whether by coincidence or design, the original “4 Sisters” play by Bangkok-based Japanese playwright Shogo Tanikawa, a founding member of Life Theatre, also launched the brand new Blue Box Studio at M Theatre back in 2010.
Its new incarnation, “4 Sisters + 1”, also set in a drag club that’s about to close, is far from unpredictable yet still conveys plenty of messages to his audiences.
Veteran director Bhanbhassa Dhubthien delivers another knock-out show with actors that are always sincere and, unlike the premiere production, don’t exaggerate their gayness. They are hilarious without having to try to be funny –the moments when they improvise songs, instead of lip-syncing like in other drag clubs, had me giggling. And while the comedy grabs the attention in the first part of the play, the real life drama touches and moves the heart in the second.
Bhanbhassa and actress Sasithorn Panihnok’s, decision to reinterpret the club owner as a straight woman rather than the tomboy we saw four years ago, also paid off, as the role is now more realistic and doesn’t draw too much attention from the main drag queen characters. By contrast though, Tanikawa is as unconvincing as a Karen waiter now as he was then.
Set designer Pakkaporn Pimsarn and lighting designer Pornpan Arayaveerasit also deserve credit for convincingly turning the small room into a drag club and the stairs leading to the building rooftop are also deftly used.
At the post-performance talk, many audience members concurred that the “+1”, or the addition of the new, and much younger, character to the play, was so smooth that those who didn’t watch “The 4 Sisters” four years ago wouldn’t notice it. Much credit is thus due to Tanikawa’s rewriting of the play and new cast member Panuwat Inthawat, who hasn’t even graduated from university but is already rubbing shoulders with heavyweight original cast members Apirak Chaipanha, Sanyaphong Akkanathapong and Sun Tawalwongsri.
Another audience member had an idea for “+2”, adding that he had in mind another Thai gay character to propose. In this gay capital of Asia, freedom of expression and socio-cultural and sexual diversity remain issues that have never been dealt with so there is plenty of scope.
It’s noteworthy that Bangkok’s two newest performance spaces – Sun Dance Theatre and Thong Lor Art Space – both have their programmes lined up. The former is filled until December and the latter until next February, and that’s indeed a good example for other venues to follow.
 COMING
ATTRACTIONS
 n The first Bangkok Queer Theatre Festival continues with “The 4 Sisters + 1” from tomorrow to Monday and from October 10 to 12 at Sun Dance Theatre on the 5th floor of Silom Society, Silom Soi 2 (BTS: Sala Daeng or MRT: Silom). Shows are at 8pm, with 2pm matinees on Saturday and Sunday.
n Up next is 18 Monkeys Dance Theatre’s “My Betrayal Is Beautiful” on October 15, and “Le Funambule” on October 18 and 19.
n Tickets are Bt600 (one drink included).
n For details, call (088) 018 5966 or check Facebook.com/|SunDanceTheatre.