THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Watch, listen and vote carefully

Watch, listen and vote carefully

B-Floor Theatre and Democrazy Studio's new work reminds us how politics is an integral part of our life.

EARLIER THIS year, Silpathorn artist and co-artistic director of B-Floor Theatre Jarunun “Jaa” Phantachat pushed many social, cultural and political buttons with “Test of Endurance”, including pre-screening audience members and allowing them to pay an admission price based on what they thought the performance was worth. 
While the audience doesn’t play such a major role in her latest work “Ceci n'est pas la politique”, they are asked to think, after the performance rather than during it, thus making the two productions comparable. 
Watching “Chitra’s Death and the Disappearing Dogs”, a new allegorical play by Sodsai Award winning playwright Pattareeya Puapongsakorn, gives the audience several opportunities to vote on answers to questions both directly and indirectly relevant to the plot, while seeing some performers disappear from the stage as the play proceeds.
Portraying these six relatives, friends and employees of the late millionaire Chitra, all of them murder suspects but with different motives, are B-Floor’s Ornanong Thaisriwong, Dujdao Vadhanapakorn and Sasapin Siriwanij, New Theatre Society’s Parnrut Kritchanchai, Democrazy Studio’s Pavinee Samakkabutr and independent actress Napak Tricharoendej. 
Their task isn’t easy as, having rehearsed and memorised the lines of the whole play, they are well aware their actual stage time might be cut short by the audience’s votes and how the production team processes them. Those who remain on the stage then perform with invisible characters and in response to their inaudible lines until the end.
On the opening night last Tuesday, all six actresses looked comfortable in their roles, although their acting styles varied considerably, probably due to the director’s experience in working with text-based performances. Some characters looked more realistic than others and we thus had more empathy for them.
Another commendable aspect is the art direction, which is very simple but truly slick. The floor, three walls, ceiling as well as four stools and air-conditioner are painted blue, the performers’ costumes are also dominantly blue with some white and black, and the computer graphics projected show different floor plans of the scenes and are always in sync with the lighting design. 
“Ceci n'est pas la politique” may not be the most entertaining work and some audience members, especially those expecting a more politically straightforward oeuvre from these two politically conscious companies, might leave Democrazy Studio feeling somewhat unfulfilled. 
Later though, you cannot help but spend some time thinking carefully about the content of the structurally deconstructed play – which includes a deceased resort owner with peculiar culinary tastes leaving behind a painting worth Bt66 million – and come up with various interpretations dependent on political persuasion. 
And while you have fun in the audience participation parts, you also later think back to the questions asked, the answers you chose, how they counted the votes, informed you of the result and took some performers out of the performance then gave you a chance to vote one back in. That makes you feel that you have the power and while you respect the majority of votes, you realise that there’s someone somewhere much more powerful than any of us. In the end, you might realise that you live in a supposedly democratic country where, notwithstanding this information age, there is so little transparency that truth is in the mind of the believer and you may mysteriously disappear. just like any performer in this work. 
And thanks to the playwright’s and the director’s subtlety and discretion, theatre remains the least censored form of dramatic arts here.
 
FIVE MORE PERFORMANCES
-“Ceci n'est pas la politique” continues at Democrazy Studio in Soi Saphan Khu, Rama IV road (10-minute walk from MRT Lumphini station, exit 1) from Wednesday to Sunday, 8pm.
- It’s in Thai on Friday and Sunday; in English Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. 
- Tickets are Bt520 (Bt400 for students; Bt650 for non-participating audience).
- Call (089) 167 4039 or email [email protected]
- For more details, www.BFloorTheatre.com and “BFloor Theatre Group” at Facebook. 
 
nationthailand