The two core members of New Theatre Society, namely Damkerng Thitapiyasak and Parnrut Kritchanchai, are both in action this month. The former staged “Sainam Morakot”, based on the life of Madame Mao, at Thailand Cultural Centre’s small hall last weekend and the latter’s “Ni khue sathan haeng phap khanglang”, or “The Place of Hidden Painting”, is now being staged at Thong Lor Art Space (TLAS). Both directors are known for their Thai adaptations of foreign plays, and Parnrut is also especially renowned for her comedies, the humour of which oftentimes waters down their messages and interrupts the flow of the play. That’s not the case, however, in her latest work.
It’s not that she has cut down on her comedic ammunition, which as a whole is like a weapon of mass destruction blasting the audience with all kinds and levels of comedy, jokes included. If you’ve a bad day, this play is the perfect medicine as well as another hit for TLAS.
Inspired by the Tony Award-winning play “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” by Christopher Durang, Parnrut has as its centre three siblings named after popular characters from Thai novels, namely Chai Klang, Khunying Kirati and Potchaman. The former two, who still live in the old world of those novels, live in their old mansion in the woods along with their nurse Nom Thip. Their conversation resembles lines directly taken from Thai novels, in which the beauty of the language, as opposed to the colloquial counterpart, can be cherished. Potchaman on the other hand is a TV actress, who has long supported them but is now considering selling the house. She is also the link to the contemporary world, bringing with her Rain Junior, her new, and much too young, Korean-looking singer boyfriend and Tui, a young woman who is one of Potchaman’s die-hard fans and is visiting her grandparents nearby.
With a central conflict this clear, both the comedy and the drama move along smoothly, marred only towards the end when Chai Klang’s monologue comes across as somewhat didactic and contrived.
As Chai Klang, veteran actor Supasawat Buranavej, after having stolen many scenes in previous works, is a leading man well equipped with clear diction, spot-on characterization and arresting physicality. Fellow veteran Nilacha Fuengfukiat, as Kirati, is never overshadowed by his performance. Supasawat is reunited here with Pariya Wonrabiab as Photchaman, who was his co-star in New Theatre Society’s Thai translation of David Ives’ “The Universal Language”, which won the pair top acting prizes at the Bangkok Theatre Festival. In this play, the trio becomes the three-headed comedic monster with solid support from Donruedee Jamraschai who is always believable as Nom Thip, a character much older than herself.
The two young thespians, Chanida Panyaneramitdi as Tui and Jirakit Sunthornlapyos as Rain Junior, shine through on occasion though the former is far too often cast as a young and innocent woman. Much credit is also due for the latter’s set design, which deftly makes use of the space inside and outside the studio on the 3rd floor of TLAS. Tawit Keitprapai’s lighting design greatly helps in the telling of this story by clearly defining the rooms and separating the realistic from the surrealistic.
Bangkok is a city of contrasts where the immediacy of the social media co-exists and at times clashes with centuries-old tradition, which the play underlines with ease.
And now we’re being encouraged to wear clothes made of Thai fabrics every Friday. Does this request to make us look like models in Tourism Authority of Thailand’s posters come with bonus money for extra laundry and electricity bills? Or should we get back to writing letters and taking them to the post office on our bicycles?
Let the debate on what is, and is not, Thai continue.
Last laugh tonight
– The last performance of “The Place of Hidden Painting” is at 7.30 tonight at Thong Lor Art Space, a three-minute walk from BTS Thonglor Exit 3. It’s in Thai with no English surtitles. Tickets are Bt550 (Bt350 for students).
– Next up at Bangkok’s most prolific venue is Surachai Petsangrot’s “The Adventures of Tik-Tok Man of Oz”, running from Friday to August 21. It’s in English with Thai surtitles. Tickets are Bt550 (Bt350 for students and Bt300 for kids not taller than 120 cm.)
– There are also free puppetry workshops, every Saturday and Sunday at 2pm throughout the run. Tickets for both can be booked at (095) 924 4555.
– Find out more at Thong Lor Art Space’s Facebook page.
This source first appeared on The Nation Life.