Good Witch Glinda, the Flying Monkey and the Wizard of Oz. Photo courtesy of Thong Lor Art Space
Everybody knows about Dorothy Gale and her adventures in Oz, but L. Frank Baum also has a bevy of other characters just as endearing and unique as the little girl who got tornadoed into the magical land away from her home in Kansas. If you’ve never heard of Tik-Tok before, Thong Lor Art Space offers you the chance to get up real close to what is possibly the world’s first robot character portrayed in literature in The Adventures Of Tik-Tok, Man Of Oz this month. The first half will recount the adventures of the Wizard of Oz and Dorothy, before heading towards the land of Ev, where the “mechanical man” who was forgotten in a cave is later found by Dorothy.
It’s not the most expensive-looking of productions, despite the requisite of magic and marvels that the tale describes. The stage is set in an immersive layout that has audiences seated along three walls, in zigzagged stands where no two pairs of seats are at the same level. Actors, all dressed in baggy white, perform in the centre and will usually run under your seats for a prop change or to signify entering a different location. This would not have worked elsewhere had the tale not been home to such iconic symbols and shapes, where the mere addition of a broom, top hat or starry wand convincingly transforms each person into the Wicked Witch of the West, the Wizard of Oz or the Good Witch Glinda. It all feels a little cheapo that the actors plainly change a hat to change characters, but then it becomes apparent that the play’s comedy springs from its bareness: cross-gender actor Sathasai is hilariously the Flying Monkey (thanks to the furry ears) one second, and the vampy witch Evanora the other.
It’s a little weird that they all talk in third person rather than to each other, but after a while, you get used to it and the whole production feels like sitting in to listen to a fairy tale more than watching a play. The twinkly percussion sounds from xylophones and chimes too give a quaint and charming ambience to the story. The Thai cast’s accents may get distracting, but surtitles in three languages offer some solace. Clearly, James Laver, who plays Tik-Tok, is the liveliest and less contrived performer because there are no language barriers, but his round-bodied suit that makes him clack around like a robot also make things more convincing.
As a robot who supposedly has no feelings and needs to get wound up every now and then, it’s cute to watch how Tik-Tok’s metal moustache move about and how he evolves more sentimentally after meeting Dorothy. Despite its shortcomings, there’s lots of laughs here (look out for Billina the talking chicken). Tales of friendship will always stir up some mushy moments and this Oz adventure of a mechanical man made of copper will whisk you back to a wistful world of childhood imagination.
Dorothy and Tik-Tok. Photos courtesy of Thong Lor Art Space
This source first appeared on Bangkok Post Lifestyle.