FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS
TRADITIONS NEAR AND FAR
What I’ve come to realise this year about the BTF, or rather what I am reminded of, is that it provides a great opportunity for people in Bangkok to see works by artists from other provinces in Thailand and traditional performing arts from here and abroad. The younger generation of Bangkok theatregoers, art enthusiasts and theatre critics, myself included, too often neglect these artists or dismiss traditional performing arts as boring or not cutting edge enough. I’m of the opinion that any art that exists in the present is contemporary and that, despite institutional possessiveness, all art forms inevitably change as we change. This year, the programme included traditional Thai puppetry used in a Western-style musical in Nemirath: The Musical Puppet Show by Tookatoon Studio and Theatre, Ayuthaya Khon by Kai Kaew Karn Lakorn (The Land of Arts) troupe and The Exotic Enggang Tribal Dance by Bali Indah Dance Studio, to name a few.
PROCESS MAKES PROGRESS
Two of the best performances I saw at the festival this year are works-in-progress. A Theatre Unit: [X-Division]’s staged reading Hari Raya: The Unwritten Scenes Of A Family Reunion was a moving and intimate experience where audience members took off their shoes before entering the performance space, like entering a Thai home, and sat on the floor around the large rug in the middle of the room. Young playwright Nasrey Labaideeman tells the story of a Thai-Muslim family visiting their relatives in Malaysia with both humour and touching insights. I can’t wait to see the full production of this play. The third phase of a Singaporean-Thai collaboration, Open Waters, a play about home and urban living, was also exciting to see. Its second phase was presented at the BTF Asia Focus. The number of collaborations between Thai and non-Thai artists have markedly increased in the past few years. This and more investment in the process of a play will help open up more Thai artists to
the world and improve the quality of Thai productions.
THE PASSING OF A PIONEER
The Thai theatre community lost an important and beloved member. Mime artist and pioneer Paitoon Laisakul died of a heart condition at the age of 55 on Nov 8, just days after the festival began. He could still be spotted around the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, BTF’s main venue, the weekend before his death. Paitoon was known by his stage moniker Konnakhao and founded Konnakhao Mime troupe in 1984. He was one of the first artists who pushed for the BTF to happen and was always a prominent presence at the festival. He was also behind the founding of pantomime in Bangkok and started Kon Rak Mime Festival in 2016. His students were many, among them the Babymime trio, the most successful and popular mime troupe in Thailand. A Babymime member, Nuttapol Kummata, said: “Laughter can heal anything. Phi Aun [Paitoon] was like a doctor, always healing others, even on the day of his passing. But the [memories of ] his laughter will continue to heal everyone.” The last piece Paitoon created, Magic Box, was performed by a troupe he helped form a few months before his death, Young Lady Konnakhao, as a tribute during the BTF’s closing ceremony on Sunday. The troupe comprises two female mime artists and students of Paitoon’s, Churarat Tangchitnob and deaf mime artist Chalisa Donmon. Magic Box is their first show and about death and loss. According to Churarat, Paitoon created the piece knowing that his time was running out.
The International Association of Theatre Critics–Thailand Centre (IATC–TC) held the Thailand Dance and Theatre Review 2017 award ceremony on Sunday to honour Thai productions of this past year and Thai and international productions at the BTF. Find a full list of nominees and winners at the IATC–TC Facebook page at fb.com/IATC.Thailand.