Showing 1 - 10 of 41
The Last Supper?
Life, Amitha Amranand, Published on 16/06/2022
» It's no surprise that as Covid restrictions are easing around the world, people are seeking new experiences to pluck themselves from mundanity, and to see, touch, smell and taste things in ways that awaken them. Why sit inside a theatre when you can walk around an art space or a neighbourhood while stories are spoken into your ears? Why only eat in cafes and restaurants when you can do that and watch a scene of a play unfold? Why dine in a restaurant when you can dine in an old airplane and participate in strange, semi-religious rituals?
The evolution of khon
Life, Amitha Amranand, Published on 22/04/2021
» Choreographer Jitti Chompee's ongoing khon project, which includes Melancholy Of Demon, a dance performance that I reviewed earlier this month, is supported by the Ministry of Culture and departments and offices under its umbrella. This is a surprising level of governmental support granted to a contemporary dance artist who wants to do not-so-genteel things with khon and the character of Tossakan. I still remember how in 2006 the Ministry of Culture reportedly forced Somtow Sucharitkul to change the scene in his opera Ayodhya that depicted the death of Tossakan (Ravan in the opera version) onstage, a practice that is considered a bad omen in Thailand.
The evolution of an artist
Life, Amitha Amranand, Published on 01/04/2021
» It's impossible for me to critique choreographer Jitti Chompee's latest show Melancholy Of Demon without viewing it as part of a larger project, which also includes a film, a book, a photo exhibition, a dance demonstration and a seminar of a more academic nature. The show was staged at Lido Connect from March 18-22. This review is the first part of an essay about the project and focuses only on Melancholy Of Demon.
Keeping theatre alive
Life, Amitha Amranand, Published on 27/05/2020
» How do you prove to the government you're a theatre artist? When large gatherings are banned and theatres are closed and your work deemed non-essential, how does that affect your income ? Or does it? Are you eligible for the government relief fund Rao Mai Ting Kan then? Is theatre-making a job in Thailand to begin with?
Scaling new heights
Life, Amitha Amranand, Published on 26/03/2020
» Although Bangkok is not a musical theatre town the way New York City and London are, the appetite for musicals here is not small.
A decade in the limelight
Life, Amitha Amranand, Published on 30/12/2019
» In choosing the 10 best theatre productions of the decade, I started by listing some of my favourite productions, based almost purely on enjoyment. That would not do, of course. The more important questions are those of cultural and artistic impact. So of the shows that made it on this list, some are Thai-theatre-scene firsts, some are rarities, some are triumphs of age-old and underappreciated crafts. But all of them are ambitious, original and uncompromising. They have become indelible to me and, I hope, to many others. And they excited me then as much as they excite me now, looking back months and years later.
Of madness and joy
Life, Amitha Amranand, Published on 25/11/2019
» We review two original works -- a Thai-language political satire and an English-language musical -- with LGBTQ central characters.
Not entirely transfixing
Life, Amitha Amranand, Published on 07/06/2019
» For its second production, Qrious Theatre transplants the 2005 American film Transamerica to Thailand. TranS I-Am is an awkward US-to-Thailand and screen-to-stage adaptation, but it's sweet and offbeat enough to charm.
Garden of dreams and delights
Life, Amitha Amranand, Published on 09/05/2019
» B-floor Theatre, Thailand's only physical theatre company, turns 20 this year. And they are marking the occasion with Shakespeare.
New singers, oldest band
Life, Amitha Amranand, Published on 28/03/2019
» The Suntaraporn Foundation has been staging musicals for seven years, and I finally made the time to go see one this past Sunday. Theatre critics in Bangkok are very aware of their annual productions, but we have largely ignored it. Perhaps it has to do with our limited definition of "contemporary theatre", and our tendency to turn our noses up at anything that feels traditional and conservative.