Performing through the pandemic

An evidence of how contemporary Thai dance and theatre have been strongly affected by the pandemic, the previously annual “IATC Thailand Dance and Theatre Awards” has become triannual thanks to the shortage of stage works over the past few years.

Is this because dance and theatre are not among the 5Fs the previous government was promoting and not generally considered part of creative economy agenda many governments have been hooked on? 

The 11-year-young Thailand section of the 67-year-old International Association of Theatre Critics (IATC) has been honoring Thai artists with IATC Thailand Dance and Theatre Awards since 2013. Considering the recent surge of a new variant, this year the award ceremony will go online, after the vaccinated and boosted critics have watched professional stage works by Thai artists, in and out of lockdowns and restrictions, that premiered from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2022.

The award jury—all active members of IATC Thailand—has decided that all online performances during the period are not eligible for the awards, given their different nature and conditions—the same for works that were part of Bangkok Theatre Festivals (BTF) as they were already up for BTF Awards.

Leading all nominees is NUNi Productions’ “Art” which is a finalist in four categories—best play, direction (Pattarasuda “Bua” Anuman Rajadhon), performance by an ensemble and performance by a male artist (Silpathorn Award laureate Nikorn Saetang).

This new Thai translation of Tony-and-Moliere-Awards winner by French playwright Yasmina Reza premiered at GalileOasis and Alliance Francaise Bangkok last year, with English and Thai surtitles, and has since toured to Bang Saen as part of the French Embassy’s Galleries’ Night in addition to Khon Kaen, Mahasarakham, Songkhla’s Mueang and Hat Yai districts.

It will be at Chiang Mai University in June, Jim Thompson Art Center in July and Vic Hua Hin in December.  

Being nominated in three categories—best play, art direction and adapted script of a play or a performance—is “Monrak Transistor”.

Teeraphan Ngowjeenanan staged Jaturachai Srichanwanpen’s adaptation of the late writer and activist Wat Wanlayangkoon’s novel of the same title. Teeraphan’s “Away” (in Thai title “Klai Ban” or “Far from Home”), a documentary film on Wat’s life in exile won the Duke Award (Best Documentary) at the Thai Short Film & Video Festival 2019 and Best Short Documentary award from Bangkok Critics Assembly.

Also with three nominations—for best musical, adapted script and performance by a female artist (Sasinee “Pin” Aswajesdakul)—is “L’elisir d’amore”, Tarin Prinyaknit’s contemporary Thai adaptation of 19th century Italian comic opera.

Vying for three awards (best movement-based performance, ensemble and art direction) as well is “Paranoid-Schizoid,” an experiential performance by B-Floor’s Dujdao Vadhanapakorn.

Another Silpathorn Award recipient Sineenadh Keitprapai, artistic director of Crescent Moon Theatre is shortlisted for her performance in and direction for “A Cowbell and the Invisible,” part of the triple bill “Biopsy of Fear,” described as “an artistic operation that explores and deconstructs fear that’s been instilled deeply within one’s consciousness.” 

It’s also up for best movement-based performance against B-Floor Theatre and Ratsadrum’s “A Thorn of Conceptual Pain,” another work in the same triple-bill by another Silpathorn artist Teerawat “Ka-ge” Mulvilai. 

B-Floor’s “Flu-Fool (2020 version)”, “a stupidly infected performance” also by Ka-ge, is a finalist for best performance by an ensemble and art direction. If political works are all over the place here, it’s for an obvious reason; if B-Floor is across the board, it’s because they—pandemic or not—continue to be one of Thailand’s most prolific artist collectives.  

 
It’s noteworthy that all of these works were part of Bangkok Art and Culture Centre’s (BACC) annual Performative Art Projects (PAP) from the past three years.

It took For WhaT Theatre’s political satire “Four Days in September (The Missing Comrade)”, which was co-produced by three festivals and two theatres in four European countries, almost a year after its world premiere at Kunstenfestivaldesarts (KFDA) in Brussels to land at Bangkok CityCity Gallery last July. Wichaya Artamat, whose revival of “Baan Cult, Muang Cult” (2013) will be seen at KFDA in late May, is up for best direction, original script—along with his co-writer Ratchapoom Boonbanchachoke—as well as play.   

In acting categories, it must be noted that veteran actor Saifah Tanthana is being nominated for the fourth time—a record—for his performance in “Attama fan theung kan patiwat”, as part of the quadruple bill “Cyberpunk TH 2020”. 

Apart from Nikorn, Saifah is up against Setsiri Nirandara whose performance in “Bangkok Twins 2022” (“Faet wun lun rak”)—an adaptation of Carlo Goldoni’s “The Venetian Twins” and a nominee for adapted script—was a sheer crowd pleaser. Setsiri is also a co-artistic director of BTF, and his partner-in-crime Parnrat Kritchanchai is also a nominee for her performance in Dee-ng Theatre’s “there, you go” (“Theung laeo bok nit neung”). 

Noticeably, the critics will not give out the award for best book of a musical this year—there were not enough new musicals probably. Notably, while 2022 was dubbed the “Year of Immersive Performances,” thanks to their profusion and popularity, almost all of them were snubbed: “nowhereland: THE EDEN”, also part of BACC’s PAP, was the lone “immersive” nominee for best art direction.  

As always, IATC Thailand will also honor a major figure in contemporary Thai dance and theatre with their lifetime achievement award. The list of past nominees include highly revered directors, professors, lighting designer, set designer, choreographer and critic. Interestingly, two of them were later consecrated National Artists (Performing Arts) by Ministry of Culture. 

This year, IATC Thailand will present this honorary award to the country’s first dramaturg Rassami Paoluengtong, aka “Khru Pom”. A co-founder of Theatre 28 which played a significant role in the development of contemporary Thai theatre with such groundbreaking works as “Galileo”, “Man of La Mancha” and “The Visit”, Khru Pom was the first Thai artist who finished her Master of Fine Arts degree in dramaturgy and dramatic criticism at Yale School of Drama before teaching at Silpakorn University. Last year, she turned her family property, two rows of shophouses in Soi Kingphet, Ratchathewi district into GalileOasis, a multidisciplinary arts and lifestyle space with a small theatre studio which hosted Comedy Tree Festival featuring “Bangkok Twins 2022” and “Art”, in addition to galleries, a café and restaurants.  

“IATC Thailand Dance and Theatre Awards 2020-22” is on May 2, 2023, starting at 8pm, live on Facebook “IATC.Thailand”, where you can find the full list of nominees as well as reviews of contemporary Thai dance and theatre works. To listen to an interview with Rassami, check out YouTube channel “Bangkok Offstage”.

 

Photo credit: (for “Art”) JIra Angsutamatuch; (“Monrak Transistor,” “L’elisir d’amore.” “A Thorn of Conceptual Pain” and “Flu-Fool (2020 version)”) Jukkrit Hanpipatpanich/BACC; (“Paranoid-Schizoid”) Chatchada Piphatnangkool; (“The Cowbell and the Invisible”) Darapath “Jean” Pirananont; (“Four Days in September”) Anna Van Waeg/KFDA; (“Bangkok Twins 2022”) courtesy of GalileOasis; (“nowhereland: THE EDEN”) courtesy of nowhereland; (“Khru Pom”) courtesy of the artist.