Bangkok University's dance theatre production reflects on Buddhism in urban society.

After thrilling the crowds in Prague last summer, Bangkok University's Performing Arts Department staged "Dancing to Nirvana" for the last time in the City of Angels last week (Wednesday, January 9) before taking the production to Singapore at the end of this month.

An audible gasp filled the auditorium as the empty red platform in the centre was suddenly filled with several half-naked men and two women.

A man dressed in pure-white and a woman attired in blood red followed them into the middle. She pushed him hard and he tumbled to the ground, saying in Pali, "Itapajayatasupato is hard to notice. Nirvana is too complicated to my sight."

In "Dancing to Nirvana" director Pannasak Sukhee explores the values of patriarchy and the doctrine of Ittappajayata - the concept of existence and uncertainty. Because this philosophy is considered incomprehensible, it tends to be ignored by the majority of Buddhists.

"I've tended to be very considerate in my previous productions, as I've wanted to impress the audience with profound philosophies," said Pannasak in the post-show discussion.

"With 'Dancing to Nirvana', I intend to show my stupidity, to reveal the spirit of a Buddhist who can't appreciate dharma and who tries to find the way to purification, yet can't resist earthly temptations."

"Dancing to Nirvana" reflects what Pannasak sees as the condition of contemporary Bangkokians by revealing the effects of the chaos and demands of urban life on individuals who are incapable of going against the flow of political despotism. Desire for power and objects envelops their vision, and religion is simply gift-wrapping, hardly touching the core of human mind. The performance questions what and where spiritual happiness is, and how far an individual has to journey before reaching eternal peace.

However, this reviewer felt the weight of confusion pressing down on her head and shoulders as the dance progressed and was stifled by the heavy rhythm of deep breathing.

Others held a different view. "Inhale deeply. Then let it go. You feel happy and relieved that you are alive," said one of the five monks representing the Young Buddhists Association of Thailand at the after show discussion. "Where is Nirvana, the spiritual happiness? I'd say it can be noticed at the point of breathing, when you realise life is sustained only by this meditative mode, not by those materialistic methods."

Apart from looking at the existence of nirvana, the production also criticises the Thai patriarchal society where females cannot be ordained into a religious order on a par with the monkhood so as to maintain male superiority. This goes against the Buddhist belief that everyone can study dharma and achieve nirvana.

In "Dancing to Nirvana", this is portrayed through a prostitute who secretly watches monks lining up to collect alms and longs to be pure. Yet, while ashamed of the path she has to follow to survive, she constantly reminds herself of the Five Precepts.

Food for thought, indeed. Bangkok University will soon make us proud in the Merlion City.

"Dancing to Nirvana" performs at the Esplanade Theatre Studio in Singapore from January 31 to February 2, 2008. Tickets cost S$30 (Bt700) and S$25 for students at Sistic.com.sg. For more info, visit Esplanade.com.

                    written by Montakarn Suvanatap;

published in The Nation on Thursday, January 17, 2008

Interview with the director Pannasak Sukhee

"This production was aimed for an international audience from the beginning," says veteran director Pannasak Sukhee. "It's one of our department's policies to present our works overseas. Well, the local venues are quite limited at the moment. Also, we want to develop our students' skills. We'd like to give them a chance to perform on national and international stages."

Taking shows on the road helps students learn more, Pannasak says. "When we took our youth theatre production of  'I Shall Ride the Rainbow When I Grow Up' to Japan a few years ago, as well as 'Dancing to Nirvana' to the Czech Republic last June, our students learned a lot, matured, and became major forces in our subsequent productions.

"Having experienced these two very different festivals, their world views changed, and they had a chance to watch various kinds of stage performances, a few of which they watched and studied here in Thailand. They felt that they still had a lot to learn and they need to continue to develop themselves before they graduate to become professionals in this field."

Singapore's Esplanade: Theatres on the Bay, known as the "Durian", for its resemblance to the spiky fruit, is a natural next step for "Nirvana", says the director. "First, it's close to Thailand, and we can afford the travel expenses. Also, we noted that they charge a reasonable price for admission."

Additionally, the show's producer, Department of Performing Arts chairman Wankwan Polachan, has "learned a lot about management", Pannasak says.

Even so, the budget is huge, when all the expenses for venue rental, transportation, accommodation, are accounted for. Bangkok University is pitching in tremendously, and when you click the university's website, you'll see that this remarkable event is featured on the main page.

"Dancing to Nirvana" is set in the city of Bangkok where the political turmoil fills the air. An anonymous main character She, a nightclub dancer takes solace in her daily morning ritual as she secretly watches and follows a line of Buddhist monks serenely collecting alms each morning. Her guilt prevents her from going beyond the gate of the temple, and simply returning to her shelter, filled with memories of false dreams, unfulfilled earthly desires and casual relationships.

"I've been working closely with our choreographer Parinya Tongponthong and music composer Atiphop Pataradetpisan. Sometimes, Parinya and I create the stage visuals first, and then have Atiphop [a muic professor at Mahidol University] write the score accordingly. Other times, it's the other way around."

Pannasak says he hopes the themes of "Dancing to Nirvana" will serve as a tool for the teachings of Lord Buddha.

"I'd like to show how contemporary people are suffering, while trying to find ways out of this life of hardship," Pannasak says. "From the beginning, we haven't been properly introduced to Buddhist teachings - we now don't really understand them and can't apply them to real life. We've been engulfed in the streams of materialism, so much so that we can't reach the true meaning of Buddhism."

After playing at the Prague festival, "Nirvana" went through some thematic and textual changes for its performance at the Black Box Theatre in Bangkok back in September. Virtually no more changes will be made for the Singapore show. "The Esplanade Theatre Studio is smaller than our Black Box Theatre, [so] we need to adjust the set design so that it fits the venue. We still retain the environmental design in which many scenes take place on the side of and behind the audience though."

Although in Singapore, "Nirvana" will be performed in Thai and Pali, with no English surtitles, the production team has made many attempts to make sure that international audiences will understand and enjoy it as much as their Thai counterparts.

"Apart from the synopses of all the scenes, we also translated the complete script to be put in the programme booklet for the audience," says Pannasak.

Well, after all, many messages are conveyed physically, musically, and visually, and most Singaporeans are Buddhists.

written by Pawit Mahasarinand;

published in The Nation (Weekend Magazine) on Friday, January 25, 2008