Dance and Theatre

Previews, Interviews, and Reviews (yes, and Photos) of Dance and Theatre in Thailand (well, and elsewhere) written by "The Nation" dance and theatre critics
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Sunday , May 31 , 2009

Reading the SIGNS

Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 417 , 11:32:31 | Category : Dance 2009 Theatre 2009

Nophan Boonyai’s latest show wrestles with the power of body language but only squeezes laughs towards the end. A unique presence on the Thai performing arts scene, Nophand Boonyai never fails to put his personality—a lot of it—into his works. Dealing with the tangles of modern relationships, Nophand’s directorial and playwrighting debut “Sunflower” charmed its audience with a strange but delicious c....

Nophan Boonyai’s latest show wrestles with the power of body language but only squeezes laughs towards the end. A unique presence on the Thai performing arts scene, Nophand Boonyai never fails to put his personality—a lot of it—into his works. Dealing with the tangles of modern relationships, Nophand’s directorial and playwrighting debut “Sunflower” charmed its audience with a strange but delicious c....

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Saturday , May 30 , 2009

La Fête 2009: FRENCH follies with a THAI twist

Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 528 , 18:33:56 | Category : Dance 2009 Theatre 2009 Bangkok Festivals 2009

The cream of the French and Thai art and cultural worlds gather in Bangkok for La Fête 2009. The generous servings of dance, music, theatre, film and visual arts at indoor and outdoor venues all over town boosted spectator numbers at the 2008 edition of La Fête La Fete to a very respectable half a million. So if you stopped to look at the amazing photography exhibition outside Central Wor....

The cream of the French and Thai art and cultural worlds gather in Bangkok for La Fête 2009. The generous servings of dance, music, theatre, film and visual arts at indoor and outdoor venues all over town boosted spectator numbers at the 2008 edition of La Fête La Fete to a very respectable half a million. So if you stopped to look at the amazing photography exhibition outside Central Wor....

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MAE NAK the Musical

Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 649 , 11:58:20 | Category : Theatre 2009

Dreambox's sung-through musical lets you see this ghost more clearly and realistically than ever. The first thing veteran playwright Daraka Wongsiri wanted to know two years ago when she started writing the script and lyrics for "Mae Nak the Musical", which Dreambox is staging in July, was why a ghost would be so angry. Even given that she died while giving birth, why was the spirit of Mae ....

Dreambox's sung-through musical lets you see this ghost more clearly and realistically than ever. The first thing veteran playwright Daraka Wongsiri wanted to know two years ago when she started writing the script and lyrics for "Mae Nak the Musical", which Dreambox is staging in July, was why a ghost would be so angry. Even given that she died while giving birth, why was the spirit of Mae ....

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The Lusty Professor

Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 455 , 11:28:46 | Category : Theatre 2009

Or is Ajarn John the victim in 'Oleanna'? Mamet's disturbing play is being staged here in English for the first time. The team behind the success of "The Vagina Monologues" in February has regrouped as Venn Diagram Production and chosen one of the most controversial American plays of the 1990s as their next production. “Oleanna” was penned by David Mamet in 1992, who won Pulitzer Prize fro....

Or is Ajarn John the victim in 'Oleanna'? Mamet's disturbing play is being staged here in English for the first time. The team behind the success of "The Vagina Monologues" in February has regrouped as Venn Diagram Production and chosen one of the most controversial American plays of the 1990s as their next production. “Oleanna” was penned by David Mamet in 1992, who won Pulitzer Prize fro....

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The REST of the STORY

Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 409 , 11:06:40 | Category : Dance 2009 Theatre 2009

'Left Out' fills in the gaps--what your mother didn't tell you. Actress, director and dance-movement therapist Dujdao "Dao" Vadhanapakorn follows up on the recent success of "Something Else" with a new work titled "Left Out", described as "a body talk from inside" and "a combination of dance, film and mind". “I was inspired by my mother's stories,&quo....

'Left Out' fills in the gaps--what your mother didn't tell you. Actress, director and dance-movement therapist Dujdao "Dao" Vadhanapakorn follows up on the recent success of "Something Else" with a new work titled "Left Out", described as "a body talk from inside" and "a combination of dance, film and mind". “I was inspired by my mother's stories,&quo....

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Tuesday , May 19 , 2009

What do you mean by those SIGNS AND GESTURES?

Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 565 , 01:37:48 | Category : Dance 2009 Theatre 2009

Commonplace actons are assessed anew in experimental stage work.The new Spontaneous Dance Company and Nophand Boonyai, the visionary director behind “Welcome to Nothing”, “The Adventures of Captain Dan” and last year’s best-reviewed play, “Sunflower”, want you to witness “Signs and Gestures”.“First of all, this is not a play,” says Nophand. “We won’t call it a performance, either, otherwise the audie....

Commonplace actons are assessed anew in experimental stage work.The new Spontaneous Dance Company and Nophand Boonyai, the visionary director behind “Welcome to Nothing”, “The Adventures of Captain Dan” and last year’s best-reviewed play, “Sunflower”, want you to witness “Signs and Gestures”.“First of all, this is not a play,” says Nophand. “We won’t call it a performance, either, otherwise the audie....

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Monday , May 18 , 2009

Singapore Arts Festival 2009: Keep It Lite!

Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 795 , 22:57:02 | Category : Dance 2009 Theatre 2009 Singapore Arts Festival 2009

The region’s biggest and best spectrum of stage talent turns fiscal gloom upside down. While Bangkok is going “Bananas!!”, the Singapore Arts Festival (SAF) is preparing some extreme fun of its own for later this month and into next, with Shaolin monks, Brazilian hip-hop and much more. And the economy doesn’t seem to be much of a problem. The cash crunch, says the festival’s executive director, Goh ....

The region’s biggest and best spectrum of stage talent turns fiscal gloom upside down. While Bangkok is going “Bananas!!”, the Singapore Arts Festival (SAF) is preparing some extreme fun of its own for later this month and into next, with Shaolin monks, Brazilian hip-hop and much more. And the economy doesn’t seem to be much of a problem. The cash crunch, says the festival’s executive director, Goh ....

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Saturday , May 16 , 2009

SPEAKING in TONGUES

Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 584 , 12:40:33 | Category : Theatre 2009

The spoken languages, and surtitle/supertitle translations of “Water Time” and “The Vagina Monologues” made Bangkok theatre look and sound like cosmopolitan. Shogo Tanikawa, already a unique enough writer, brought impressive innovation to his latest piece, “Water Time”, to get across the story of a Japanese playwright (Tanikawa in a role close to home) living in New York City with an aspiring Thai ac....

The spoken languages, and surtitle/supertitle translations of “Water Time” and “The Vagina Monologues” made Bangkok theatre look and sound like cosmopolitan. Shogo Tanikawa, already a unique enough writer, brought impressive innovation to his latest piece, “Water Time”, to get across the story of a Japanese playwright (Tanikawa in a role close to home) living in New York City with an aspiring Thai ac....

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Monday , May 11 , 2009

BLASTS from BEIJING

Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 729 , 21:28:36 | Category : Dance 2009 Theatre 2009 Hong Kong Arts Festival 2009

New productions show how the Chinese capital is becoming another cultural hub. Last August, TV audiences around the world were wowed by the cultural performances staged at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics—many of them products of collaboration between Chinese and foreign artists.The recent Hong Kong Arts Festival, which served as a stage for dance and theatre productions from the Ch....

New productions show how the Chinese capital is becoming another cultural hub. Last August, TV audiences around the world were wowed by the cultural performances staged at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics—many of them products of collaboration between Chinese and foreign artists.The recent Hong Kong Arts Festival, which served as a stage for dance and theatre productions from the Ch....

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Bangkok...Bananas!!: CONTEMPORARY CURVES

Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 630 , 00:59:34 | Category : Dance 2009 Theatre 2009 Bangkok Festivals 2009

Bad handling bruised the opening night but “Bangkok…Bananas!!” has unpeeled some tasty outdoor performances since then. Delicious and easy to digest, the banana is the perfect symbol for the contemporary performing arts being staged at the new festival organized by the Ministry of Culture’s Office of Contemporary Art and Culture (OCAC). But anyone who got an early taste of “Bangkok…Bananas!!” was re....

Bad handling bruised the opening night but “Bangkok…Bananas!!” has unpeeled some tasty outdoor performances since then. Delicious and easy to digest, the banana is the perfect symbol for the contemporary performing arts being staged at the new festival organized by the Ministry of Culture’s Office of Contemporary Art and Culture (OCAC). But anyone who got an early taste of “Bangkok…Bananas!!” was re....

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Tuesday , May 5 , 2009

HUMOUR in the UNHOLY

Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 613 , 21:59:01 | Category : Theatre 2009 Tel Aviv, January 2009

In Israel, two remarkable theatre productions show there’s still a lot to learn from the Holocaust. Inspired by Nathan Rapoport’s sculpture “Warsaw Ghetto Uprising”—a work that was intended as a monument to Hitler’s victory in Europe but instead became a symbol of Jewish triumph—the almost non-verbal performance “Stones” is acted out by six actors entirely covered in Dead Sea mud. The performance b....

In Israel, two remarkable theatre productions show there’s still a lot to learn from the Holocaust. Inspired by Nathan Rapoport’s sculpture “Warsaw Ghetto Uprising”—a work that was intended as a monument to Hitler’s victory in Europe but instead became a symbol of Jewish triumph—the almost non-verbal performance “Stones” is acted out by six actors entirely covered in Dead Sea mud. The performance b....

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