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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
Permalink : http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/danceandtheatre
Friday , November 6 , 2009
TISTOU and his GREEN thumbs
Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 37 , 22:28:16   | Category : Theatre 2009   Bangkok Festivals 2009  
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With Crescent Moon Theatre's actors and Kae Dam Dam's puppeteers pulling the strings, puppets conspire to bring about world peace.Silpathorn laureate Sineenadh "Nad" Keitprapai, artistic director of Crescent Moon Theatre (Phra Chan Siew Kan Lakorn), has long been a fan of the puppet-theatre troupe Kae Dam Dam (literally "blackish sheep"), and was keen to collaborate. “His string p....


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Sunday , November 1 , 2009
DEMONS meet MERLION
Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 135 , 11:46:29   | Category : Dance 2009   Theatre 2009   da:ns 2009, Esplanade  
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For shoppers in Singapore, the big event last weekend was the opening of Ion, yet another high-end shopping centre on Orchard Road.  But for performing arts fans, it’s the ions of movement at da:ns Festival 2009 at the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay. The highlight was the world premiere of Dunas, a collaboration of Maria Pages and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, which met all expectations. Sharing the spotlig....


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Bangkok Theatre Festival 2009: Thailand’s Gifts to Tokyo
Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 146 , 01:59:20   | Category : Theatre 2009   Bangkok Festivals 2009  
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Smaller in scale but still top quality, the year’s largest display of contemporary Thai theatre is ongoing, city-wide."In keeping with this year's theme, 'Lakorn Thai Unlimited', we want to focus on the real variety in Thai theatre," says New Theatre Society's Parnrut Kritchanchai, one of the producers of Bangkok Theatre Festival 2009 (BTF09)."The genres and styles may be the same as i....


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Thursday , October 29 , 2009
LOM HAICHAI the MUSICAL: Boyd in the Skeletal Form
Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 322 , 01:31:21   | Category : Theatre 2009  
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The flawed script leaves Boyd Kosiyabong's songs a ghost of a chance. The success of jukebox musicals lies first and foremost in the script, or how the already famous songs are tied together in a plausible and entertaining, if not also thought-provoking, dramatic plot. And when the musical book writer(s), due to a lack of either time or creativity, fails to reinterpret—and the music director to rearr....


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Friday , October 9 , 2009
G’Day, Leonardo!
Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 313 , 03:03:47   | Category : Dance 2009   Theatre 2009   Melbourne, October 2009  
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Da Vinci finds himself Down Under in the midst of Waltz, opera and some very modern creativity. The previous artistic director of the Melbourne International Arts Festival put it on the world map, and now her successor, Brett Sheehy – fresh from four successful years at the Adelaide Bank Festival of Arts – is eyeing the universe.Sheehy tells Daily Xpress, “I’m very keen to address as many art forms a....


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Tuesday , October 6 , 2009
The Legend of RE KHAI FUN: CHALIANG the Musical
Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 1619 , 08:51:06   | Category : Theatre 2009  
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Weaving the popular band's songs into a jokey script takes a great deal of time.True Fantasia and Work Point Entertainment, better known and more acclaimed for TV work than theatre, have together produced a stage musical with pricey tickets—Bt3,500 for the best seats, the highest among local theatre works. For another Bt500 you could see Chicago and MAMMA MIA!The Legend of Re Khai Fun: Chaliang the M....


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Sunday , October 4 , 2009
An Angel’s COCKTAIL
Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 340 , 02:21:29   | Category : Theatre 2009  
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The story of how Dr. Krisana Kraisintu gave hope to millions with her generic HIV/AIDS drug is told in a mix of dialogue, movements and biting satire. After a lengthy battle against government officials, corrupt politicians, and multinational pharmaceutical companies, Dr. Krisana Kraisintu not only succeeded in creating the GPO-VIR (generic fixed-dose combination of stavudine, lamivudine and nevirapi....


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Cloud Gate’s THAI PILLAR
Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 343 , 00:54:25   | Category : Dance 2009   Theatre 2009   Bangkok Festivals 2009  
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Somkid Tiwan is a mainstay–and an inspiration–for the Taiwanese dance theatre company, who know him as Sung Chao-chiun. Somkid Tiwan moved to Taiwan at the age of 15 and went on to finish his bachelor’s degree in electronic engineering. If all went as planned, he might now be working for a semiconductor company in Taipei.Instead, he’s been performing with Asia’s most renowned contemporary-dance compa....


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Saturday , October 3 , 2009
Masterpieces from TAIWAN and CHINA
Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 355 , 23:35:33   | Category : Dance 2009   Theatre 2009   Bangkok Festivals 2009  
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Bangkok’s 11th Festival of Dance and Music—Thailand’s largest showcase of international opera, ballet, dance, classical music and jazz—is running at the Thailand Cultural Centre, and the focus, as highlighted in our preview picks in August, remains on the three dance productions from Taiwan and China. Apart from the fact that Bangkok has never seen contemporary dance from Taiwan or ballet from China,....


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comparing two CARMENs
Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 348 , 12:40:04   | Category : Dance 2009   Theatre 2009   Bangkok Festivals 2009  
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Two memorable adaptations of Carmen were seen in Bangkok—13 days apart.On Sunday, September 13, the Kiev Modern Ballet Theatre made a triumphant debut on these shores with Carmen TV, part of Bangkok’s 11th International Festival of Dance and Music. Thailand Cultural Centre’s main hall was not full, but that was no surprise given few dance fans have heard of this three-year-young Ukrainian company, an....


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Friday , October 2 , 2009
In a DIFFERENT WORLD
Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 360 , 23:48:20   | Category : Theatre 2009  
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Nophand Boonyai, one of Thailand's most exciting stage directors and scriptwriters, returns to the theatre this weekend alongside veteran thespians Farida Jirapan (Waiting for GD) and Damkerng Thitapiyasak (Hi 5 Eiei) for The World According to Farida and Damkerng. "Initially, it was supposed to be stories from their lives," says Nophand, whose 2008 production Sunflower  received critical a....


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Saturday , September 26 , 2009
the COLOUR and the RELEVANCE
Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 358 , 00:33:35   | Category : Dance 2009   Theatre 2009  
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The return of Pichet Klunchun's Ganesh offers another chance to take a stand on current politics.Politics has become so melodramatic lately that it's surprising the subject isn't inspiring more local plays, like it did in the 1970s. What's more surprising is how Pichet Klunchun enables classical dance-theatre to make a strong political comment. Pichet's studio theatre in Thon Buri had corrugated zinc....


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Saturday , August 29 , 2009
EUREKA moments on stage
Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 450 , 07:49:46   | Category : Dance 2009   Theatre 2009  
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"Run" and "Begin Again" reaffirm the value of experimentation. Comprising 13 scenes of varying lengths and utilising different presentation styles from dialogue, movement, dance, video and animation, “Run”—last month’s debut production of the theatre troupe “numen.n.co”—lived up to its tag line as “an exploration of theatre” and beautifully transcended the conventional understandi....


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Thursday , August 27 , 2009
FILMS are so DAFT
Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 427 , 22:18:21   | Category : Theatre 2009  
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Sonthaya Suchada has poked fun at the way books and plays are written. Now it's the movies' turn. If a movie's outrageous leaps from reality have ever made your jaw drop, Sonthaya has a funny story to share. Since winning the Sodsai Award as a senior at Thammasat University in 1994, Sonthaya has consistently presented thought-provoking and entertaining plays, "The Insane and Sudsakorn" amon....


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Friday , August 21 , 2009
Memories MIA!
Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 446 , 23:56:10   | Category : Theatre 2009  
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The success of a 'jukebox musical' relies on much more than familiar tunes.A jukebox musical seems like a win-win situation for any producer of musical theatre. The audience knows the songs of a certain music artist or group by heart. Some members of the band are either dead, too old, or have split up, and so the retro concert is out of the question. But the audience still wants to relive those momen....


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something MORE
Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 475 , 22:00:39   | Category : Dance 2009   Theatre 2009  
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Thailand’s leading physical theatre troupe B-Floor doesn’t have only veteran performers and directors like Teerawat “Kage” Mulvilai and Jarunun “Jaa” Phantachat. Its new work titled “Begin Again”,part of B-Floor’s 10th anniversary series “The Next Fresh Thing”, is written and directed by their newest member Nana Dakin. Nana graduated from Sarah Lawrence College where she majored in theatre and humani....


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Wednesday , August 19 , 2009
another RED demon
Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 486 , 22:56:04   | Category : Dance 2009   Theatre 2009  
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The demons storming the gate in Pichet Klunchun Dance Company's “The Battle of Sang Athit” are wearing red. In the wake of the highly political dance solo "Ganesha" last month at his Chang Theatre in Thonburi, Pichet Klunchun doesn’t need a petition of support, and now he’s leading his troupe across the river to Alliance Francaise for "The Battle of Sang Athit". He’s renewing his ....


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Saturday , August 15 , 2009
“Nanta”: “SHUT UP, PLAY!!”
Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 565 , 02:26:45   | Category : Theatre 2009  
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Two non-verbal performances from Japan and Korea fully entertain the audience with the creators’ ingenuity and the performers’ versatility.As part of their “Flipside” Festival, in conjunction with Singapore Arts Festival, Esplanade: Theatres on the Bay hosted Japanese troupe The Original Tempo’s “Shut up, Play!!”. Shortly afterwards, Korea’s “Nanta” was brought to Bangkok by BEC-Tero Entertainment. A....


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Tuesday , August 11 , 2009
COCKTAIL: The Life and Works of DR. KRISANA KRAISINTU
Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 3451 , 22:04:52   | Category : Theatre 2009  
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If you’ve been following the news, you now know why this Thai pharmacist and humanitarian who’s often referred to as “Gypsy Medicine Maker” rightly deserves the Magsaysay Award 2009, the Asian counterpart of Nobel Prize. If not, here’s a brief.  Not only did she invent the GPO-VIR (generic fixed-dose combination of stavudine, lamivudine and nevirapine for treatment of advanced HIV infection), but Dr.....


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Tuesday , July 28 , 2009
An Amazing MAMMA
Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 544 , 06:45:12   | Category : Theatre 2009  
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MAMMA MIA! star Jackie Clune really is a mamma—with triplets! We know the music will be delightful - it's Abba's. The story will be both hilarious and touching - some of us have seen the movie based on this hit musical. But before we see it live here, we want to know more about the lead actress in MAMMA MIA!Jackie Clune is the 43-year-old British actress who shot to stardom with solo cabaret and come....


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Monday , July 27 , 2009
SUICIDE buddy
Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 504 , 08:04:24   | Category : Theatre 2009  
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A new play examines the friendship that develops between two women wanting to end it all. Actress, playwright, director, producer and co-founder of the physical theatre troupe B-Floor Jarunun “Jaa” Phantachat is taking a short leave from the group, leaving movements to work on a spoken play “Suicide Buddy”. It tells the tale of two women, Vijan and Jane, both of them contemplating suicide and who mee....


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Friday , July 24 , 2009
Bangkoks 11th International Festival of Dance and Music
Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 636 , 23:50:29   | Category : Dance 2009   Theatre 2009   Bangkok Festivals 2009  
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With a slight nod to the cash crisis, this autumn's Bangkok International Festival of Dance and Music refuses to compromise on class. Let's admit it: The programme for this year's Bangkok International Festival of Dance and Music is not so diverse or cutting-edge as that of its Singapore and Hong Kong counterparts. But with 16 productions of grand operas, classical and modern ballet in addition to tr....


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Thursday , July 23 , 2009
ELEPHANT rampage
Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 522 , 10:06:54   | Category : Dance 2009   Theatre 2009  
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'Knesh', Pichet Klunchun's new solo dance, could be his most daring--aesthetically and politically. Back from two-week workshops and performances in Mexico, and free from flu, and before his company’s work “The Battle of the Sun”, internationally acclaimed dancer and choreographer Pichet Klunchun admits that he struggled mightily with an elephant before deciding his new solo work "Knesh" wa....


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Saturday , July 18 , 2009
We're all on the RUN
Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 529 , 22:20:52   | Category : Theatre 2009  
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A new troupe debuts with an experimental theatre focusing on a gay relationship."Run" is the debut production of a theatre troupe called numen.n.co, formed by Krisana "Num" Punpeng, a seasoned actor, lecturer at Dhurakij Pundit University and a PhD candidate in performance practice at the University of Exeter. "Run" features 13 scenes of various length utilising differen....


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Wednesday , July 15 , 2009
LA FÊTE 2009…on a roll
Posted by dance_and_theatre , Reader : 1424 , 00:50:22   | Category : Dance 2009   Theatre 2009   Bangkok Festivals 2009  
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The country’s biggest arts festival rumbles on into July after collecting big crowds for daring dance and classical music treats.On the surface, La Fête looks like a contemporary arts festival, but dig a bit deeper and you’ll find a bulging programme that has something for everyone. Two recent stage performances prove the point. Thinking inside the box On Tuesday, June 23, a few minutes after t....


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