Let’s Listen To Music And Create A Piece Of Art At “Art Inspired By Storytelling”
TUE, SEPTEMBER 13, 2022
Thailand Knowledge Park (TK Park) Invites Children, Families, And Anyone Interested In Music And Art To Join The Event “Art Inspired By Storytelling,” A Showcase Of Children’s Works Of Art Inspired By Picture Books On September 17-25.
The event includes a variety of learning activities that encourage children to use their imaginations, such as a display of art pieces created by children designing bags and making small clay cups inspired by the stories “The Rabbit’s Fabric Bag” by Koyama Yoshiko and Kamimoto Kozo and “A Cup for Everyone” by Yusuke Yonezu.
Attendees will also be able to participate in an art workshop where children and families can collaborate to create works inspired by listening to visual stories.
In addition, every weekend throughout the event, a demonstration of Kamishibai, a traditional form of Japanese street theatre in the form of picture card storytelling, will be held to improve children’s storytelling skills.
There will also be concerts to commemorate “Playing for Change Day,” a global event that supports music as a tool for change. And apart from ukulele workshops, on “Playing for Change Day” on September 17, 2022, children from the Khlong Toei Community will demonstrate their art creation skills as well as exhibit their works in a fun-filled art exhibition.
Young people who are interested can attend the event for free from September 17 to September 25, 2022, from 10.30 a.m. to 17.30 p.m. at Open Space, TK Park, 8th floor of CentralWorld in Bangkok.
Israeli Food Is A Unique Global Melting Pot – How To Get A Taste In Bangkok
BY LINE : NEENA ML.
TUE, SEPTEMBER 13, 2022
Falafel, Shakshuka, Pickled Herrings, Schnitzel, Jerusalem Bagels, And Even Greek Salad: These Are The Names Of Dishes That Also Represent The Food Of Israel.
Well, Israel is also a rich melting pot of cuisines from all around the world. The state was established in 1948, but since then Israel has embraced waves of Jewish migrants from all over the globe. New arrivals from Europe, the US, the former USSR, and even neighbouring areas in the Middle East have added fresh “spice” to create a unique flavour of diversity and togetherness.
There are always “Stories Behind the Dishes”, explained Israeli ambassador Orna Sagiv. “That is why the Embassy of Israel in Thailand organised a cooking workshop at Helena Restaurant to introduce Israel’s unique charm through its unique culinary traditions to the Thai community,” she smiled. Held in cooperation with the Thai Journalists Association, the event saw Bangkok’s press corps rendered unusually silent as they chowed down on rare delicacies.
Sagiv is hoping the publicity “will catch the interest of Thai people as our food has so much influence and combinations from around the world, [and this event] will also share our special culture”.
As participants enjoyed their deep dive into the tastes and aromas of Israeli cooking, the ambassador explained how each dish had blended into the Holy Land’s melting pot. Although these specialities are also known in other countries, Israelis have a unique way of cooking them as each family has its own secret recipe.
“Neighbours from different ethnicities would cook their family food and share it in their neighbourhoods,” Sagiv explained. “We add this and that, and our differences become unique, and that’s what makes our Israeli identity.” The culinary treasures of Israel can be sampled at Helena on Soi Sukhumvit 51 and a handful of other restaurants across Bangkok. Shalom!
In an effort to introduce Israeli entertainment to Thai audiences, the Embassy of Israel hosted a special film night on August 30 to entertain audiences with the comedy “Forgiveness” (Mechila).
Explaining why this comedy was chosen, Ambassador Orna Sagiv said: “We were looking for a film that is interesting globally. Something that speaks to the Israeli audience and one that we feel can also speak to the Thai audience. I think ‘forgiveness’ is universal.”
The film played to a full house at SF Cinema in Bangkok’s CentralWorld shopping mall.
The comedy tells the story of two buddies Shual and Nissan, played by actors Guy Amir and Hanan Savyon, who had also written and directed the film.
The two try to rob a postal bank but things go horribly wrong, with Shaul being collared by police and Nissan escaping with the loot.
Set in southern Israel on the Gaza border, the sound of incoming bombs and sirens add to the drama.
Three years later, on his release from prison, Shaul is greeted by a newly religious Nissan who seeks his forgiveness, especially in light of the upcoming “10 Days of Awe” – Judaism’s most important holiday that focuses on repentance and forgiveness ending with Yom Kippur.
The uneasy duo then launch a comedic journey hunting for the hidden stash but everything goes wrong, leaving the audience hoping they can find the money and eventually makeup.
The film was released in 2019, selling more than 300,000 tickets in Israel over five weeks in theatre. It was dubbed a resounding success by the Jerusalem Post, which pointed out that most local films barely sell more than 100,000 tickets despite spending several months in theatre.
The ambassador, however, believes Israeli films will do better in Thailand.
“I think not only movies, but also TV series have become very popular, with Netflix offering a big bag of choices. I’m looking forward to Thai audiences enjoying more Israeli series that tell the story of Israel from the ground – something you don’t see in the news,” she said. “Israel has a lot of offer and I really hope the Thai audience gets exposure to that.”
“Why should I enter this process? Who will want to reconcile with the rogues who killed my husband?” a woman said resentfully. With her life turned upside down in the wake of her husband’s death, this widow could not understand why she should embrace restorative justice and forgive offenders. When she was invited to enter the process, she was full of doubts and resentment.
Her reactions were woven into a short documentary film, “Missing Stone”, alongside knowledge, produced by Thailand Institute of Justice (TIJ). The film was first screened in July 2022 at the online academic seminar marking the 20th anniversary of the United Nations’ resolution on basic principles on the use of restorative justice programs in criminal matters.
Missing Stone ranks among materials used by TIJ to promote understanding and benefits of restorative justice in Thailand.
This short film is based on a true story of gangsters hurling a stone at a van and killing its driver. The crime took place in 2004. But resulting legal proceedings concluded in 2018 with offenders admitting their crime, offering compensation, showing remorse, and asking for forgiveness. Both sides (teenagers who committed the crime and the victim’s wife) have finally turned forgiving, becoming a good example of how what seemed impossible could be possible. The lawyer said in the film that, “Who could ever forgive the persons causing her husband’s death? The chance of forgiving was almost zero”. Yet, the film finally shows how restorative-justice process has made forgiveness “possible”.
Restorative justice, which complements conventional justice systems, encourages offenders’ repentance and offerings of recompense. Compensation does not necessarily have to be in the form of money. It may materialize in the forms of giving up unacceptable behaviors and reintegrating into society as quality citizens too. Restorative justice also focuses on healing the emotional wound of victims and compensating them. Moreover, restorative justice seeks corrections that both the wrongdoers and victims have agreed to. Most important of all, restorative justice shall be carried out with the consent of both sides only.
“Missing Stone” presents well-rounded perspectives towards the equal treatments of humans. As the deceased men could not come back alive, the focus was on deep rehabilitation for his wife. Offenders, meanwhile, were given opportunities to pay for the crime and restore their human potential through restorative justice. At the heart of restorative justice are the all-encompassing rehabilitation of offenders (criminals) and “admission of guilt, repentance, apology, and forgiveness” as restorative justice aims to enable everyone to live peacefully in society.
Restorative justice can materialize through collaboration and contributions of both parties in the conflict, specialists, relevant officials such as police, lawyers, judicial officials, probations officials, and psychologists, as well as locals. Officials in charge of restorative justice therefore must understand and be able to reach out to communities involved as well.
The academic seminar marking the 20th anniversary of the United Nations’ resolution on basic principles on the use of restorative justice programs in criminal matters, a part of efforts to promote restorative justice, provided a forum to promote works and activities from TIJ collaborations with relevant partners in the field of restorative-justice promotion in Thailand.
“This short documentary film aims to widely promote understanding in restorative-justice arrangements among officials and the audience. TIJ also seeks to advance the policy-based campaign on restorative justice for youth by organizing camps to listen to and reflect youth’s views on the application of restorative justice to Thai educational institutes,” Dr. Phiset Sa-ardyen, executive director of TIJ, said at the opening of the academic seminar.
“The Faculty of Learning Sciences and Education of the Thammasat University and the Saint Gabriel’s Foundation of Thailand have collaborated with TIJ in the pilot phase of RJ in School. This collaboration is crucial to promote knowledge and understanding among youth and teachers of how to resolve conflicts in their educational institutes,” Prof. Dr. Kittipong Kittayarak, an advisor to TIJ, added.
The seminar also featured presentations on restorative justice and criminal justice by Prof. Yvon Dandurand, a professor of Criminology & Criminal Justice at the University of Fraser Valley, Canada; Mrs. Prakairatana Thontiravong, a former chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission; Mr. Vongthep Arthakaivalvatee, an advisor to TIJ and a former deputy secretary-general of ASEAN for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community; and Mrs. Ticha na Nakorn, Director of Ban Kanchanapisek Juvenile Vocational Training Center.
At the seminar, panelists addressing restorative-justice promotion were:
Director of “Missing Stone” short documentary film
Dean of Faculty of Learning Sciences and Education, the Thammasat University or representative
Chair for education of Saint Gabriel’s Foundation of Thailand or representative
Dean of Faculty of Laws, the Chiang Mai University or representative
Director-general of the Rights and Liberties Protection Department, the Ministry of Justice or representative
Moderator and presenter of research findings: Mr. Ukrit Sornprohm, Project Manager – Rule of Law and Criminal Justice) at TIJ
TIJ is determined to propel the application of restorative justice in every judicial stage in Thailand, and also to promote public awareness and understanding of the issue.
“Missing Stone” was available for viewing not just at the academic seminar but also over YouTube via “TIJ Just Right Channel” channel. TIJ hopes that this moving film, which is based on a true story, will empower all relevant parties in driving and applying “restorative justice” to resolve legal disputes and other disputes in judicial process or other sectors of society.
Under the patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana Rajakanya, the Royal Bangkok Symphony Orchestra Foundation – in collaboration with B. Grimm and the Tourist Authority of Thailand – presents two exceptionally gifted protégés of legendary concert pianist Martha Argerich on August 26 at 7:30pm in the Main Hall of the Thailand Cultural Centre.
Sylvia Thereza (born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Theodosia Ntokou (born in Rhodes, Greece) will give a duo performance of Mozart’s delightful Concerto for Two Piano No. 10 in E-flat major K.365.
Sylvia Thereza initially caught the attention of the musical métier in Brazil, and continued studies with two great figures of the South American tradition, Maria da Penha and Myrian Dauelsberg, a disciple of Villa-Lobos. Her rare ability was soon also noticed in the USA, where she received sponsorship to study with the Russian pianist Bella Davidovich in New York, and later in Belgium with Alan Weiss at the Masters Program of Leuven University.
Theodosia Ntokou studied at Athens National Conservatory with Aris Garufalis, who she refers to as “The Professor who built her character…” She then continued studies at the Universität der Künste in Berlin, simultaneously receiving her Postgraduate Degree from the Franz Liszt Academy of Budapest. Theodosia liewise relocated to the USA, where she completed her Master’s degree with Russian pianist Oxana Yablonskaya, and attended the prestigious University of Hartford in Connecticut.
Conducted by RBSO Music Director Michel Tilkin, this concert also features two original works by highly respected living Thai composers – Suriya from Devas Suite by Vanich Potavanich, and The Glorious Kingdom Symphony by Narongrit Dhamabutra.
LiFE Creator’s ongoing production of Patrick Marber’s award-winning play simmers, not sizzles
Thanks to the internet and the subsequent digital disruption, time flies faster than before. In the year when people stop talking about newspaper headlines, #CLOSERbyLiFE was Thailand’s most trending when the Thai translation of this British play opened earlier this month.
The hype was partly due to the fact that Worakamon “Jeff” Satur, an actor portraying one of the three Dans, is one of the most sought-after now, thanks to the megahit TV series “KinnPorsche”.
Tickets for the cast Jeff’s in—there are three alternating ones—were all snapped up before the play opened and are now being scalped for his international die-hard fans. After the theatres had been either dark or socially distanced for more than two years, of course this kind of hype which suddenly brings the new audience to the theatre is necessary. Whether or how this unusual interest in contemporary Thai theatre will sustain is a different question.
I chose not to watch this cast and instead spent one Saturday’s afternoon and evening watching the other two.
With only four characters all with the similar number of lines and scenes, this compelling 12-scene dramatic tale of contemporary relationship with love, sex, lies, truths, deceit and so on is like an acting bout in 12 rounds—a WBC or IBF one, not “10 Fight 10”. In other words, all boxers need to be of the same weight range and have comparable experience in order for the fight to be fair, entertaining and unpredictable.
Thanks to the deft translation, a literary one not adaptation, by Bhanbhassa Dhubthien and Cholatep Na Bangchang, the Thai script of “Closer” captured the true spirit and was packed with all the jabs, hooks and uppercuts of the 1997 British play. The lines were all actable and colloquial, like the original, with very few mistakes, such as their decision to translate “Embankment”. However, we’re not reading but watching this play.
Credit to director Bhanbhassa’s arduous training of her actors, all were almost always realistic. Nevertheless, their stage presence, voice projection and emotional expression varied from one to another.
For example, both Sarinya Olsson, as strip dancer Alice, and Witsarut Himmarat, as writer Dan, were so soft, slow and subtle in the play’s first scene at the hospital that it’s like two boxers prancing around the ring trying not to hurt each other. Throughout the play, Witsarut’s performance frequently put me at the edge of my seat on the third row, not because I was thrilled but I could neither hear what he said nor felt his emotions. This cast was rescued, fortunately, by more seasoned actors Kwankaew Kantawet and Sasidwat Suthigasame who were effortless, always showing their joy in reliving their sophisticated roles—of respectively, photographer Anna and dermatologist Larry—for and creating this art in front of the audience. Their scenes together, of which I wished there had been more, were like Tyson versus Holyfield, without the ear biting of course.
In another cast some of whose scenes were slightly faster, stage veterans Nopphand Boonyai’s Dan and Peter Knight’s Larry were smooth and attractive although one may wish they had both delved deeper into the characters and showed us more of what we haven’t seen from them. Most surprising was former fashion model Rasee Diskul na Ayudya whose maturity and compassion in Anna could mostly match her more experienced scene partners’ punch-by-punch. Television actress and YouTuber Arachaporn Pokinpakorn was as charming as her screen personality but didn’t take enough risks in her portrayal of Alice, her most demanding role in the young career.
Perhaps the biggest setback was the pacing. Even though the Thai director quoted the British playwright’s remark that this play was a comedy, she didn’t quite stage it as such. The third scene in an internet chatroom, for instance, where Dan was tricking Larry into believing that he’s Anna is the play’s most hilarious scene, thanks to the situation we all can relate to, vulgar language and the dramatic irony. I can still recall laughing so much that my tears poured 24 years ago in a West End playhouse. Here it’s as if Bhanbhassa had her actors realistically type all actual letters on the computer keyboard before their chats appeared on the screen—the pace and comedy were sacrificed.
For many contemporary plays, such as in life, jokes first pull the audience into the world of the play then drama, or even tragedy, strikes and we couldn’t help but empathizing with the characters as we’re already there with them. That’s to say: the louder you laugh, the harder you cry.
Another drag was caused by scene changes during which masked stage crews crowded the stage bringing in and taking out set pieces, hand and set props. As efficient as they were, this was the standard practice—of the last century—which didn’t belong in this fight the energy of which needed to be sustained and the flow uninterrupted.
After the curtain call during which it was revealed that there’s the total of 18 dressers and backstage crew—quite possibly a record for “Closer” productions for which the playwright noted “All settings should be minimal”—, our experience ended with Jeff’s newly composed song with the same title. This was a very odd director’s choice to end a play especially for those who chose to watch one of the other two casts. With the same simmering mood and tone as this production, the song did nothing to the meaning of the play and in the end my 1998 West End memory of “Closer” remains intact as do my life lessons learned from it.
“Closer”, in Thai with English surtitles, continues at Sodsai Pantoomkomol Centre for Dramatic Arts on the sixth floor of Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Building, Chulalongkorn University (10-minute walk from BTS Siam station, Exit 5; with discounted parking) until August 31. Tuesday to Friday at 7:30pm; Saturday and Sunday at 2pm and 7:30pm. Tickets are Bt 950 (Bt 700 for students). The running time is 2 hours and 55 minutes (15-minute intermission included, the song not included). For more details, www.facebook.com/LiFETheatre.net or Line Official @lifecreatorcompany.
Set, lighting and sound elements are enhancing our dancegoing experience more than before
Attending a dance performance, we usually expect to clearly see a group of highly skilled dancers on the stage decorated with set and lighting that correspond to the narrative or theme of the work. A joy of attending a contemporary dance festival, though, is that we should always expect the unexpected.
At the beginning of Cullberg’s “On Earth I’m Done: Mountains”, the audience at the Theatre J.C. Carriere in a northwestern suburb of Montpellier saw a beam of green light over a massive object occupying most area of the stage. It looked as if in this dance work by Swedish national contemporary dance company’s associated artist Jefta van Dinther there were no space for dancers to move. Slowly, we started to see a sole dancer, Cullberg veteran Polish dancer Agnieszka Sjokvist Dlugoszewska, crouched next to it.
Later, the lighting unhurriedly and meticulously revealed she was holding a long staff that connected this sole human to the object which we soon realized was a large fabricated landscape. Afterwards, this futuristic set piece designed by Austrian-Croatian collective Numen/For Use—whose “Tape Bangkok” we enjoyed crawling through during Bangkok Art Biennale 2018—would, after Dlugoszewska stood up, unfold and change into different shapes and forms either by her actions or Jonathan Winbo’s nifty lighting design. There’s no final answer here if the human has her control over the nature, or vice versa; it’s definite, though, that one has to live with the other on this earth. Accompanied by Dutch composer David Kiers’ sound design, the 70-minute experience was visually otherworldly yet thematically relevant to the here and now.
After the 20-minute intermission during which some audiences were discussing what we had just seen over snacks and drinks, we’re treated with van Dinther’s newest work “On Earth I’m Done: Islands” that just had its world premiere a month prior in the eastern Swedish city of Umea.
With a strong ensemble of 13 dancers in the same attire/uniform who were without solo parts, the sparse stage was again diversely painted by Winbo’s deft lighting design. Different from interrelationship between the human and the nature in “Mountains”, the focus was more on the humans themselves. Evident in the choreography were poignant discussions on social dis/order, kinship, communication, community, belonging as well as authority. Noticeably, the lighting almost always left some parts, or someone, in the dark. In the ongoing pandemic in which we all become more aware of ourselves as well as others and our governments use different measures in their attempts to return life to its normalcy—whatever that means—, “Islands” is truly apposite to 2022.
Presented as a diptych at Montpellier Danse, either “Mountains” or “Islands” is actually complete in itself as a full-length work and could also be enjoyed on a different evening. Together, though, they give a more fulfilling experience while asking us to think more about the earth we live in—and we cannot yet be done with it—especially now that global warming is back in our conversation again. It’s also noteworthy that while the company was founded as Cullberg Ballet 55 years ago, the B-word was omitted a while ago. These two works clearly explain why: You don’t have to be a dancegoer to fully enjoy Cullberg’s works.
Nonetheless, the design elements do not have to always be this intricate to support the human performance, or those moving limbs in dance works. That’s evident a few evenings earlier in the same festival at the Theatre de l’Agora. The stage was almost bare except for the scenography featuring movable white partitions designed by Berlin-based Georgian visual artist Thea Djordjadze.
French choreographer Noe Soulier’s, now director of National Centre of Contemporary Dance (Angers), new work “First Memory” attempts to prove that “The experience of our corporal actions, whether in the present moment or in our memories of them, is always partial,” and “Some parts of the body, objects and sensations are central, while others are left to one side.” Accordingly, his seven dancers’ movements were as unpredictable as the accompanying music by French composer Karl Naegelen. They’re frequently in solo and even when they’re in group sometimes they’re not interacting with one another. At times, they looked like kinetic sculptures and that’s also thanks to different arrangements of partitions and corresponding lighting.
In the end, the 42nd annual edition of Montpellier Danse has shown us different ways contemporary dance makers are communicating their thoughts and ideas to us dance lovers who look forward to visiting this small town every summer for years to come.
Around 70 captivating paper artworks from two talented Taiwanese artists are on display at Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University, highlighting the beauty of the island’s paper craft that portray ecological diversity and nature-friendly ideas.
The Taipei Economics & Culture Office in Thailand opened its Taiwan Eco-Island Paper Art Exchange Exhibition on Tuesday at the university.
Attendees at the opening ceremony got to see the skillful transformation of pieces of paper into all manner of three-dimensional sculptures.
They were also treated to live demonstrations and instructions by artist Hsin-Fu Hung on the basics of paper folding.
Hsiu-Mei Hsueh, deputy representative of the Taipei Economic & Cultural Office, said both paper art and origami are traditional crafts of Taiwan.
Folding paper into a plane, a frog, or even a crane is an interesting memory for almost every child in Taiwan, she pointed out.
Hsueh said she was glad to see this cultural collaboration between Taiwan and Thailand.
In the exhibition, two artists – Hsin-Fu Hung and Ching-Yao Liang – incorporate elements from Taiwan’s ecosystems and cultural/social milieu into their artworks.
Taiwan is an eco-island rich in biodiversity while its paper art mirrors both the natural environment and its cultural social background.
It has developed its own particular style “distinct from traditional Chinese paper art” and has “transcended the boundaries” of Japanese origami.
For the exhibition, Hung created ten large paper animal busts, including those of the Formosan buffalo, Formosan sika deer and the Taiwanese black bear.
Meanwhile, young artist Ching-Yao Liang introduced three-dimensional paper artwork that depict various objects, including puzzle game cards and a paper replica of the Alishan forest train.
One unusual feature of Liang’s works is that through his skillful utilisation of precise mathematical calculations and particular characteristics of paper in addition to ingenious designs, his art pieces often incorporate elements of manoeuvrability and interactivity so everyone can actually have fun playing with them.
Catch the exhibition until August 31 at Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University’s Chudharatanabhorn building.
The Korean Cultural Center in Thailand to host the opening ceremony of the invitational exhibition for Korean-Thai Modern Print on August 3, from 5pm at the first floor of the Center.
The exhibition lasts until August 30 and features works of 28 Korean print artists from the Philoprint Printmakers’ Association and 3 rising print artists from Thailand. In the opening ceremony, around 50 people will attend including print artists and fine arts experts.
The Philoprint Printmakers’ Association is the leading organization in the Korean print art, and its members are artists who love and like (‘Philo’) print art. H.E. Mr Moon Seoung-Hyun, the ambassador of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea will also attend and deliver the speech to promote art interchange between the two countries.
Mr Cho, Jae Il, director of the Korean Cultural Center, said “This exhibition will promote not only various techniques and expression of Korean-Thai modern print, but also art interchange. The center will make effort to promote fine arts exchange between Korea and Thailand as well.”
The Philoprint Printmakers’ Association was established in 1989 and has contributed to the development of Korean art and print art. At the opening ceremony, many print artists from Korea will attend to introduce their works, such as Kim, Hye Kyung (held the private exhibition 11 times including Seoul Arts Center), and Kim, Kyung Ran (professor of Hankuk University of Foreign Education). On Thai side, Parichart Suphaphan (silver and bronze medalist of the National Exhibition of Art in Thailand), Ploy Nikadanont (full time lecturer of Fine and Applied Arts Division, Mahidol University International College) and Lalida Jitjai (print artist) will attend.
Solo performance by veteran thespian is not just about her Muslim headscarf
Walking into GalileOasis Theatre, an intimate, simple and practical performance hall converted from a shophouse, last Saturday afternoon for Farida Jiraphan’s restage of her 2021 solo work “Hijab”, the audience was met with her friendly and sincere greeting, “Any seat would do: they’re all [expletive] bad.”
We later found out that it’s actually the opposite, although some seats would feel more breeze of air-conditioning than the others. Throughout this 75-minute performance that’s frequently hilarious and occasionally heartfelt, Farida made sure each of the 60-odd members of the audience on three sides of the performance area, or thrust stage configuration, could clearly hear, see and feel her. This was notwithstanding the fact that her face and body were mostly covered due to her religious belief.
Interestingly, at the beginning when she realized that her black sanitary mask was still on, over her black hijab, most audience members didn’t even notice it and when she took it off we couldn’t see much difference in our performer who’s entirely in black attire.
In this fine blend of comedy and drama, Farida started by briefly and clearly explaining what hijab really is and the audience soon understood that this piece of cloth—required in some countries yet banned in others—when put elsewhere will be called something else as it performs a different function.
Later on, she told us why she became a Muslim and how she was bitten by a theatre bug while watching Theatre 28’s stage adaptation of Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, her favourite book when she was a teenager, at Saeng Arun Arts Centre. Then, short excerpts of her performance in Crescent Moon Theatre’s “The Revolutionist” at Pridi Banomyong Institute and Democrazy Studio’s “Hipster the King” and others followed. For those of us old enough to have watched the actual productions of these, witnessing her transform into different characters, with extra pieces of cloth and props, in these short scenes was not only a special treat but, as they’re from seminal stage works, a personal overview of contemporary Thai theatre.
When she noted that Saeng Arun Arts Centre, Pridi Banomyong Institute and Democrazy Theatre Studio and now she’s performing at GalileOasis, it’s not merely a joke. Given the fact that these were all hubs of contemporary Thai theatre, it’s also a commentary on the lack of support from our culture ministry which simply let them pull the plug. As many arts lovers are wondering when the new National Gallery will be officially opened as its soft launch was almost a year ago, others are questioning what exactly has happened to the plan, since 2017, to build a new performing arts centre behind it.
Notably, Farida didn’t elaborate on why she decided to put on the hijab, after more than 40 years of not doing so. While this might be a slight letdown, what’s more important, though, is that after having watched her perform these scenes with hijab we realized her acting prowess was in fact exactly the same as without it.
She mentioned that a few of her television and film acting jobs had been cancelled when the producer realized that this well-rounded performer now needs to cover parts of her face all the time. This speaks volumes about our entertainment industry and how its maturity is lagging behind that of other “democratic” countries, especially now that we’re seriously addressing the issues of inclusivity and multi-cultural society.
It’s noteworthy here that there’s one truly special moment lasting a few minutes in the performance the details of which I would not spoil here. It’s a silent moment that was perhaps a reason why “Hijab” was at that place and time and needed to be experienced in-person, and never online.
“Hijab” continues on Saturday (with English surtitles) and Sunday, 3pm at GalileOasis in Soi Kingphet (10-minute walk from BTS Ratchathewi station; limited paid parking nearby). Tickets are Bt 450 (advanced transfer) and Bt 500 (at the door), bookable now at 086 899 5669.
Next month and September, this new arts hub in the city centre—with a cafe, an art gallery, two restaurants, a dessert shop and others—will host three productions of stage comedies in its“Comedy Tree Festival.” Right now, its vibe is making many theatregoers reminisce about Democrazy Theatre Studio and Thong Lor Art Space of the last decade. Stay tuned for more details here.
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