First, let’s set the record straight. Workpoint Entertainment subsidiary Toh Gloam’s “Nithan Hinghoi: The Musical” at KBank Siam Pic-Ganesha Centre of Performing Arts is indeed a revival – and a fine one at that –of “The Legend of Re Khai Fan: Chaliang|the Musical” it co-produced with |True Fantasia seven years ago at the M Theatre.
Chaliang fans will be especially delighted to see and hear how favourite songs from two decades ago have been reinterpreted and rearranged to fit the tale that centres on the two sharply different communities – that of Muang Takka (The City of Logics) and Muang Ekkanek (The Town of Ease). The main simple message that all can draw from this three-hour-plus musical is that we need to know how to balance the logic and the ease, or, to put it in another way, the head and the heart. It’s an important thought in this day and age and one that bears repeating. My only criticism is that the six-member script-writing team, most used to writing for television, may want to cut the irrelevant jokes to keep the play moving at a finer pace and to make sure the audience reaches home by midnight.
The highlight of this revival is the |acting and singing of two musical theatre performers who’ve never been known for comedic prowess and yet excel |beyond expectation here – Kanda Witthayanuparpyuenyong as Pui Pui and Kornkan Sutthikoses as her love interest Chana Lom. The former’s performance here, thanks in part to the surprise value, even tops that of hers in “The Wife” |earlier this year. As a mysterious blind man, veteran actor Satta Sattathip delivers another memorable performance |as he, like Kanda and Kornkan, looks and sounds very different from other roles we’ve seen him in. The other two leads suffer slightly from stereotypical casting which has put them into the roles that limit their acting capability – Anusorn “Yong Armchair” Maneetes as 1001, another no-nonsense military role, and Sathida Prompiriya as Phra Chan, |another sensitive, if not fragile young woman. Their romantic duet “Thoe mun rop chan; Chan mun rop thoe” (“We’re orbiting around each other”), though, is another musical highlight that would bring smiles and possibly tears of joy to the audience.
While the set design, with sharp contrasts between the two communities at the core, might still remind theatre fans of “Chicago”, “Wicked”, “The Flintstones” and other sci-fi movies, it’s the lighting design by Supatra Kruekromgsuk that adds aplenty.
Originally scheduled to perform from October to November, the run was cut short due to the death of King Rama |IX. The good news is that this feel-good jukebox musical will be back for a shorter run, and hopefully the creative team will have trimmed the running time |by then.
BACK SOON ONSTAGE

•  “Nithan Hinghoi: The Musical”
• continues from January 28 to February 12, Saturday and Sunday only, 2pm and 7:30pm at KBank Siam Pic-Ganesha Centre of Performing Arts.
• It’s in Thai with no English translation.
• Tickets cost from Bt1,000 to Bt 2,800 (students Bt600 to Bt1,400) at ThaiTicketMajor.

Students elegantly curve their hands before breaking into synchronised footwork at a class in New Delhi, where growing numbers are signing up for Indian traditional dance classes rooted in Hindu mythology.
Class participants range from pre-teens to surgeons and marketing managers – but they have all chosen to learn traditional Indian dance, which emerged from the country’s temples centuries ago, over western options such as ballet, jazz and hip hop.
“Tradition is becoming popular now,” says Nitya Pant, a Mumbai-based marketing executive who practises Odissi – an ancient temple-based dance that honours Hindu Lord Jagannath, Lord of the Universe.
“No other form can give you the satisfaction that classical dance gives you,” adds the 29-year-old. “You feel like you’re one with God.”
Such is the appeal that Pant flies to Delhi, spending around Rs7,250 (Bt3,600) every weekend, on flights just to train under acclaimed dancer Madhumita Raut.
India is home to eight major classical dance styles including Odissi and Bharatnatyam – a genre originating in the country’s southern temples more than 2,000 years ago – that tell stories of gods through facial expressions, hand gestures and rapid footwork.
They run deep in India’s culture, performed at marriages, folk festivals, school contests, on reality shows and most notably in Bollywood films.
While reasons for enrolling vary from exercise to extra-curricular points in college applications, Nabanita Baul Dutta says dance saved her from depression.
“Dance is happiness to me,” says the 23-year-old housewife, who has been learning Bharatnatyam in Delhi for the past year.
“After moving to Delhi, I went into depression… Then I found akka (guru), I came to her and I got out of depression,” said Dutta.
In a cramped living room, Dutta’s guru Aayurshi Neeraj recites a “sollukattu” – a sequence of syllables that correspond to movements – keeping rhythm with a wooden stick and plank.
Her students clasp their hands in front of them and stamp out beats with their feet.
“Bharatnatyam to me is spirituality, it is a meditation and it’s a favourite dance to Lord Shiva,” Neeraj says.
A garage-turned-studio in an upmarket part of the capital serves as Raut’s studio where she teaches Odissi, a more fluid-moving dance in which face and hand movements are perfectly timed.
Pant and five other student mirror Raut as she forms mudras (hand gestures) to a steady chant.
“My children also learn different forms of dancing. Today they are learning Zumba-Rumba something like that and one year back it was hip hop…” says 47-year-old Raut, listing off dance crazes that slipped in and out of fashion.
“They know that Odissi is for keeps,” she adds comparing the allure of traditional dance to the enduring appeal of classic texts.
“There is a difference between literature, a coffee table book and a magazine,” says Raut, who has more than 60 pupils and a growing waiting list.
“Shakespeare will be there always,” she adds.
Once performed in temples and royal courts, India’s classical dance has found international resonance with troupes performing around the world.
Thanks to a mushrooming Indian diaspora, traditional dance schools have popped up globally, piquing the interest of other nationalities too.
Back in Delhi, the students say the West looks to India in search of spirituality, culture and history, which is why this classical art has gained international popularity.
“What is lacking, especially in the US, is that they don’t have a very rich cultural history… I think they seek and they want to find that piece of ancient history, that art form,” says Pant, who has been learning Odissi since she was 14.
“They’re leaning to India because we’ve had the most ancient civilisations and that’s why India and its culture has become so popular.”
Her guru Raut, an award-winning dancer who has lived, taught and performed in Europe, the US and Japan, believes Indian dance transcends borders between people and countries.
“Today it’s music, tomorrow it’s costume, day after tomorrow it’s movement. It’s so graceful. There’s no end to it,” Raut says,
“It’s a vast treasure and it can be shared and it will only spread and spread.”

Auction house Christie’s is currently holding its first-ever sale of Western art masterpieces in Hong Kong in response to a surge in interest from wealthy Asian collectors.
The works by contemporary and classical artists including Willem de Kooning, Andy Warhol and Claude Monet are designed to appeal to an elite pool of buyers in the region who are increasingly making their presence felt on the global art scene.
Worth more than $250 million (Bt89.06 billion) in total, the works are not going under the hammer, but became available for private sale and show to the public from last Thursday as part of an exhibition called “The Loaded Brush”.
In the past three to four years Asian collectors from across the region have “driven the art market at the highest level”, says Brett Gorvy, chairman and international head of post-war and contemporary art at Christie’s.
Although the sale includes some works at the lower end of the price range, its key pieces are all Western masterpieces aimed at Asia’s big hitters.
“We wanted to respond to the type of collectors who are buying in our field – $20, $30, $40 million and above – and in Asia there are at least between 25 and 30 collectors who are active at the moment in that area,” Gorvy says.
China’s economic slowdown, a corruption crackdown by Beijing and global instability have affected art markets, but auctioneers have always remained optimistic that the highest quality pieces would find homes among the super rich.
Chinese tycoon Liu Yiqian proved the point in November 2015, when he bought Modigliani’s “Nu Couche” in New York for a record $170.4 million.
Liu, who has a track record of major acquisitions of Chinese art, said at the time that he wants to exhibit Western works at his Long Museum in Shanghai.
Those who started out years ago collecting Asian artworks are now increasingly interested and able to afford Western masterpieces with top-end price tags.
“Its a maturity of wealth as much as a maturity of taste,” Gorvy says.
Wealthy collectors are also confident that quality artworks are retaining their value as assets, Gorvy adds.
The region’s top collectors come from countries, including China, Malaysia, Japan and Korea, with abstract styles particularly popular.
The works currently for sale come from collectors in Europe and the United States.
“The Loaded Brush” also features major pieces on loan from prominent Asian collectors including paintings by Picasso and Van Gogh.

JACOB’S CREEK, Australia’s biggest wine brand, has released two new red wine varieties in Thailand that have aged whisky barrels to thank for their unique flavour.
Double Barrel Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon have been finished in used wood whisky barrels to give them extra depth and taste. The wine goes through two types of treatment, hence the “double barrel” name. They are first aged in traditional wine barrels, typically French or American oak, before being finished in aged whisky barrels, made from American oak, which has been scorched inside to give the whisky its beautiful colour, sweetness and texture.
The “double barrel” project started four years ago with experiments on different varietals, regions and casks to find the right combinations and the optimum length of time for secondary maturation. Primarily focusing on red wines, the team found the full, rich fruit profile of the Shiraz from Barossa paired well with the “savoury saline assertiveness” of Scotch barrels, while the Coonawara Cabernet Sauvignon was better suited to the softer, smoother Irish whisky barrels.
The brand also produces a Shiraz Cabernet blend finished in Scotch barrels for the domestic market, but it has decided to focus on the Shiraz for export markets. Currently about 100,000 bottles are produced.
In making the selections, the temperature is carefully controlled during fermentation to ensure optimal color, tanning and flavour extraction. The wine is then matured in traditional wine barrels for 12 to 18 months then matured in old American white oak barrels that have previously matured Irish whisky. The barrels are kiln-dried and scorched to allow greater oxygen exchange. This softens the tannins in the wine and adds fullness and richness.

The Double Barrel Shiraz 2013, now in its second release, is made from selected fruits that were particularly rich dense and full bodied to allow additional ageing is whisky barrels without compromising style or quality.
Scotch whisky barrels are used in the finishing as they are a match for the rich intensity and dense tannins of Barossa Shiraz. The dense crimson with purple wine is a heady mix of spice, dark chocolate and fruit cake.
On the palate, Double Barrel Shiraz is dense, smooth and layered with full, generous flavours of classic Barossa Shiraz. This yields prominent dark chocolate with subtle toasty notes that are derived from French and American oak wine barrels.
The wine is best matched with slightly charred white meat and fish, as well as red meat such as beef and bacon.
The Double Barrel Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 uses only ripe and muscular fruits to ensure high, pronounced tannins that stand up to additional ageing without compromising quality. Also in its second release, the wine is slightly lighter coloured than the shiraz and the fruit is less fragrant. It has prominent dark fruit flavours alongside subtle toasty characters, while the fine, soft tannis deliver a pleasant tastIdeal with lamb and grilled vegetable, it can be enjoyed now or saved for later for more stylish length.acob’s Creek is one of Australia’s leading wine brands, offering quality contemporary Australian wine styles with decent varietal expression. Launched in 1976, the brand has successfully moved a long way beyond the Australian staples of Cabernet, Shiraz, Chardonnay and Riesling and ontroduced the many new additions of recent years, including the lower alcohol Cool Harvest range, the “unashamedly sweet” Twin Pickings wines, the Earth Vine Grape organic wines, as well as Wah and Lamoon, the new wines specifically tailored respectively to Japanese and Thai cuisine repectively.

STILL BEST remembered as Joey from his US TV sitcom “Friends”, Golden Globe winner Matt LeBlanc returned to the small screen last month in an all-new comedy family series, “Man with a Plan”.
Imagine the goofy Joey Tribbiani from “Friends” all grown up and married with three kids. In “Man with a Plan”, LeBlanc stars as Adam Burns, a contractor |who starts spending more time with his kids when his wife goes back to work and discovers the truth all parents eventually realise – their little angels are maniacs.
Adam feels fully equipped to take on more parenting responsibilities while his self-assured wife, Andi (played by Liza Snyder), returns to the workforce after being a stay-at-home mum for 13 years.
In the midst of it all, Adam’s older brother and business partner, Don, enjoys giving him terrible advice about how to run his family. But, with Andi’s encouragement and advice from a couple of equally stressed parents, Adam takes charge of his brood, lays down the law and discovers he’s going to “nail” this job.
We had a chat with the 49-year-old actor about this new role.

WHAT IS IT LIKE GOING BACK TO COMEDY AFTER DOING A FEW HOSTING JOBS, INCLUDING “TOP GEAR”?
Coming back to a multi-cam comedy format in front of a live audience is really fun. I didn’t realise how much I missed it until I got back into it again. It’s just a lot of fun and I really enjoy it. I’m an executive producer on “Man with a Plan”, so I met with the writers and came up with the concept with them. I’ve kind of been involved since the beginning. So, I guess, to answer your question, I felt good about it.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO CREATE ADAM BURNS?
The character has a little bit of Joey from “Friends”, a little bit of me, a little bit of other friends of mine that have kids and the stories I hear about them.
He’s this guy who is struggling to keep the ship afloat. His wife wants to go back to work now that the littlest one is going to school full-time. I’m my own boss – I run a construction company with my brother. The two of us are in a position where I can kind of adjust my schedule to help my wife who wants to go back to work. I think that’s kind of fun.

WHAT KIND OF A FATHER IS ADAM?
I think he’s a good dad. He really loves his children. He puts his family first. I think sometimes he misses the life he had with his wife before the kids were born, which was more spontaneous and there weren’t many responsibilities. He maybe from time to time wishes it was the case still, but he loves his kids more than anything and would do anything for them. I don’t think he would change a thing. I think he’s a good dad.

ARE THERE ANY PARENTING TIPS THAT THE AUDIENCE COULD TRY AT HOME?
Well, we did that one thing in the pilot where they installed a rolling Wi-Fi password at the house to ensure that the kids do their chores before they got the password. That was a smart one and people have asked me about that.

HOW DID BEING A FATHER OF A PRETEEN YOURSELF INFLUENCE HOW YOU PLAY THIS ROLE?
A little bit. I think it’s important to be loving with your children. I try to use the parenting tone that I use at home on the show, but with a comic twist. It’s all about where the funny is with this show.
We try to take themes about parenting that are very relate-able to a lot of parents and put a funny twist on it. Say the things that parents out there watching would like to say but can’t say.

SHARE SOME OF YOUR FAVOURITE MOMENTS WORKING ON THIS SHOW.
Today was a good one. Today CBS announced they were going to order more episodes. That was a nice moment!
We did a Christmas episode, so it was nice to see the family all kind of gelling together. That was fun.
It’s nice for me to see the actors that play the kids getting over their nerves in front of the audience and becoming braver and getting less nervous. They were coming into their own and discovering their characters.

“MAN WITH A PLAN” GOT SOLID PREMIERE RATINGS.
I’m glad that it seems like people are watching the show and relating to the show. It’s kind of new territory for me. I played a dad on “Episodes”, but we |didn’t really focus on that too much. I’m also a happily married guy, which I’ve never played before. I think a family show felt to me like the direction I wanted to|go to.

WHAT’S CHALLENGES WILL ADAM BE FACING IN COMING EPISODES?
There was one I had to make puppets for the school but I didn’t really want to do that. There was an episode where my wife has a male friend at work and I get jealous.
There was one where my brother and I had a dispute about an opportunity for our construction company to bid on a bigger job with a bigger developer building five homes.
It was a little out of our league so I wanted to bring someone in to help us with the presentation and my brother felt threatened, and that caused a rift between he and I.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT STILL BEING ASSOCIATED WITH JOEY TRIBBIANI?
I love that people still remember Joey. It seems like every year there’s a new |generation that’s discovering “Friends”. I’m very proud to have been a part of |that show. That was the highlight |of my career I don’t think I’ll ever be involved in something ever again that’s that successful. That doesn’t happen to anyone twice.
I love this new show, but “Friends” and playing the character Joey – I mean, I’m Joey’s biggest fan and I will always be his biggest fan. I love that guy.
He was so much fun to play. I learned a lot. I worked with great actors. We had great writing. It was received well and had a lot of support from the |network. There were a lot of things lined up to make that show exactly what it was. I will always be grateful for the opportunity.

“Man with a Plan” airs every Friday at 8pm on TRL CBS.