One of Thailand’s most prominent contemporary dramatic artists and co-founder of B-Floor Theater, Teerawat Mulvilai is the director of “The Other Land” originally produced in 2008 and currently being re-staged (with English subtitles) as part of Diverse Arts Festival by the Pridi Banomyong Institute. We spoke with the director about his inspirations and aspirations for re-staging this play.
What was the inspiration behind “The Other Land” when you first produced it in 2008?
It was a time when many things were going on… Thaksin’s government had started an anti-drug war, the People’s Alliance for Democracy or the Yellow Shirts protests had started, violence in the South was becoming more and more severe and at times tragic, there was on going corruption… People weren’t happy with the government’s use of violence, the limiting of freedom of expression, and the control of the media. It was a situation where control wasn’t in your hands; you had to play someone else’s game. So my question was: Is this country we live in really ours? Or are we just some temporary residents who happen to be here? I felt that our freedom and rights were incredibly low at that time. “The Other Land” was a literary work from 30 years ago in which a Thai citizen looked at society and government and saw conflicts on every level: societal, familial, personal… there are conflicts of local identity, otherness, and the relationship between state and community. It addressed both urban and rural issues. So in fact, what the book talked about was very timely. I wanted to open up the minds of Bangkokians so they could see and understand those who had different lifestyles from their own.
Why did you decide to re-stage this particular play at this time?
Since then, we have seen the government change many times: from a military government, to an elected government, to an appointed government. The anti-Thaksin government came to power and lost it. We saw attempts to advocate non-democratic procedures such as requesting a royal-appointed prime ministe So I still find myself asking – what kind of ideology is going to allow us to live together in this country? What can be the true medium that brings the needs of all together, if it is not democracy? The “virtuous” or “good people” are in essence not any different from the politicians they claim to hate. Conflicts are natural, and we can only find a balance by talking it through, so we can end it. Is it fair that hatred or fear of chaos should lead to killing other people? If all this happened because we don’t want a dictatorial government or violence, why do these images keep coming back again and again? Death and loss seem to have become “normal” in Thai society. “The Other Land” is being re-staged because these stories haven’t gone anywhere. It is still contemporary although we may wish it weren’t.
What was the audience reaction to the play in 2008 and how do you think it will be this time around?
In 2008 we received positive feedback from the audience in terms of the performance itself. Some people said it wasn’t really like the book. I told them we couldn’t capture all the complexities of the book on stage anyway, and I also mixed some personal experiences with Kanokpong’s stories. I think of the book as my starting inspiration and I made adaptations to serve the messages I wanted to deliver. But what I kept true to the book is its surrealism which is one of the outstanding features of the book.
We know you recently returned from the Undergroundzero Festival in New York City. How was that experience?
We arrived in NYC only 4 days before our opening night. But once we were in NYC, the whole production team were able to be “full-time artists,” meaning that we could all focus on the production without the demands of other jobs. This allowed myself, the performers and designers to focus entirely on working together, which was absolutely necessary since we needed to set up in a new space very quickly, rehearse and then perform the shows in a totally new environment. In the end, it was a very challenging but fulfilling experience, and we were very glad to have the opportunity to exchange our Thai experiences and perspectives with American and international audiences.
How did the audience in NYC relate to Oxygen or what was the general feedback?
I was glad to see that Oxygen’s content was accessible for audiences of various backgrounds – that the audiences did not have to rely on any prior knowledge of Thai politics to appreciate it. Many people admired the physical abilities and teamwork of the cast. It was a production with a small number of performers, but people found it interesting and powerful. We were reviewed by Cate Cammarata on nytheatre.com, who wrote, “Using almost no spoken text at all, this innovative company from Thailand presents a visually striking statement equating the right to breathe pure air with the right to individual expression and freedom…[the actors] move fluidly and precisely, creating beautifully synchronized movements that can degenerate into brutality, insanity and disease…B-floor Theatre speaks volumes about the right of individual expression versus political repression in the world today, all without actually speaking a word.”
Besides “The Other Land,” what other productions are in the works at B-Floor?
B-Floor have been appointed as Artists-in-Residence at the Wellcome Trust Mahidol University–Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Programme. This residency is part of Wellcome Collection’s Art of Global Health Project which will enable artists around the world to explore what is happening in global health research. The Wellcome Collection is part of the global charitable foundation, the Wellcome Trust. Our residency has just begun and will result in a performance at the Pridi Banomyong Institute in January 2013.
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“The Other Land” is running Oct. 5-7 & 10-12 at 8pm, with a matinee performance on Saturday 6th October at 2pm and a post-show discussion with the director, activists and artists from the South.
All tickets are 400 THB.
For more information and reservations, contact B-Floor at 089 167 4039 or bfloortheatre@gmail.com, or visit www.bfloortheatre.com
For more information and schedule activities of Diverse Arts Festival, please visit http://www.facebook.com/pridibanomyong.inst
