B-floor Theatre, Thailand's only physical theatre company, turns 20 this year. And they are marking the occasion with Shakespeare.
B-floor's co–artistic director and co-founder Jaa Phantachat transformed Angoon's Garden in the middle of Thonglor into a magical dreamscape for her production of A Midsummer Night's Dream: Fan Klang Suan (Dreaming In The Garden). This is not Jaa's first handling of the bard's work. In 2012, she adapted King Lear into a political dance theatre piece, Lear & His Three Daughters. While her King Lear adaptation offers a serious critique of Thai people's relationship with its most hallowed institution, her Midsummer Night's Dream adaptation offers only a brief reflection on the relationship between small-time artists and political institutions. It's more of a tribute to theatre and theatre artists, not just any kind of theatre and theatre artists, but the struggling alternative kind, somewhat like the play's motley band of mechanicals putting up their raggedy theatre production.
The production is far from raggedy though. Instead, it shows Jaa's versality and willingness to push her own artistic boundaries. She has never let the label "physical theatre" limit the kind of work she does under the company's name. In the past decade, apart from movement-based pieces that make up most of her body of work, she's also done spoken plays, puppetry, and children's plays. And now, she's turned Shakespeare's comedy into an outdoor musical with puppets and a political edge.
B-floor founding member Dujdao Vadhanapakorn and ZIEGHT, a visual and lighting installation company that has lit several B-floor productions and a host of music festivals, has turned the garden into a magical forest of nets, colourful lights and dreamcatchers. This magical world is curtained off from the audience when they first step into Angoon's Garden. It is only revealed right before the play begins when we are invited to sit in the bewitched realm and ultimately become part of the performance.
The nets and netlike materials found on trees are found on the puppets, by Surachai Petsangrot and Sirikarn Banjongtad. Lighting designer Palita Sakulchaivanich floods the garden with romantic shades of green and purple. Costume designer Nicha Puranasamriddhi, in her most accomplished work to date, dresses Oberon and Titania in elegant, architectural garbs, while the young lovers wear softer tie-dyed fabric with frills and folds.
Jaa recruited Parnrut Kritchanchai from the New Theatre Society to translate and adapt the play. Long known for her adaptation work, especially of comedic materials, Parnrut pared down the play significantly, keeping the plot and discarding the poetry and some of the characters. The result is a linguistically accessible play that maintains the essence of the original. The humour comes more from Thai gags, wordplay and physical comedy. Composed by Gandhi Wasuvitchayagit, Kamolpat Pimsarn and Kongtoon Pongpattana, the music is suitably pop, easy and fun. Most members of the lovable and dynamic ensemble are not trained singers, but their vocal performances are adequately pleasant.
A Midsummer Night's Dream has inspired countless artists to create productions that are in some way magical, beautiful and delightful. B-floor Theatre may be known for its political work and "magic" and "delight" may not be synonymous with the company, but it has always been known for the beauty of their production designs. A Midsummer Night's Dream is an unexpected choice for a political theatre company, but B-floor has always understood that no matter how small the budget or how disturbing the subject, theatre has to be emotional and art has to be a thing of beauty.
A Midsummer Night's Dream runs until June 8 every Thursday to Saturday (except May 9–11) at 7 pm at Angoon's Garden on Thonglor (Sukhumvit 55). The play is in Thai with no subtitles. Tickets are 700 baht (400 baht for university students and 250 baht for school students). Call 094-494-5104 or email bfloortheatre@gmail.com
