Fed up with TV soaps or melodramatic plays? Not so fast. The New Theatre Society's Monrak Klong San Saeb (The Love Spell Of San Saen Canal) is giving a new life to done-to-death stories that _ like it or not _ have become embedded as national treasures.
Actors in the colourfully soapy play Monrak Klong San Saeb.
Directed and originally penned by Parnrut Kritchanchai, the comedy shows that with a different art direction, familiar situations and same-old complications can still turn on Thai audiences. Kids and adults filled the packed theatre with laughter as they were diverted by a semi-farcical presentation of the Thai-style melodrama, inspired by a short play by August von Kotzebue's Blind Geladen, or How To Die For Love.
As if going to a supermarket of Thai popular culture, Panrat picks classic ingredients for her theatrical cooking. The final dish is a palatable mixture with a plot of star-crossed lovers, loaned from classic novels such as Plae Kao (The Scar), San Saeb, and vaguely from Ku Kaam (Ill-Fated Couple), spiced up with hit Thai folk songs, namely San Saeb, Mae Roi Jai (A Woman With One Hundred Hearts), Sao Na Koi Ku (A Female Rice Farmer Awaiting Her Beau) and Prod Therd Duang Jai (Mercy Me, My Love), as well as a minute slice of social and political satire.
Winsome yet dim-witted characters worship the god of comedy for their tragic fate that ends with a twist. The show aims at ridiculing the melodrama tradition, and it pulls this off well.
Juxtaposition, mix-ups, self-mockery, overacting and vulgarity are major ingredients for the success of this tongue-in-cheek farcical melodrama. Despite some hackneyed jokes and certain drags in the pace, good teamwork and good timing make this 105-minute play a night to remember.
At many points, however, it could be regarded as an afternoon TV comedy show when it involved falling wigs, wrong-name-calling, impromptu lines, and laughing among the actors. But thanks to their teamwork, they managed to carry on with the spirit of the show until the end, and the audience did not mind their practical jokes and self-ridicule, showing their stage-wise wit and years of experience.
Noted for his serious acting in several dramas, Saifah Tantana impressively showed his light-hearted side as Boon Joi, a self-indulgent villain. It looked easy for him to switch from Mr Nice Guy to a baddie who sets his heart only on Bua Toom, the village's most beautiful girl who was born with looks but not brains. The role is convincingly and comically played by Pariya Wongrabeab, who maintains her deliberately artificial voice _ reminiscent of the dubbing of Thai movies from the 1960s _ throughout the show.
Grisana Punpeng jumps on the bandwagon of jocularity in a leading role as Palad Chaiya, an impecunious government official from Bangkok. For almost the entire show, he portrays his character as a handsome young man suffering from hapless love, and did nothing but render his handsome voice and exercise his comely charm. It is as if he suppressed his talents and did not want to overshadow other actors. Clearly, however, this was done by choice when his character later revealed itself towards the end of the show in a twist that emphasises how a theatrical farce can ridicule a television cliche{aac}.
While other actors try their best to provoke audience laughter, the show stealer is Jatuporn Suwansukhum, performing as a necromancer who travels with a birdhouse similar to a traditional shrine. His dark magic is his ability to make his comic relief effortless and natural. In his first scene, he enters with latecomers, calling them his ghost army, and when he made a mistake with name-calling, he still insisted he called the right name, which was in line with his egotistic character. His first impression was so grand that the audience expected the unexpected from him throughout the show. His rival, if any, would be Setsiri Nirundorn, who played Yiam, the villain's sidekick, and whose natural comical act is second to none. Noted for their comical talents _ usually in supporting roles _ it would be a real challenge to see them both grow and glow in the leading roles of other comedies in the near future.
Director-cum-playwright Parnrut deserved a big applause for her well-crafted script, clear art direction, and, most importantly, a good eye for a great cast. Despite taking inspiration from Western plays, she manages to localise it (as in her previous productions) so smartly and neatly that it has its own life in a Thai setting. With more push on originality and risk-taking, this comedy could become a real farce of Thai theatres and she could have called it an original.
Like many other small theatre troupes that struggle to find a stage for their quality work, the New Theatre Society has been offering Thai society a place to enjoy drama, comedies and experimental plays. Monrak Klong San Saeb should be one reason why many come back to a small theatre _ especially when it is filled with big talents.
Monrak Klong San Saeb is on from today - ntil Tuesday, at Crescent Moon Theatre, Pridi Panomyong Institute, at 8pm.
For bookings, call 0867877155.
