A year of progress and disappointment in the arts.
MUSIC
1. Big concerts
Several motherships landed in Bangkok in 2016. The most exciting and hysteria-inducing was in February, when crowds flocked like hungry souls to Impact Arena to worship Madonna's first ever performance here. The Queen of Pop's "Rebel Heart Tour" was an immediate sell-out, and a second show was scheduled the next day to cater to fans' overwhelming demand. Her show was a great opener for other notable artist who performed in the following months, including Queen + Adam Lambert, Selena Gomez and Take That. The momentum will hopefully continue, with Rajamangala National Stadium hosting Coldplay in April, just a week before Songkran. Other international concerts to look forward to next year are Guns 'N' Roses and the Goo Goo Dolls.
2. Molam inter
Thai country music like luk thung and mor lam may sometimes be looked down upon as dated and provincial. How foolish! Thai artists like the Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band and Rasmee Isan Soul are taking their unique genre -- the rough folksy tunes tweaked to a global soundscape -- out to the worldstage. Paradise Bangkok toured Europe like rock stars and performed at Glastonbury earlier this year, while Rasmee has garnered an international fan base with her debut album and performed in Poland and Indonesia.
We're also seeing the continual rise of luk thung into the mainstream consciousness, with Isan singer Kong Huayrai topping charts with his ballad Khu Khong (Soulmate), an original soundtrack for the TV drama Nagee. Khu Khong, with its Isan-dialect lyrics, has garnered more than 182 million views since September. It still remains No.1 on music-streaming app Joox's top-100 list, even though the drama finished its run weeks ago.
The Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band.
3. Music losses
It's not far off to say that 2016 has been a year of great loss to the music industry worldwide. This past weekend turned out to be the last Christmas for singer George Michael, who achieved success with the duo Wham! before going on to even greater success as a solo act. And before his untimely departure, Prince, David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, the Beastie Boys' John Berry (an original member from their very early days), the Eagles' Glenn Frey, Earth, Wind and Fire's Maurice White and more took the stairway to heaven. Thailand's jazz virtuoso King Bhumibol Adulyadej passed away in October, leaving 48 of his royal compositions as a legacy for Thais to cherish.
George Michael passed away at 53.
4. Subdued year end
Much of the end-of-year festivity has been toned down out of respect for King Rama IX's death. Concerts were cancelled or postponed; there will be no fireworks for the countdown; and music will not be played too loudly. A few local musicians and performers have been out of jobs, especially in October and November, with pubs and restaurants laying low and quiet. But things are starting to pick up after the 30-day mourning period. Live acoustic performances have returned to some venues. It will be a subdued countdown come New Year's Eve, but we should be able to enjoy ourselves nevertheless.
5. Rocker-runner
The musician who made the loudest noise this year didn't do it on stage or with his new album. Artiwara Kongmalai, known as Toon Bodyslam, became one of the year's biggest personalities by setting out on a 400km charity run, from Bangkok to Bang Saphan, to raise funds for a state hospital. His 10-day ultramarathon became a phenomenon broadcast live online and roused a spirit of philanthropy from the public. His run raised more than 70 million baht and prompted a flurry of defensive responses from public health officials about budget shortages for provincial state hospitals. From now on, Artiwara will be remembered not just as one of Thailand's biggest rock stars but as a generous runner who has changed his country for the better.
TELEVISION
1. Sorrayuth's downfall
In March, the country's number-one newscaster, Sorrayuth Suthassanachinda, made headlines for himself. The influential newsman finally left Channel 3's Krob Krua Kao (News Family) after the court found him and his company guilty of cheating more than 138 million baht in advertising revenue from Mass Communication Organization of Thailand (Mcot) and of bribing a clerk to cover up the incriminating documents.
Released on bail, he is now appealing his sentence of 13 years, four months. Sorrayuth's case prompted the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) to discuss with TV operators the industry's ethical standards. After he stepped down, Channel 3's popular morning news show continued to feature his co-host, Pitchayatun Chanphut, as the programme's mainstay.
2. Premier's pick
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha as a TV critic: in March the premier encouraged Thais to watch Tae-yang-eui hoo-ye (Descendants Of The Sun) on KBS World. The sensational Korean drama portrays the romance between a soldier and a military doctor serving in a fictitious war-torn land. The PM was impressed on how the series conveys patriotism, sacrifice and fulfilment of one's duties, and urged Thai producers to make substantial soap operas that promote the same values. Later aired on Channel 7, Tae-yang-eui hoo-ye stars Song Joong Ki, who topped Google Thailand's list of most-searched persons in 2016. Likewise, the series took the No.1 spot for most-searched terms.
3. Doomed digital TV
After the initial brouhaha, reality has kicked in. Digital television may give viewers a wider array of content, but for operators, the struggle has been tough and trying, with broadcasters facing steep concession fees, high competition and low advertising revenue. News programmes remain principle drawers, but every channel new and old -- Channels 3, 7 and 9, plus Thai Rath TV, Amarin TV, PPTV and more -- seems to follow more or less the same format and content, and they resort to the popularity of individual newscasters to pull in the ratings. Soap operas, meanwhile, are always bankable, and new players such as GMM One is giving veterans like Channels 3 and 7 a run for their money. Still, 2017 will remain a tough year for everyone.
4. Hit horrors
Horror, mythical and fantasy dramas seem to have won over viewers, with the line-up including Kamlai Mas, Buang Atidtarn, Tayas Asoon, Pid Saward, and Nakee
Aired in mid-2016, Channel One's high-rated Pid Saward stars Woranuch BhiromBhakdi as a nang ram (dancer) of the Ayutthaya period. Slayed by her lover, she takes vengeance on the reincarnated husband in the present day; otherwise, she would forever remain a spirit guarding the kingdom's treasure.
The ending of Channel 3's Nakee on Dec 5 achieved the year's highest rating, with the Isan-speaking female protagonist played by Natapohn Tameeruks turning into a raging giant serpent, who sadly has to part from her human lover.
Natapohn Tameeruks in Nakee.
5. Kob's comeback
Suvanant "Kob'' Kongying (now surnamed Punnakanta) and Sornram "Noom'' Theappitak were the 1990s' hottest couple, comparable to today's Nadech Kugimiya and Urassaya Sperbund.
The November rerun of Channel 7's historic period drama, Sai Lohit (1995), revived their popularity, and stirred interest in the comeback of Suvanant -- now a mother of two -- in new productions that again cast her against the 40-something Sornram.
Will their chemistry still have the magic? Their fans have to wait and see in Dara Video's remake of Nam Soh Sai and Workpoint Entertainment's sitcom, Kwanjai Thailand, the latter premiering on Jan 8.
Theatre
1. The raging new blood
Young theatre companies seemed unstoppable this year, which is heartening given how ambitious and distinctive some of them are. Splashing Theatre staged The Disappearance Of The Boy On A Sunday Afternoon, another strange, fascinating and confounding creation. The Dee-ng troupe came out with play that continued their exploration of how we deal with conflicts and differences through childlike characters in Yard. Miss Theatre, a new company formed this year, gave us three productions in the second half of the year, one of them a solo performance about a young queer artist finding her voice through theatre.
The Disappearance oOf The Boy On A Sunday Afternoon. Photo: Wichaya Artamat
2. Failures to attribute
You would think that artists who've made a career out of adaptation know how to credit their source material. Not this year. The Moo Moo Field was adapted from Annie Baker's Circle Mirror Transformation, but neither her name nor her play appeared in the programme or any promotional materials. Ni Kue Satarn Hang Phab Kanglung (This Is The Place Of The Hidden Picture) inconsistently informed the media and public about the use of Christopher Durang's Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. Worst of all was Dans Le Noir, originally billed as "a detective story by Damkerng Thitapiyasak". The director eventually admitted that it was adapted from Robert Lepage and Marie Brassard's Polygraph, but changes were never made to the promotional materials. Let's hope this is not the new ethical standard for Bangkok's growing theatre scene.
3. Remembering October 6
With this year being the 40th anniversary of the Thammasat University massacre, we saw fewer shows that critique the present military regime and more that commemorate one of the darkest episodes of modern Thai history. While some may find Teerawat Mulvilai's interpretation of the event through movements in Fundamental a little redundant, A Nowhere Place was refreshing for conjuring up the images of the event through words and personal narratives. For Little Red In The Ruins, director Ben Busararkamwong approached the subject through puppetry, storytelling and live music. Ben's retelling of Charles Perrault's Little Red Riding Hood portrays the Wolf in a sympathetic light and as a victim of a cycle of violence. In Reu (Paulina Salas And The Practice), director Sineenadh Keitprapai brought together unshakeable memories of Thailand and Chile's oppressive regimes.
4. Facing grief
We rarely get to see plays in Thailand, original or adapted, with characters that have complex psychological traits. The subject of mental health, too, remains taboo, even in the arts. But this year, there were two productions about the handling of grief: Josh Ginsburg's Stick Figures and Chulalongkorn University's Cheevit Dee Dee (from Duncan Macmillian's Every Brilliant Thing). And for the first time we saw plays about political oppression from a psychological angle, namely Pradit Prasartthong's A Nowhere Place and Crescent Moon Theatre's Reu (Paulina Salas And The Practice), a retelling of Ariel Dorfman's Death And The Maiden.
5. The collaborative spirit
Sometimes artistic collaborations end in disaster, but that wasn't the case with a handful of productions we saw this year. In A (Micro) History Of World Economics, Danced, French director and playwright Pascal Rambert worked with almost 60 non-actors to break down economic theories, proving once again that the stage is inseparable from real life. In Thanapol Virulhakul's Happy Hunting Ground, German and Thai performers illuminate the politics of love and relationships. South Korea's Theatre Momggol and B-Floor Theatre's Something Missing: The Rite Of Passage, one of this year's most striking shows, confronted the wickedness of blind ideology and proved that there's nothing too heavy to be addressed onstage.
Happy Hunting Ground. Photo: WICHAYA ARTAMAT
Top 5 Performances of 2016
Stick Figures
We don't often get to see actors in emotionally demanding roles on the Thai stage. But in Josh Ginsburg's Stick Figures, deftly directed by Pattarasuda Anuman Rajadhon, actors were forced to push their limits. The result was one of the most gratifying and moving plays of the year.
A Nowhere Place
Veteran theatre artist Pradit Prasartthong proved that he could do more than write musicals about iconic political figures or modernise Thai musical-theatre forms. This is an intelligent and affecting play about the traumas of the Oct 6, 1976 massacre, unique in the way it humanises the victim and the perceived perpetrator.
Happy New Year Mr. Smith. Photo: Ta ngmo Sophonkunkit
Happy New Year, Mr. Smith
This quirky, rollicking play about a group of friends in their 40s marks an artistic turning point for Nophand Boonyai. It still has Nophand's experimental and absurdist streaks, just with more emotion and without any artistic posturing. The play felt like it came straight from the artist's heart. Well, it landed right in ours.
Fundamental
B-Floor Theatre's Teerawat Mulvilai's Fundamental is one of the best stage performances this year, not only because it insisted on speaking the unspeakable, but because it showed that art will not let history be a thing of the past. The performers' screams, the horror on their faces and their vulnerable, shirtless bodies — history is very much a pressing dialogue for today.
Something Missing: The Rite Of Passage
The second instalment of South Korea's Theatre Momggol and B-Floor Theatre's collaboration was a courageous response to the violence in Thailand during this transitional period. In the real world, we are horrified by the anger and cruelty some people have towards those who are ideologically different. Onstage, The Rite Of Passage took us into the psyche of those people. It is at once dark and illuminating.
FILM
1. The Jokers
Pray for the future of movies: the highest-grossing Thai film of 2016 was one that not everyone thinks is funny. Luang P Jazz 4G (Joking Jazz 4G) is a grinding hodgepodge of monk gags, wordplay and borderline tactlessness that confirms every prejudice one might have against Thai films. But because it was the sole smash hit of the year -- making 150 million baht in Bangkok and probably 100 more in the provinces -- the comedy, starring TV bozo Jazz Chuanchuen, became an unlikely saviour in an ever-unpredictable industry in desperate need of hits. Still, we're not hopelessly hooked on silliness: Jazz starred in another film, Padd 888 Rang Talu Narok (Bus From Hell), and while it wasn't a total flop, everyone agrees this should be the nail in this rotten coffin.
2. GDH's uncertain start
It is believed that everything they touch is gold, but we still need a little more time to prove that, now that the hit-making studio GTH has moulted into GDH559 and released two films in 2016 to mixed results. Their curtain-opener Fan Day, a romantic drama about female amnesia and Hokkaido tourism, started modestly before cruising to become a hit at nearly 100 million baht (though it had a mostly lukewarm response from critics and audiences). In December, the studio released Porn Jak Fah (New Year's Gift), an omnibus of short films based on King Bhumibol's royal compositions. Despite the sentimental value it projected, the film opened miserably before struggling to climb to around 40 million baht. It has been a sufficient though not spectacular year, and yet GDH559 will remain a prime player in Thai cinema next year.
3. Independent spirit
Thai independent films continue to laugh, cry, trudge on and endure the fate that has plagued them for years: the accusation of snobbery, the difficulty to finance, the limited, almost discriminatory release schedule. Among the notable indie titles of 2016 are Anocha Suwichakornpong's Dao Khanong (By The Time It Gets Dark); Prabda Yoon's Rong Raem Tang Dao (Motel Mist); Tanwarin Sukkhapisit's Pump Namman (A Gas Station), Pimpaka Towira's Mahasamut Lae Susan (The Island Funeral). These are films of diverse quality, but they are certainly different, brave, and at least try to offer something unfamiliar. The vital signs of Thai cinema depend on the survival of both mainstream hits and small titles with artistic merit.
4. No Cinema Paradiso
The two cinema chains in Thailand -- Major Cineplex and SF Cinema -- continue to function as the ultimate, impregnable arbiters of taste. Filmmakers need them to distribute their films, and they can say either yes or no. But 2016 has seen a sign of things to come: alternative screening spaces and the rise of streaming services. The new Bangkok Screening Room on Rama IV has opened, and traffic is said to have grown, while existing spaces such as House and Thai Film Archive remain steadfast in their programming. Meanwhile, Thai films have been included in streaming services such as Filmdoo and iFlix, and the way people can access films will continue to change in the near future. And speaking of cinemas, Scala's contract has been extended for another two years.
5. Honour to local son
The maturity and future of Thai cinema can't possibly move on without news of Apichatpong Weerasethakul receiving another honour. This year, the internationally well-known Thai filmmaker was a recipient of the prestigious Prince Claus Fund, which supports cultural visionaries working in parts of the world where resources and opportunities are limited and cultural heritage threatened. Apichatpong received the prize from HRH Crown Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands earlier this month and gave a moving speech about the importance of art and cultural expression at a time when such basic rights aren't guaranteed. That said, the filmmaker's much-praised Rak Ti Khon Kaen (Cemetery Of Splendour), which is featured in most best-of lists around the world, remains unreleased in Thailand.
