'ART' by NUNi Productions

The whole point of taking this trip to Bangkok, is to see friends and watch Yasmine Reza's 'ART' staged by NUNi Productions. The show has traveled to Chiang Mai, Songkhla, Isan, Hat Yai, and is going to Hua Hin, and Chiang Mai again. It will always return to Bangkok, so I was determined to catch the show in Bangkok, and I was so pleased that I made it. 

Directed by Pattarasuda 'Bua' Anuman Rajadhon, this iteration is shorter at 90 minutes, and felt a lot more compact. It was absolutely delightful! It was heavier on the comedic lines and stressed a lot more on friendship between the three men and their relationship since the director and actors wanted to reach out to a wider audience across Thai provinces. The set is kept simple so that it's adaptable to any performance space the team turns up at. This Bangkok July run is held at Jim Thompson Art Center. 

The actors use their own names in the show, and used national artist Kamol's name as the artist for the 'white painting'. Heh. The production sees Pawit Mahasarinand as Pom, is the buyer of the painting, Nikorn Saetang is Nikorn, the one slated to be married and works at the his uncle-in-law's stationery business, and Damkerng Thitapiyasak is Dam, the 'antagonist' and 'rebel' of the play who is appalled that his friend bought a white painting for 1.2 million baht.

Stayed on for the post-show talk, conducted in Thai, of course. I wasn't actually sure that I could comprehend all of it, especially if it had theater references. But I pretty much understood the conversation. I had to translate for the man, but I didn't do an everything-translation. I simply translated the gist of the questions and the answers provided by director Bua and the actors. There were some comments from the audiences that weren't framed as questions, but rather, as a statement or by way of thanking the actors for their hard work.

The man was rather tickled. He has seen this play in different languages, but not in English. Hahah. He really enjoyed the show. The English and French surtitles projected on the screen had excellent timing vis à vis the actors' delivery of lines. He also preferred this iteration in Thai over the Taiwanese adaptation (presented in Mandarin) by Godot Theatre Company. 

At the post-show dialogue.
From left: Pawit, Dam, Nikorn, and director Bua.