'เพลงนี้พ่อเคยร้อง'

Had to watch this Thai production — 'This Song Father Used to Sing (Three Days in May)' / เพลงนี้พ่อเคยร้อง. This play is written and directed by playwright Wichaya Artamat and produced by Sasapin Sriwanij. The actors are Parnrut Kritchanchai (plays the sister) and Jaturachai Srichanwanpen (as the brother). 

This is a story that allows audiences to see how ordinary people can survive in a world in which they will never win, dead or alive. A world that will repeat itself May after May, day after day. A world that plays its people into the politics of the invariably unpolitical story of life. 

Ordinary, simple and mundane. A younger brother and older sister reunited at their old childhood home on the death anniversary of their father in remembrance for a few years after his death before they stopped the practice and sold their home. 

The siblings and the family were Thai-Chinese, and hence they used to know the old Chinese songs and follow the practice of burning joss paper for the deceased, and having a few meals over three days each May. The siblings talked about nothing in particular, yet reflected on the bittersweetness of life and what they have experienced. and they didn't seem that clued in on each other's lives, although they seemed to still care for each other. 

ละครยังให้รายละเอียดระหว่างทางอีกเต็มไปหมด อย่างความน่ารักของสองพี่น้องที่จู่ๆ พี่สาวก็หยิบกระดาษกงเต็กมาพับเป็นกระดาษใส่นิ้วเสี่ยงทาย “เอาเลขอะไร กี่รอบ” หรือการพูดถึง ‘กล่องเขา’ ที่เก็บความลับในวัยเด็กของน้องชายที่พี่สาวเคยแอบเปิดดูแล้วเพิ่งบอกกัน แฝงการพยายามเลียบเคียงถามเรื่องเพศสภาพของน้อง ซึ่งเป็นตัวตนอีกด้านที่พี่สาวไม่เคยได้เข้าไปรู้จัก และคนน้องก็ไม่ได้มีท่าทีอยากเปิดเผยหรือหยิบขึ้นมาแชร์กัน พี่สาวเองก็ไม่ได้เผยด้าน

17 May 2015, 19 May 2018, and finally some years later on 22 May.  

These dates in May on different calendar years seemed to be politically significant in Thai political history — May 1992, May 2010, and May 2014 all were protests against the military regime, and the establishment of the junta regime for five years. The politics references were breezed over. I suppose no Thai play really wants to linger on these publicly. 

The familiar Chinese melodies that came on hit a spot with the audience. It's called nostalgia, which will tug at everyone's heartstrings because we all remember the days of our grandparents, the older folks. Those were simpler days. Life was hard, but kinda easy. Yeah, it's an oxymoron. 

It's really quite funny with all the word play of Thai pronunciation, song lyrics and such. You know what bothered me a tad? That the surtitles came on in fully before the actors finished their lines. I was bothered because I wasn't reading the surtitles and people started laughing, and I couldn't hear properly what the actors said, so I had to look up at the surtitles. AIYAHHHH. 

Towards the end of the play, at the third reunion, the brother finally asked his sister the question that I was sure everyone was thinking; at least I was — 'Why do you always wear the same clothes on this day?' LOL She was in the same set of pyjamas. FWIW, she said simply liked wearing it. Hahahaha. 

I raised eyebrows at the squares of joss paper 'cash/money' left on our seats at the start of the show. Well, at least it's in red and gold instead of the standard funereal gold and white. Otherwise the messaging is quite wrong. Ermmm. I left mine behind. I had no interest to take it home. Luckily Seventh Month is over. As much as I'm not superstitious, I follow the adage, 'why tempt fate'. Heh.