Real Theatre in Bangkok? London homo in shock!

My memories of summer school courses at the Laban centre in London are vague at best. It has nothing to do with the fact that, at the time, I was entranced by rave culture and excessive amphetamine consumption - honest.


I distinctly remember the opposing schools of thought which have permeated my love of contemporary Theatre ever since. Vallie Myer wonderfully championed a purely conceptual mode of expression, and the fantastic Lyndsey Kemp reveled in a more lampoonish classical mime technique that relied heavily on gesturalism.


I shall leave the particulars of this on-going debate to the movement analysts, suffice to say, I gave up going to contemporary dance performances in London a long time ago.


The main reason? It can be completely boring. The sheer weight of 'serious artistic credibility' in the high arts has a tendency to crush anything familiar or endearing, by labeling it "cliche." Ultimately; I believe,  this renders the high arts quite sterile and devoid of tangible humility. They remain an impenetrable fortress to many people. This perversely imbues a pompous audience with a sense of superiority. Should there be such elitism in genuine art appreciation? 


Oh how the beard-stroking intelligentsia tutted as my friend and I laughed at Javier de Frutos, many moons ago. He wore a tasseled skirt and convulsed, like he was having a fit, to a soundtrack of people speaking in tongues. Apparently he wasn't trying to be funny. It was serious art.


One never really knows what to expect with contemporary dance. I was pleasantly shocked by B-floor. 


Lear and his daughters is a wonderful piece of theatre. It combines canonical Western contemporary dance techniques with classical mime, to present a genuinely interesting tableau. The performance manages to marry high art conceptualism, with a more corporeal empathy of the human condition. Many of the motifs remind me of the work of Doris Humphrey. They are asymmetrical in construction, but they are not awkward, they express an authentic tenderness. These are beautifully countered by classical mime scenarios which remind me of Lyndsey Kemp. Overall the effect is engaging, endearing and genuinely moving. This is by far the most original piece of western style theatre I have witnessed in Bangkok. 


The fools are fabulous.


Naturally I fell in love with the fools; why do I always fall in love with the fools? It's the story of my life.


Follow the link for more B-floor information. B-Floor