Taboos smashed in the street leap onto the stage at Thai theatre festival

The yellow rubber ducks, catch phrases (“Okay, No. 1!” or “Very brave. Very good. Thank you.”) and ideological clashes raging in the streets nationwide are also resonating in theatres with artists expressing their stances on the stage.

Biting satire of royal proportions, hilarious allegories that left little room for interpretation and timely takes on today’s politics shortened the distance between stage and street this year at the Bangkok Theatre Festival.

The return of Thailand’s longest-running contemporary theatre festival, held annually since 2002, was anything but sure in a year that saw the performing arts paralyzed for months due to the pandemic. While some artists and companies kept active by experimenting with technology to create online performances, play-reading or streaming past works, it wasn’t until July that audiences were welcomed back…