On the ninth day of the ninth month of the year 2549, the Patravadi Theatre opened a new performance space. "Studio 9, Creative Arts Space and Technology" is the official name.

We know that the main stage - the roofed, open-air, 300-seat Theatre in the Garden and the small stage where Dhamma Theatre was held every Sunday afternoon is "Studio 1". Soon, the latter will be turned into a puppet theatre with regular weekly performances.

So, where are Studios 2 to 8? It doesn't matter. Nine is an auspicious number. In Thailand it's associated with progress, and sure enough, "The String of Fragmentation", the inaugural show at Studio 9, fits perfectly.

The Thai title provides more meanings: "Rao Roi Rueang" is literally "like a hundred stories", or "like connected stories", roi serving as a pun.

Settling into the four rows of movable seats in this intriguing performance space, we see an actress in a straitjacket lying sideways on a table whose legs are half wrapped in plastic.

Stories begin to be uttered in no logical order, but many lines are so familiar that it might be possible to connect them with events in your own life.

A subtle yet powerful moment comes when the woman, having shed the straitjacket, sits in a chair, calmly folding a few lotus leaves while giving us examples of how "busy" we all are. In the end, she shows us one of the easiest ways to end the frustration we might feel.

No, I won't spoil it here.

Panisa Puvapiromquan triple-tasks as playwright, performer and director in this thoroughly engaging work. Theatre fans may remember her as the 2000 winner of the Sodsai Award, the national playwriting competition for university students. The press knows her as the Patravadi Theatre's marketing manager.

Few people, though, would ever imagine her performing onstage. Yet this solo show is a stunner.

Her clear diction and remarkable concentration and sincerity result in a naturalistic and intense (though not tense) style of acting.

Ellen Reid's eerie music and Patrick Palucki's low-key lighting further enhance the mood.

On the slightly negative side, Palucki's video footage, probably shot from a car somewhere in Europe, looks too generic to be used in this play.

After the 35-minute performance, a post-show discussion allows the audience to speak their minds. Last Saturday, many concurred that some of the fragmented stories, certain words and many lines struck a chord in their own lives.

They agreed, too, that there was no one single interpretation of the play. Hearing this, the playwright and actress was obviously happy.

A kindergarten teacher in the audience advocated more effort in audience development so that there will be more access to this kind of experimental work in the future.

Please note that, before the show, a synopsis in both Thai and English is projected onto a screen. Viewers may want to be a little adventurous and ignore it, instead letting their mind wander with the performer.

Tomorrow and Saturday are the final performances of "The String of Fragmentation", at 7.30pm. Tickets are Bt300 (Bt250 for students).

Upcoming at Patravadi:

l Solo dance theatre by 2005 Silpathorn Award winner Manop Meejamras. "Wanthong: Nang Phu Pen Mak Kwa Ying Songchai" is his unique interpretation, inspired by Buddhist teachings. That's at 7.30 from October 6 to 8 and 13 to 15. Tickets are Bt500 (half that for students).

l In late October, ballet dancer and choreographer Sirithorn "Mum" Srichalakom presents her new multimedia dance work, "Notice".

For more information, call (02) 412 7287 8 or visit www.patravaditheatre.com.

Pawit  Mahasarinand

 The Nation