Watching a 115-minute episode of a Kabuki play "Sugawara and the Secrets of Calligraphy" at a playhouse called Kabuki-za in the Ginza on Tuesday evening, I was surprised to find that the 1,906 seats were almost filled up by an enthusiastic audience. Teenagers were not part of this, understandably so, but the majority were not elderly, as I had expected, but people of middle age, and there were more women than men.
Part of the reason for the high turnout is the fact that the historic venue will close for major rebuilding in May, and many star performers have returned for this farewell season. But after further inquiry, I found that, farewell or not, large audiences always turn up and show their support for Kabuki, which is performed in three different programmes -morning, afternoon and evening - from 11am to 9pm every day.
Each programme has two to four acts, and the patron can choose to watch each programme from late morning to late evening, one programme, or only one act - and ticket prices vary accordingly. While the price for a box seat on the first floor for the whole-day costs 17,000 yen (about Bt6,100), a ticket for one act only, seated in the last two rows of the third floor, costs just 700 yen (Bt250). And while die-hard fans book for the best seats months in advance, the cheapest tickets are only available 30 minutes before each act, and in this long queue are many foreign tourists, mainly independent travellers who are not part of a tour group. The theatre has an English-language Web site that provides enough information for tourists to show up at the right time.
This kind of ticket pricing scheme makes much sense. If you're a Kabuki aficionado who comes prepared with a script in hand, so you can read the lines while following the actors' performances, then you will naturally want to stay for at least one full programme, if not the whole day. However, if you're a casual fan or a tourist who just wants a glimpse of this traditional performing art, then you can stay for just an hour or two.
Apart from souvenirs, audience members can also purchase bento-style food and drinks, and snacks, and can enjoy them in the seats on certain floors, or in the foyer, where there are also vending machines, during the intermissions. And we're talking about serious food here, so it seems that the theatre management wants people to stay as long as they can, and they do. A Japanese friend informed me that a must try is a dessert sold exclusively at Kabuki-za, known as Kabuki ice-cream.
Language is not a problem either. In addition to an informative English-language programme booklet that costs 500 yen (Bt180), for another 600 yen (Bt215), plus a 1,000 yen (Bt360) deposit, a visitor can rent earphones for a good translation of the narration and the dialogue, as well as an explanation of the Kabuki tradition. The soundtrack feeds into one ear, while the other is free to listen to the actual sound in the theatre. They also have this helpful device at the Bunraku and National theatres.
And this is when I thought of our own National Theatre.
Whenever I see tourists in the audience at the National Theatre, I admire their immense effort. Not only is it very difficult - even for the Thai public, who are not die-hard fans - to find out what's currently being performed there, or how to purchase tickets, each show there lasts more than three hours, and there is no English translation of any kind. It's as if to say that it's for the viewing pleasure of those who understand the Thai language only.
This is unfortunate, as tourism is the country's top income earner. Many traditional Thai artists - in dance, theatre and music - make their living by performing short shows in hotels, resorts and restaurants in addition to spectacular shows like Phuket Fantasea and Siam Niramit. Many say that this is not the way these arts should be performed, and not how they should be preserved.
Many tourists, no matter how wealthy they are, opt for Thai restaurants filled with locals and without an English-language menu, to experience our world famous cuisine. Similarly perhaps, many might also want to watch, understand and enjoy Khon or Lakhon Nai the way they're performed to local audiences, not the edited-for-tourists versions like the one at Chalhermkrung. But most tourists just don't have three hours in a tight schedule to spare. The time issue also applies to the general Thai public as well.
Our National Theatre is in such a prime location that it takes only ten minutes to walk there from the city's top tourist attraction, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. If we really believe that the way to preserve our performing arts heritage is to stick to the traditional way - and this is what the National Theatre has been doing - then why can't we draw tourists there, and why can't we attract more Thai people there?
I choose not to linger on the food and beverage component, as I'm quite sure it's impossible to improve what's currently on offer. No matter how much the Thais and Japanese love good food, it seems that the concept of Western decorum practised at our National Theatre is so strong that a part of our Thainess has been neglected - and so we have to settle for mediocre snacks from a small stall, or walk for 10 minutes to the nearest restaurant.
And by the way, has the National Theatre re-opened? And can anyone tell me what the Web site is? Every time I Google it, tourist sites come up instead.
