The country became mired down in political discord, and in 2014, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) headed by the army commander Prayut Chanocha (the current prime minister) declared martial law, suspended the constitution, and succeeded in seizing absolute power. Following the coup of 2006, when Thaksin Shinawatra, a former businessman who was elected prime minister, was forced out of office because of opposition to his radical administrative and economic reform, strife intensified mainly due to the confrontation between the Thaksin supporters, who wore red shirts (red standing for Thaksin), and the yellow-shirted royalists. Following the revolution that took place in 1932 and ushered in a constitutional monarchy, Thailand has experienced coups at a rate of about one every ten years. The street image undoubtedly caused the Bangkok audiences to recall the frequent demonstrations in Thailand beginning in the first half of the 20th century and the military coups dвЂ™etat that arose to suppress them. But at the same time, the resulting prolixity and discursiveness transform the black-box space into a street in overcrowded Bangkok. It is, of course, impossible to completely control living and breathing human beings, and the duration of four hours tires the actors and deprives them of their caution. Whereas вЂњWakatta-sanвЂќ treats sundry, non-living articles as devices for driving the imagination, вЂњPratthanaвЂќ uses the bodies and gestures of the cast and staff as вЂњartвЂќ for the imagination. вЂњWakatta-san no KukkiвЂќ (first performed in 2016), for which Teppei Kaneuji served as scenographer, comes close to it. As compared to his other plays over the last few years, which generally revolve around from two to four actors (and actresses) and require a high degree of concentration on the part of the audience, it makes one conscious of a certain desultory character. The sight of a total of just under 20 people moving in all directions across the stage is something not seen in OkadaвЂ™s previous works. The technical booth is in plain view from the audience seating, and the cast and staff members busily go back and forth across the playground as chora to move the scattered set articles and equipment, and to change clothes. They include Yuya Tsukahara, who handles the scenography (meaning apprehension of the situation, place, and scene in terms of color, shape, and space, through the visual and aural senses*) Takuya Matsumi as scenography assistant also in charge of the video (both of these two being members of the troupe contact Gonzo) Masamitsu Araki, who designs the sound Kyoko Fujitani, in charge of costuming Pornpan Arayaveerasid performing the lighting design Wichaya Artamat as assistant director, and Kazushi Ota as stage director. In addition to the cast of 11 Thai actors and actresses, all members of the creative team are involved in the performance, as if they were also acting in it. But the particularly noteworthy points are as follows. It is also the first Okada work to be created in Thailand. Another is that it is an adaptation of вЂњRang Khong PratthanaвЂќ (вЂњSilhouette of Desire,вЂќ published in 2016 by Juti Press), an autobiographical novel by Uthis Haemamool. This work, which is Toshiki OkadaвЂ™s latest, is exceptional in the context of his career thus far in several ways. This is the kind of story told by вЂњPratthana.вЂќ

Yet it would perhaps be impossible for anyone to escape from this cycle (excluding the use of several tragic methods). This change definitely may not be desirable.

What the audience experiences over the four-hour run are several cycles of change undergone by the protagonist Khaosing and the country in which he was born and raised. In other words, these two scenes leave a strong impression of cycle as the keynote of this work. While taking about four hours to tell a tale spanning this period of roughly a quarter of a century, вЂњPratthana вЂ“ A Portrait of PossessionвЂќ begins and ends with exactly the same two actors portraying two couples, i.e., a pair of lovers and a teacher and his student, on the stage. More specifically, it begins with a transition from a poolside scene in 2016 to a riverside one in 1992, and ends at a scene on Rama VIII Bridge over the Chao Phraya River on October 13, 2016. The long, long story begins at waterside and ends there. Translated from the Japanese by James Koetting 2018.12.13 Thu Features The Story of Your Life вЂ“ вЂњPratthana вЂ“ A Portrait of PossessionвЂќ Review вЂ“пј€8 Taisuke Shimanukiпј‰