In Conversation with Wichaya Artamat
Organised by: Esplanade - Theatres on the BayPerformed by: Wichaya Artamat (Thailand)
Synopsis:
Join us for a conversation with Wichaya Artamat unveiling the creative process behind each of his plays, starting with them as points on a timeline of Thai contemporary political history, and becoming an imaginary universe with hidden metaphors and allusions.
This is a companion programme to This Song Father Used to Sing (Three Days in May) (6 & 7 Sep 2024) at the Esplanade Theatre Studio. The Studios companion programmes are an invitation to deepen engagement with the artistic works and the conversations raised in the season.
Wichaya Artamat
Wichaya Artamat is a co-founding member of For What Theatre. He has been long captivated by performances, even when he was still studying film. He started working in theatre as a project coordinator for Bangkok Theatre Festival 2008. He joined the New Theatre Society in 2009, during which he grew to become a director recognised for various experimental forms and unconventional theatrical approaches.
Wichaya's work was awarded Best Play for two years in a row (2014 – 2015) by the International Theatre Critics Association, Thailand Centre (IATC). His international exposure started when he worked as an assistant director to Toshiki Okada's Pratthana which toured Bangkok, Paris, and Tokyo. Since the European premiere of his most prominent work This Song Father Used to Sing (Three Days in May) at Kunstenfestivaldesarts 2019, Wichaya has been extensively touring and creating in Europe, Asia and beyond.
Hailed as "one of the most promising contemporary theatre creators of Southeast Asia", Wichaya is especially interested in exploring how society remembers and unremembers its history through certain calendar days. He co-founded For What Theatre in 2015 and is also a member of Sudvisai Club and Collective Thai Scripts.