Expat Blues May 31, 2008
Posted by Martin in : Leisure , add a comment
On May 31st Tik and I went to see the amateur dramatic comedy ‘Expat Blue’ at the Novotel Lotus hotel in Bangkok.
Tickets cost about 1,500 baht each and included a comprehensive buffet dinner before the show began. We’d have not known about this at all if it hadn’t been for a friend of ours spotting a mention of it in the newspaper.
It’s rare to find live plays in Bangkok and we were keen to support them. Having lived in Bangkok for nearly 7 years now and having spent pretty much all my free time with Tik for the last 4 years it’s important for us to look for different things to occupy us.
I didn’t have expecially high expectations for Expat Blue but both Tik and I were very impressed with it. Comedic aspects touch on truisms that myself and probably every expat here has comment on in frustration at times. Sketches included the farcial life of the high-society expat wives here, the Sukumvit Road tourist area that, due to vendors, elephants, touts, a completely ridiculous cycle lane that runs right through the center of the already-slim pavement is nearly impossible to walk along.
The show made both of us laugh out loud at many times. Nearly every joke hit home as something relevant to me and Tik probably fely very assured that it uisn’t jsut me who pokes fun at Thailand life.
The only thing that we really did not like was the blue transvestite character (see photo) that served at compere for the show. The character was annoying, humorless and, if you were Hindu quite insulting. It seems that the acress playing the character must have iniststed in using her trademark character as part of the play and by the erscond act I could feel my blood pressure rising when one act finished and she returned to the stage.