Events

CHAIRPERSON

Assoc Prof Maitrii Aung Thwin, Department of History, National University of Singapore

ABSTRACT

In Burma/Myanmar and Thailand, theatre-makers engaged in social and political change work in diverse contexts and within diverse communities. They develop participatory performance projects which attempt to address and navigate ongoing societal shifts. Through programmes of intercultural exchange, these theatre-makers share experiences, performance skills and traditions, pedagogies, and ideological positions. As a result social and aesthetic processes coalesce and coagulate within existing networks of people and practices. Studying such programmes of exchange can potentially reveal a regional ethos of theatre-making engaged in social change.

During intercultural processes and events, misunderstandings and misrecognitions between participants can arise. Culturally specific perspectives and affective practices come into contact with one another, and at times collide. Such dynamics can create feelings of awkwardness and confusion, which in turn produce subtle silences that shape the theatre-making social environ. Yet, how to account for such silences with specificity?

To begin answering this question, I consider the comparative cultural concepts of anadeh – Burma/Myanmar, and kreng jai – Thailand, and their embodied presences in intercultural programmes of theatre exchange. Both concepts have been described as consideration or deference towards the feelings of others, particularly in relation to felt intimacy, and social hierarchy. Almost forty years ago, anthropologist Bekker characterised anadeh as an entity that could destabilise social and political interactions, with such deference to others feelings also creating potential for manipulation (Bekker 1981). Contemporaneously, psychological anthropologist Casanitti suggests that kreng jai represents respect for others, not only performances of social obligation (Casanitti 2015). Anadeh and kreng jai hold significant agency in the social interactions of everyday life in Burma/Myanmar and Thailand. I suggest programmes of intercultural theatre exchange provide a research context, and venue to effectively model and compare anadeh and kreng jai, and the subtle silences they can contribute towards producing.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Matthew Yoxall was trained in theatre in the UK. He has worked as a drama and theatre practitioner since 1998, initially specialising in storytelling, museum education and community arts. Since 2003, he has been based in the Mekong sub-region developing participatory drama and theatre based projects, working with community based organisations, inter-governmental agencies, government ministries, and NGOs. These projects have focussed on issues that affect migrant populations, such as human trafficking, immigration detention, HIV, and health and well being. From 2007-2010, Matthew worked as a theatre-maker in the largely ethnic Karen and Karenni refugee camps in West Thailand, on projects concerning refugee resettlement, prevention of violence against women, and the refugee community’s access to legal assistance. Exploring the relationships between practice and research, Matthew is currently in the final stages of his PhD candidature at NUS.

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