Mawlamyine, March (5)
The traditional dramatic event, Zat Thabin, in Mon state are at risk of disappearing due to COVID-19 outbreak and the military takeover, members of a performance troupe told Than Lwin Times.
The COVID-19 outbreak that began early in 2020, a subsequent military coup, curfew restrictions, and the unrest in the country have all led to the suspension of dramatic events, and it has been three years since they haven’t staged plays.
The performance troupes who make a living from performing arts are now struggling to support their families, and most of them have left the world of ‘Zat Thabin’, traditional dramatic performance.
Under the military regime, some members of performance troupes worked as taxi drivers and daily wage laborers, and some of them went abroad to work, a former member of Thabin troupe said.
At present, some Thabin troupe are finding it difficult to survive as they only receive between 500,000 and 1,000,000 kyats per performance for charity events and festivals.
The performance troupes said they no longer preserve traditional performing arts because they are struggling to make ends meet.
One of the dance troupe founders warned that if it isn’t given permission to perform in the next two years, Zat Thabin would vanish from the entertainment world, as it’s difficult to obtain permissions for entertainment owing to the political climate and the pandemic.
On the other hand, the traditional dance troupes took loans from the military council to be able to perform again, but they were unable to repay them, leading to the fact that some troupes were completely disbanded.
In Mon State, there are 42 Mon and Burmese Thabin troupes, but after the military coup, they are no longer allowed to perform, and some have stopped operating permanently, leaving thousands of theaters that depend on them unemployed.
News-Than Lwin Times
