Theatre of the Disturbed is a an independent performance ensemble based in Yangon, Myanmar. It was founded in 2005 by Burmese theatre/performance artist Nyan Lin Htet and French musician/ humanitarian worker Lorène Tamain with the intention of promoting contemporary theatre and performance practice and intercultural exchange within such domains in Myanmar.

Such an event came about last month. I was not able to attend and I’m hard-pressed to find a review or mini-catalog introducing this particular event’s concept, but my friend was kind enough to provide me with a few photos he took of the event. Nyan Lin Thet is an artist and fantastic project organizer, creating workshops and exhibition/performances around Myanmar. I find our research quite similar in the sense that he projects elements of theatre onto his performance art and encourages others to do the same through his workshops. He also studied and performed theatre, so his performance art partially comes out of that previous study and exposure. I also made a poor attempt in my thesis to relate contemporary performance art to pre-colonial, traditional performance. I hope one day I can discuss my findings with him.

Nyan Lin Htet also brings a bit of multiculturalism to this globalised world by performing ritualistic actions of a traditional nature in his theatre – see the featured image to get a better idea. In this particular event, held at the Institut Francais, including artists such as Ma Ei, Aye Ko, Nyein Chan Su, Sann Oo, Byo Kyi, and Aung Myint. Notice how they are all performing simultaneously, but not necessarily interacting. All photos courtesy of Htoo Lwin Myo.