Dear Bobe’ -
Do you remember the part in the movie “About a Boy” where Hugh Grant’s character is trying to do good and seeks a part time volunteer gig at an Amnesty International call center and while he is flirting with some random female caller, the guy next to him is doing his job and telling a potential donor that in Burma, one can go to jail for telling jokes. Well, in the movie they are referring to Par Par Lay who is one 1/3 of the Mustache Brother Vaudeville/Comedy/Dance Troupe. Back, 40/30 years, Par Par Lay, his brother Lu Maw, and their cousin Lu Zaw (who does not have a mustache) had a very popular act that traveled all over the country performing. They got national notoriety when they performed a new act bashing the government outside Aung San Suu Kyi, the only jailed Nobel Peace Prize recipient, house in front of a Burmese audience. The government, obviously not having a sense of humor, arrested Par Par Lay (Lu Maw somehow amazingly was able to not get caught) and sentenced him to 7 years in jail. Par Par Lay has been jailed a total of three times and this is comically addressed during the show.
While Par Par Lay was jailed, Lu Maw self-taught himself English and decided he was going to perform shows for tourists which was the only way to continue on the act since the troupe is banned from performing for local nationals. They are also banned to performances inside their house so every night at 2000 there is a show held in the front room that has about 8 plastic chairs available, a small wooden stage, and a heavily decorated wall full of mariettes to support another brother who makes them. There are also a lot of wooden signs that Lu Maw uses to support his government bashing comedy act.
When I walked inside the house, Lu Maw immediately told me I was very lucky because I would be the guest of honor and have the privilege to sit in the same chair Aung San Suu Kyi sat in when she attended their show during her brief release from house arrest. Lu Maw asked me where I was from and when I said the US, he excitedly declared his love for Obama cause “He’s black, like me!” Lu Maw must get a ton of information from other travelers because he told us to make sure we all take notes, pictures and update our blogs and Facebook. The brothers feel it is worth the risk to perform their shows for tourists in hopes the outside international community will help in getting rid of all the oppression that ordinary citizens encounter on a daily basis. One of his jokes is how Burma is so rich with their three types of electricity: 1) government, 2) Chinese, and 3) generator. Oh, how our country is so poor with only one type. Punch line, westernized countries have 24 hour power. Another joke he told is how he recently made a trip to Thailand to visit a dentist, where he freely got involved with the red shirt demonstrators. Once at the dentist, the dentist asked, “Where are you from?” and Lu Maw answered, “Burma”. The dentist then asked, “Why come to Thailand? So Lu Maw responded “Because in my country, I am not allowed to open my mouth”. Punch line, there is no freedom of speech. Of course this joke is theoretical because I’m sure Lu Maw does not have a passport or the freedom to openly travel outside his country.
The Mustache Brother’s Show is just not bashing the government for Lu Maw also makes jokes about his wife, his brother who is “#1 Brother, when he dies, I will be #1!”, and the Chinese. The act is a family affair and Lu Maw’s wife was a once famous dancer whose still beautiful (if not too over made up) face graced an older Italian edition of Lonely Planet. A fact Lu Maw is very proud to show off.
His wife and his sister in law perform various traditional dances that were a bit cheesy at times, but also entertaining. For English as a second language guests, it must be a really nice relief to have the non-verbal variety because at times Lu Maw’s English is a bit hard to understand.
The show lasts about an hour and at the end they sell t shirts for $5 which must be the real bread and butter. I have never seen such a variety of colors and designs for a souvenir t-shirt. They had the Mustache Brother screenprint over t shirts that already had designer slogans or where bright colored stripes. There were some interesting, one of a kind, mix bag (if not down right hideous) t-shirt selection to choose from. If Russians visited Burma they would go nuts for it’s that kind of style.
Jo and Tim where too tired to go see the show but I am so glad to have went because the brothers are old (well into their 60’s) and it was fascinating to see a family risk so much to tell foreigners, complete strangers, their true life experiences as an ordinary Burmese citizen i.e., one without government perks of free education or health care. I feel it was a must thing to do while in Burma and like the sign says above their house, “If you have not seen our dancing, you cannot say you’ve been to Mandalay.”
Much love…
Ness
aaah! i thought it was also a wax museum. honey needs to tone the make-up down!