I also attended a performance by the Moustache Brothers' Troupe. Who are they? In 1996, brothers Par Par Lay and Lu Zaw, two of the Moustache Brothers, a trio known for its jokes about the omnipresent secret service, were sentenced to five years of jail and hard labor after making fun of the country's ruling generals during a rally at the home of democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi.
Their crime? "Spreading false news."
A campaign subsequently launched by Amnesty International helped win the release in 2001 of the aging performers and secured government approval to resume performing. Only there was one caveat: They were effectively barred from performing in the Myanmar language, which meant that the majority of their audience would have to be tourists.
L-R: U Pa Pa Lay, U Lu Maw and U Lu Zau. U Lu Maw is the only one who is fluent in English therefore runs the show. The show is performed in the home of the banned trio.
Lu Maw's wife. She was featured on the front cover of an earlier Italian version of Lonely Planet Myanmar wearing a princess costume.
0 comments:
Post a Comment