Calypso Cabaret

Calypso Cabaret
Calypso Cabaret logo
GenreCabaret
Show typeResident
Date of premiere1988 (1988)
Location2194 Charoen Krung Road, Wat Phraya Krai, Bang Kho Laem, Bangkok, Thailand
Creative team
DirectorBeer Sirita
Official website

Calypso Cabaret (Thai: คาลิปโซ่ คาบาเร่ต์[1]) is a Thai transgender cabaret. It is performed at the open-air mall Asiatique in Bangkok. Calypso Cabaret was founded in 1988 in a renovated movie theater on Sukhumvit Road. It relocated to the Ambassador Hotel theater in 1992 and later to Asia Hotel on Phaya Thai Road. It moved in 2012 to its current location, Asiatique on Charoen Krung Road. The show's director is German television actor Hans Hoenicke. According to The Nation, the company has achieved "international fame stardom" through consistently being called a "must do experience" in travel blogs, periodicals, and travel guides.[2]

Publications have called the show's entertainers "kathoey", "ladyboy", "transgender", "transsexual", and "transvestite" performers.[a] With 16 acts during the show, the transgender performers lip sync and dance to songs. Calypso Cabaret features songs from a variety of genres including classical music, oldies, avant-garde music, rhythm and blues, and Thai ballads. There are Carmen Miranda and Marilyn Monroe impersonators. There is classical music from China, Japan, Korea, and Thailand.

Calypso Cabaret is billed as a family-friendly show with skilled performers who provide funny entertainment. The show's audience was largely Bangkok residents in the upper middle class and middle class with farang holidaymakers making up a substantial portion. By 2000, foreign visitors had eclipsed Thai people, who no longer visited as much. The show received largely positive reviews. Commentators praised the ravishing costumes, the spirited dancing, and the excellent acting.

  1. ^ "ชมโชว์สาวประเภทสอง "คาลิปโซ่ แบงคอก" ได้แล้วที่เอเชียทีค" [Watch the ladyboy show "Calypso Bangkok" now at Asiatique]. Manager Daily (in Thai). 1 October 2012. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  2. ^ Klangboonkrong, Manta (7 February 2013). "Calypso sees red: Bangkok's first cabaret settles down in its new and luxurious home at Asiatique". The Nation. ProQuest 1285194319. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  3. ^ Farber, Rebecca D. (2019). The Gendered Technostate: Transnational Health Flows, Local Inequalities (PDF) (PhD thesis). Boston University. pp. 61–62. ProQuest 2378922918. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  4. ^ Bindloss, Joseph (2006). Harewood, Jocelyn; Battersby, Vanessa (eds.). Bangkok. Footscray, Melbourne: Lonely Planet. p. 94. ISBN 1-74104-941-5. Retrieved 16 January 2024 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ^ Bush, Austin (2016) [1992]. Bangkok (12 ed.). Footscray, Melbourne: Lonely Planet. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-78657-011-6. Retrieved 16 January 2024 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ^ Martin, Nicola (14 May 2023). "Thailand is a whole other experience with children in tow". The Post. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  7. ^ Shippen, Mick (29 December 2014). "Find the Perfect Gift at Asiatique -The Riverfront". Bangkok Post. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  8. ^ Cornwel-Smith, Philip; Osborne, Laurie; Wrisley, Jarrett; Jotisalikorn, Chami; Mertens, Brian (2010). Bangkok: What's New, What's On, What's Best. London: Time Out Group. p. 126. ISBN 978-1-84670-147-4. Retrieved 16 January 2024 – via Internet Archive.
  9. ^ Farber, Reya (21 December 2023). "Transitioning Thailand: Techno-professionalism and nation-building in the transgender entertainment industry". Gender, Work and Organization. doi:10.1111/gwao.13104.
  10. ^ MacDonald, Phil (2015) [2006]. Thailand (4 ed.). Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society. p. 102. ISBN 978-1-4262-1464-6. Retrieved 16 January 2024 – via Internet Archive.
  11. ^ Hensen, Maartje (2023). Pride Atlas. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. p. 350. ISBN 978-1-7972-1755-0. Retrieved 16 January 2024 – via Google Books.
  12. ^ a b Pravden, Marjorie (23 November 2003). "Thailand's Exotic Beauty Masks a Threat". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  13. ^ Stewart, Simon (2017) [1988]. Tracanelli, Carine (ed.). Bangkok City Guide (6 ed.). Singapore: Insight Guides. p. 88. ISBN 978-1-78671-597-5. Retrieved 16 January 2024 – via Internet Archive.
  14. ^ Murray, Joe (18 May 1997). "Plenty to learn in newspapers". The Orange Leader. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Gecker, Jocelyn (25 May 2012). "Born this way? Lady Gaga meets Thai 'lady boys'". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  16. ^ Dailing, Paul (7 December 2008). "Bangkok's red light district suffers from political chaos". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  17. ^ Kazmin, Amy (10 July 2004). "Deliver them from evil". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  18. ^ Emmons, Ron (2010) [2008]. Top 10 Bangkok. London: DK. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-40535-598-8. Retrieved 16 January 2024 – via Internet Archive.
  19. ^ Norcutt, Michael (1994). Thai Scene. London: Gay Men's Press. p. 68. ISBN 0-85449-224-0. Retrieved 16 January 2024 – via Internet Archive.
  20. ^ Buckley, Michael (1992). Bangkok Handbook. Chico, California: Moon Publications. p. 167. ISBN 0-918373-67-0. Retrieved 16 January 2024 – via Internet Archive.


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