How did the project come into being?
It’s part of Wellcome Trust’s “Art in Global Heath” project which aims to present health research through various forms of art. This time around six independent artist collectives from six different countries were selected, including us as the Thailand representative. The project involves photo exhibitions, art activities and sculptures, while obviously we will focus on physical theatre. 

How did you work with Wellcome Trust to create this performance?
In Thailand, Wellcome Trust supports the Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, located nearby Victory Monument, where the main research focus is on malaria. I thought it would be interesting to study the scientists, doctors, researchers and even patients at the center. During the first two months of production, I went to the center to interview them. I also visited the Malaria Center based in Mae Sot and shot some footage. Also, at another site on the Thai-Cambodian border, I met a researcher who collects mosquito samples. He would sit and wait until a mosquito tried to bite him and then collect them one by one. I gathered all this knowledge to create the show.

So what is Survival Games all about?  
After my research, I thought that if we want to eliminate malaria and mosquitoes are the cause of it, why don’t we just destroy their natural habitats. But, of course, we can’t do that. Even if we could, it would probably mean increases in the populations of other types of mosquitoes bringing with it new diseases. So, elimination of mosquitos is not the solution; rather controlling their population is. With this, the word “survivor” popped up in my mind. Mosquitoes fight for their lives, just as humans do. In fact, if we view all creatures as members of the world, might not humans look like the parasites? One day the world might fight back, by creating a transmittable disease that kills millions, just like in the past. This is the idea behind Survival Games.

What can we expect from the show?
The idea is that there’s a situation where everyone is getting infected with a killer virus and only way to survive is to get on to a big ship. It is presented in a way that the audience and everyone in the hall is already on the ship. The performance will detail what happened to the world five years ago, before everyone got infected. There will be lots of visuals and footage I took during my research, as well as shadow puppetry. Pridi Institute will also feature an exhibition, complete with light and sound, that gives you the impression that you are part of the performance from the moment you walk in the door.

What do you see as the link between art and science?
As an artist, I initially thought that we come from a totally different world from scientists. But once I got to talk to some scientists and researchers about why they chose their job, some said it’s because it gives them more freedom to think. Of course, a scientist has to be accurate, but to be able to develop fully-formed ideas they also have to demonstrate creativity and imagination. Before conducting tests, they have to conduct research, just like we did. In the end, I think science and art both require creativity and imagination, they’re just exercised in different ways.

What’s next for B-Floor?
We plan to stage another four performances throughout the year, on top of Survival Games. There are no names yet, but mine will be about violence in the family. Violence is something I’m very interested in, but over the past three years, my shows have presented violence through political situations. This year, I’d like to keep things small-scale in terms of both production and subject matter. So I picked up on the theme of domestic violence, which is something that touches everyone. Other B-Floor works will be directed by the likes of Dujdao Vadhanapakorn and Nana Dakin, who was also my co-director for Survival Games.