Past Productions

Our Journey on Stage

Every production tells a story—not just in the script, but in the community of artists, crew, and audiences who brought it to life. Explore our archive of some of our past performances, unforgettable seasons, and the creative work that has shaped English-language theater in Chiang Mai.

The Cage Birds 2026
David Campton’s 1978 play The Cagebirds explores freedom, control, and individuality within a single room, where women embodying distinct human traits live under the rule of the Mistress. Their routine shatters when the rebellious Wild One arrives to challenge their confinement.

Directed by Claire Gordon with an all-female cast, this revival reframes the classic allegory for the modern era—examining conformity, digital isolation, and the daunting cost of liberation. Staged for International Women’s Day, this gripping production highlights the metaphorical cages that still constrain women today.

Restive Souls

A Haunting Docudrama on Modern-Day Slavery

World Premiere in Chiang Mai 2025

Written and directed by Stephan Turner, Restive Souls is a stark, unflinching docudrama confronting the global crisis of modern-day slavery.

The play follows Detective Max Soto through a harrowing investigation that uncovers the deeply personal journeys of five survivors of forced labor and sexual exploitation. Giving voice to their courage and resilience, Restive Souls transcends traditional theater to deliver a visceral call to action in the fight for freedom and justice.

Audience Advisory: Recommended for mature audiences due to intense themes, explicit situations, and strong language.

Hangman 2024

A Gripping Courtroom Drama

Presented by BABSEACLE and The Gate Theater in observance of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, A.W. Richardson’s Hangman returns to Chiang Mai.

The story centers on Mary Beth Langmeyer, on trial for first-degree murder after allegedly killing her abusive husband. As the tense legal showdown unfolds, the audience serves as the jury—voting on the final verdict and confronting the real-world complexities of abuse, self-defense, and justice.

November 27–30, 2024

For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow is Enuf

Review by Marie F. | September 2023

"Unwavering in its honesty, this is perhaps the best Gate Theater production I've seen in the dozen or more years I've been in the audience. The sisters in that rainbow didn't just shine... they glittered!"

Seven women clad in the hues of the rainbow brought a glittering arc of Black women’s experiences to the AUA Auditorium in Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When The Rainbow Is Enuf. Directed brilliantly by Stephan Turner, the one-night-only performance wove poetic monologues, movement, and music into a powerful tapestry of resilience.

The exceptional ensemble featured Nubian Speakin (Brown), Claire Gordon (Red), NuKola (Blue), Sami Jo (Yellow), Nella DeSanto (Orange), Naudia S. Patterson (Purple), and Sabrina Cates (Green). Each performer balanced stories of heartbreak with self-affirmation, joy, and unbreakable solidarity. Deftly directed to avoid melodrama, this unabashed, 90-minute cycle of truth-telling closed on a vibrant note of hope, triumph, and sheer theatrical brilliance.

Fifteen Actors in Search of a Performance

The culmination of an intensive eight-week stage acting and improvisation workshop led by The Gate Theater founder Stephan Turner, Fifteen Actors in Search of a Performance showcases the depth and versatility of Chiang Mai’s homegrown theatrical talent.

Conceived as a showcase of craft, the production brings together fifteen emerging actors in a dynamic, fast-paced ensemble format. Rather than following a single linear narrative, the performance moves through fifteen distinct dramatic and comedic monologues interwoven with seven ensemble scenes. The pieces tackle a broad spectrum of the human experience—from the heartbreak of lost love and the unraveling of madness to sharp critiques of social justice and wry reflections on life after death.

May 2024

The Caine Mutiny

It’s a courtroom drama about a young lieutenant who has relieved his captain of command in the midst of a life-threatening typhoon on the grounds that the captain is mentally unfit for command. As the defense and the prosecution build their conflicting cases, the testimony of various officers and experts fills in the details, culminating in the lieutenant and the captain defending themselves, and their actions, on the witness stand

HARVEY

Elwood P. Dowd is an endlessly pleasant, delightfully eccentric bachelor whose closest friend happens to be an invisible, six-foot-three white rabbit named “Harvey”—a companion only certain people can see.

On a bright spring afternoon at the family home, Elwood’s sister, Veta Louise, hosts a tea party for the high-society ladies of the Wednesday Forum. She hopes the gathering will help her unmarried twenty-something daughter, Myrtle Mae, mingle with the families of the town’s most eligible bachelors.

Instead, to Veta’s sheer horror, Elwood arrives home unexpectedly with Harvey in tow. Mortified, mother and daughter watch helplessly as Elwood courteously introduces his invisible friend to the guests, completely exposing the family secret as the ladies flee the house in shock.

THE LARAMIE PROJECT

The Laramie Project is a play by Moises Kaufman and the members of the Tectonic Theater Project. On November 14, 1998, members of Tectonic Theater Project traveled to Laramie, Wyoming, and conducted interviews with the people of the town. The play is edited from those interviews, as well as from journal entries by members of the company. The play is about the town of Laramie, its citizens, and their reaction to Matthew Shepard’s murder.

A COMEDY SHOWCASE

Featuring one-act plays by David Ives' paradoxical comedy, All in the Timing. Michael Allman directed both of these acts, Sure Thing and The Universal Language. He was also the director for the scene from Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. The fourth act was a scene from The Bald Soprano, which was Eugene Ionesco’s first play and will be directed by Neville Powis. A Comedy Showcase played from March 20-23, 2014 in the Little Little Theater at Kad Suan Kaew.

THE EIGHT REINDEER MONOLOGUES

Accusations, rumors and all-out attacks are flying fast and furious around Santa's toy shop this holiday season. What's the true story behind Rudolph's unlikely rise to fame? Does Mrs. Claus have a serious drinking problem? Can St. Nick himself really be guilty of sexual harassment... against one of the reindeer?

And with all this going on, how can the spirit of Christmas be saved? Go behind the tinsel and hear the truth about Santa straight from the eight reindeer who know him best. When a doe says "No," she means "No Way, Sucka!"

Twelve Angry Jurors 2022

Based on Reginald Rose’s 1955 classic Twelve Angry Men, this gripping drama follows a jury tasked with deciding the fate of a 19-year-old on trial for the murder of his father.

On a sweltering summer afternoon, an initial vote stands at 11 to 1 for conviction. Because the law requires a unanimous decision, the eleven jurors push to sway the lone dissenter. Tempers flare as they dissect the evidence, uncovering new uncertainties that force everyone to confront the true meaning of "reasonable doubt." Twelve Angry Jurors is a taut courtroom thriller exploring justice, prejudice, and the fragile mechanics of democracy.

THE ODD COUPLE 2009

Neil Simon’s box office hit, The Odd Couple, traces the lives of the infamously mismatched roommates: Felix Ungar, a neurotic fusspot news writer and Oscar Madison, a slovenly sports journalist. At his wife’s insistence, Felix is evicted from his home and abandoned on the doorstep of his childhood friend Oscar. Deep down, he knows she has every right to kick him out, but he still harbors the hope of someday returning to her once so loving arms.
As fate would have it Oscar likewise had been given the boot by Mrs. Madison requesting that he never return. Can two new bachelors share an apartment without driving each other insane?

The Exonerated 2019
"An artful and moving evening of documentary theater (Variety),” The Exonerated follows the true stories of six wrongly convicted inmates and their paths from death row to freedom. Winner of the 2003 Drama Desk for Unique Theatrical Experience and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Play, this ninety-minute drama was made into a movie by the same name in 2005.

BLITHE SPIRIT

Successful author Charles Condomine is writing a book and, wishing to gather material, holds a seance with his second wife Ruth , his friends Dr. & Mrs. Bradman and the eccentric medium Madame Arcarti. Problems arise when the ghost of Charles’ first wife Elvira appears after the seance. To make matters worse, only Charles (and the audience) can see or hear her!

As the play progresses, Elvira’s plans go awry and further chaos ensues, until the unlikely cause of all the problems is revealed. A scheming ghostly wife, a suspicious second wife, an incompetent medium, a comical but accident-prone maid and a jazz loving spirit guide all combine to produce an evening of fun for everybody, all presented by a talented multinational cast, with a script that has been gently updated to give it a more modern twist.

THE AMEN CORNER

After giving a fiery Sunday morning sermon, Margaret is confronted by the unexpected arrival of her long estranged husband, Luke, who collapses from illness shortly thereafter. Their son, David, along with several elders of the congregation, learn from Luke that, while Margaret had led everyone to believe that he had abandoned her with their son years ago, it was in fact Margaret who had left a dysfunctional Luke and pursued a religious life. This information precipitates confrontations between Margaret and her son, her congregation, and her estranged husband, regarding what they perceive as the hypocritical nature of her religious convictions, and the breakup of her family.

BIG HUNK O' BURNING LOVE 2017

A Thai- American playwright, Mr. Prince Gomolvilas brings us into a romantic comedy about family curses, Thai brides and spontaneous human combustion. Big Hunk centers on Winston, a single Thai American who must beat a different biological clock--get married by age 30 (four days away!) or die by spontaneous combustion! As each day passes, Winston feels the pressure from his kooky parents, his acerbic best friend, his troubled ex-girlfriend and a teenage Thai mail order bride.

STARRY MESSENGER

This play is a modern retelling of Galileo’s resistance and ultimate recantation to the Inquisition over his support of the Copernican theory of the earth’s rotation. Notions of science, faith, demons, madness and self-sacrifice are raised and overturned. As Cardinals Borgia and Zacchia negotiate with Galileo over his recantation, we are also afforded a look at the process of reconciling new science with the power structure, a struggle that continues even today.

PIRATES OF CHEMOTHERAPY

This dramatic comedy gives an intimate look at six women who share a diagnosis of breast cancer, all of whom are in various stages of treatment, recovery, and remission. They bond and band together in touching and often hilarious support of one another, pledging to live life to the fullest!

An Inspector Calls
This play that revolves around the apparent suicide of a young woman called Eva Smith. In the play, the unsuspecting Birling family are visited by the mysterious Inspector Goole. He arrives just as they are celebrating the engagement of Sheila Birling to Gerald Croft. The Inspector reveals that a girl called Eva Smith has taken her own life by drinking disinfectant. The family are horrified but initially confused as to why the Inspector has called to see them. What follows is a tense and uncomfortable investigation by an all-knowing Inspector through which the family discover that they are all in fact caught up in this poor girl’s death.

The Chiang Mai Fringe Festival 2019

A Historic Chapter in Chiang Mai’s Performing Arts

Launched in October 2019, the Chiang Mai Fringe Festival was an ambitious international performing arts event co-produced by The Gate Theater Group and San Francisco’s renowned EXIT Theatre. Held at the historic KAD Studio Theatre—perched on the 7th floor of the Kad Suan Kaew Shopping Centre—alongside intimate satellite spaces, the festival showcased daring, independent talent across northern Thailand.

The multi-day festival brought together solo performers and ensemble casts from around the world for fast-paced, 60-minute showcases in theater, contemporary dance, and experimental performance art.

While The Gate and EXIT Theatre no longer stage the festival annually, the legacy of the Chiang Mai Fringe remains an important milestone in our mission to cultivate vibrant, cross-cultural live performance in the city.

Strange Snow 2008

The story opens at dawn on the first day of trout fishing season. Joseph "Megs" Megessey, a boisterous truck mechanic, arrives unannounced at the home of his wartime buddy, David Flanagan. David is a reclusive veteran battling a brutal hangover and deep survivor's guilt over the combat death of their mutual friend, Bobby.

David lives with his sister, Martha, a shy high school teacher who initially greets the noisy intruder with a golf club. As David retreats from his painful past, an unexpected romance blossoms between Megs and Martha. Together, the pair gently guide David toward confronting his trauma, accepting the tragedy of war, and finding a way to heal.

Steel Magnolias 2014

Anyone who is “anybody” in Chinquapin, Louisiana gets their hair done at Truvy’s beauty salon. Aided by her eager new assistant, Annelle, the wise-cracking Truvy dispenses shampoos and frank advice to town curmudgeon Ouiser, eccentric millionaire Miss Clairee, and local matriarch M’Lynn, whose daughter Shelby is preparing to marry a "good ole boy."

Brimming with hilarious repartee and sharp verbal sparring, the comedy turns poignant when Shelby risks her life to navigate a high-stakes pregnancy. Faced with the fragility of life, the women rally around one another, discovering enduring strength, humor, and love in the face of loss.

The Christmas Choir

The Christmas choir has never sounded worse! Between a glaring lack of rehearsals and questionable motives, harmony is nowhere in sight. Dede is campaigning for city council, Laraine is escaping her chaotic household, George is pitching insurance, and Phoebe is shamelessly flirting with Michael, the director.

Michael jokes that the only way heaven will bless this bunch is if they sneeze in unison. With snappy dialogue and comedic spotlights on human nature, each eccentric singer has their moment. Can this motley crew pull it together? A young preacher steps in to help them find true harmony—and the real spirit of the season—in this heartwarming, fast-paced holiday comedy.

Mornings At Seven 2016

Aaronetta and Ida Gibbs have lived next door to each other most of their lives and along with Esther, all of the Gibb sisters are an open book to each. Husbands not included. Into the fray comes Myrtle Brown, perpetually engaged to Ida's son Homer. But Homer can't seem to pop the question. Taking matters into her own hands, Myrtle finally gets a proposal by compelling Homer to fly the nest. Sort of. This perennially charming portrait of small town America fifty plus years ago was revived on Broadway in 1980 and in 2002 to critical acclaim.

The Dodo Bird
“This intense Drama explores what it means to live on the fringe of society, to be a man who failed to achieve the American dream and ceased to live by the cultures basic standards. The Dodo Bird represents those we often choose not to see: the guy with glazed eyes talking to himself walking down the street, carrying a bottle in a brown paper bag, maybe asking for change. The story of how this particular human being reached this point of desperation and isolation is revealed one evening in a bar across from the foundry, where the Dodo Bird is sober, washed and waiting for his estranged daughter.” Gabrielle S. Kaplan- The Chicago Reader

Laundry & Burbon 2019

On a sweltering summer afternoon in Maynard, Texas, Elizabeth and her friend Hattie while away the hours on the front porch—folding laundry, sipping bourbon and Coke, and dissecting small-town secrets. The calm is broken when the self-righteous Amy Lee drops by, eager to gossip that Elizabeth’s husband, Roy, has been seen with another woman.

As sharp, bitter humor laces the conversation, Elizabeth’s quiet resilience comes to light. Beneath Roy’s wild, unfaithful outbursts lies a deep trauma born of Vietnam. Knowing he needs her, and steadfast in her devotion, Elizabeth resolves to wait for his return—unshaken by the town's wagging tongues.

Driving Miss Daisy

Driving Miss Daisy explores the unlikely bond between Daisy, a sharp-tongued 72-year-old Jewish widow, and Hoke, her thoughtful African American chauffeur, set in the Deep South on the cusp of the civil rights movement. Initially met with Miss Daisy’s disdain and patronizing attitude, Hoke remains dignified and patient. Over the next 25 years, the two look past their differences to forge a profound connection.

As Daisy teaches Hoke to read and write—and later invites him to a banquet honoring Martin Luther King, Jr.—Hoke’s warmth steadily softens her defenses. The play culminates in a tender final visit to a nursing home, where a 97-year-old Daisy still holds a spark of her fierce independence. In that quiet moment, it becomes movingly clear that the two have discovered a shared humanity far deeper than the era’s rigid social boundaries ever allowed them to publicly confess.

Shrapnel in the Heart
This Gate Theater production is a combination of readers theater and devised performance inspired by Miss Palmer’s book, which captures the emotive and long lasting memories of those whose lives were and continue to be impacted by the aftermath of the Vietnam War.

The Asylum Monologues 2018
The script compiles real-life accounts detailing political persecution in home countries, dangerous journeys to safety, and the bureaucratic and psychological toll of seeking asylum.

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