Ladyboys are a group often maligned and misunderstood by many foreigners here in Thailand. Usually the butt of crude jokes and sexual innuendos, the average perception of them often seems to involve the over-told story of how that stunningly beautiful woman in the tight jeans that came home with someone turned out to be something other than expected.

So it is nice to get a refreshing point of view – and see some fantastic theatrical performances to boot – by visiting a cabaret show, such as the one put on by the new Mambo Cabaret in Bangkok. Mambo has been around since 1997, with their show “The Ladyboys of Bangkok” now going international as well, playing in the UK, Singapore, and Japan, as well as here at home. The club here in Bangkok
recently relocated from its worn-out theater on Sukhumvit Soi 22 to a modern and plush new spot on Rama 3 that also features an elegant adjoining restaurant with traditional Thai dancers for before-(or after)-the-show festivities.

With a troupe of about sixty dancers, the cabaret gives three performances every night, entertaining crowds with Las Vegas style dance revues and lip-synched song numbers, as well as performing classic and contemporary hits ranging from Broadway musical numbers to the Spice Girls, plus comedy sketches – all done with well-choreographed routines and elaborate and colorful costumes.

The shows change every few months so that both the performers and the audiences remain motivated and interested, and the shows are often tailored to the particular ethnic group that is making up the audience (i.e. more Japanese and Chinese pop or classic numbers for the Asian tourist groups or more mainstream pop or Broadway numbers for the European audiences).

Job turnover is low and the competition high here – there have only been around four hundred performers with the cabaret since its inception. The “girls” train every
day, and those who are the best dancers and entertainers get the chance to go overseas. The revue has been a big success at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland over the past few years, and the show has made BBC headlines and been the subject of countless documentaries and articles.

The show’s choreographer, Bardit Suriyam, has traveled around the world to get ideas for the costumes and dance routines, and it shows in the well-crafted

performances, which are fast-paced, audience-interactive, and extremely entertaining. Gone are the days of the tacky and rather seedy transvestite cabarets that only gawkers seemed to frequent. The show I attended was full of families with children of all ages, and everyone looked like they were having a good time. I asked a guy, attending with his wife and kids, what he thought of the show, and he commented that he had been somewhat tentative in thinking about bringing the family to a ladyboy dance show, and now was laughing at himself for
being so prudish, as this was one of the highlights of their trip.

The dancers are paid from 8,000-30,000 baht a month, which isn’t much of a fortune, considering how hard they train and perform, as well as the fact that many are dreaming of saving up for complete gender surgery that isn’t cheap. However, tips flow abundantly, and the photo sessions after the shows, which cost 40 baht per picture (together with a dancer), are very popular.

I asked some of the performers how they liked doing cabaret shows, and every single person was more than thrilled to be in this line of work. Vivienne, the lead dancer and featured star of the show, said she loved the attention, the lights, and the chance to be appreciated by people around the world. Her colleague, Lek, said she thought it wonderful to get paid to dance and wear glamorous outfits each night. I asked her if she ever got tired of having to do three shows per night
and seven nights per week. She replied that she never did, that she just fed off the lights, the musical numbers, and the camaraderie between the performers, who appear to have found a tight-knit little family within the cabaret troupe.

It is challenging enough for an actor/actress to pull off a well-rehearsed and convincing theatrical performance. It is something more for a male adult to pull off a performance as a female adult quite perfectly. Then again, those really aren’t
guys up there onstage now are they? Only in Thailand.

Mambo Cabaret has performances seven nights a week at 7:15pm, 8:30pm, and 10:00pm. Tickets can be booked in advance by calling 02 294 7381.

Mambo Cabaret: 59/28 Sathupradit-Rama 3 Road, Bangpongpang, Yannawa. 02 294 7381-2, www.mambocabaret.com