Producer of “The Phantom of the Opera” in Thailand Takonkiet Viravan Sees Export Potential for Moscow Theaters

Tony Award winner and Thai musical producer Takonkiet Viravan, known for staging shows featuring Daniel Radcliffe, visited Moscow for the first time and held a series of meetings with the city’s theaters. His visit took place as part of the Moscow Creative Industries Agency’s conference “Theater Without Borders: Moscow and the World.”

Viravan, a media mogul and head of channels with an audience of tens of millions, met with representatives of more than 20 Moscow cultural institutions to discuss opportunities for bringing productions to Asian markets.

“Moscow’s theatrical art is absolutely unique. I think this is largely due to the fact that your culture is deeply rooted in ballet, which allows you to communicate with the audience without words. This sets Russia apart from theaters in the US or London. I find it very important that you preserve your roots and culture in today’s world. Classic Russian plays are staged in a modern way, with fresh interpretations, and this is truly interesting for Asian audiences,” said Viravan.

According to him, Moscow’s theatrical formats have strong export potential for Asian markets. Thai audiences are already familiar with Russian ballet, which is performed annually in Bangkok at the International Festival of Performing Arts, consistently attracting great interest. However, Viravan emphasized that he was especially impressed by other unique Moscow productions — in particular, puppet theater: “Such a format has great prospects in Asia, since it has no language barrier.”

The “Theater Without Borders: Moscow and the World” conference, organized by the Moscow Creative Industries Agency, became the first platform where Moscow theaters presented their projects to nine representatives of major Asian theater festivals and universities. The initiative is aimed at creating a sustainable platform for international cooperation and strengthening Moscow’s position as a global center of creative industries.