All-night zat pwe concerts draw crowds on Yangon outskirts as junta seeks normalcy

All-night zat pwe performances have returned on the outskirts of Yangon, drawing packed audiences for shows that stretch through the night into dawn. Performers such as U Than Zaw Htwe, known as San Yay Moe, and U Chit Myo Htike, known as Phoe Chit, have led long programs of music, dance and drama that attract hundreds of people.

Zat pwe, an opera-like art form dating to the 1800s, now mixes Burmese pop, synchronized dance and comedy. San Yay Moe’s new 70-member troupe, founded in October, performs shows that often run from about 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. and are booked out until April. Tickets ranged from 30,000 to 60,000 kyats (about $14 to $28), in a country where the average monthly wage is about $75.

Backstage earnings cited in the reporting included roughly 100 million kyats for a producer over three nights and about 70 million kyats given to San Yay Moe by fans. The concerts have provided what attendees described as relief from stress — “People are feeling mentally suffocated,” one performer said — even as they take place in a country fighting a grinding civil war.

The junta, which controls cities and has sanctioned many urban events, has allowed some artists to return and has sought to project a veneer of legitimacy; the reporting noted that the military has held elections that have been widely derided as a sham and organized other public spectacles.

Key Topics

World, Zat Pwe, San Yay Moe, Phoe Chit, Yangon, Myanmar Military