THE SHOW goes on

Tiffany's Show Pattaya celebrates its 50th anniversary by reinventing the legendary cabaret to embrace diversity

- STORY: THANA BOONLERT

The show must go on! And that is why the light has never gone out for five decades. Despite undergoing renovations, whether minor or major, Tiffany's Show Pattaya has raised the curtain every day, except on three occasions — Sars in 2003, a protest in 2008 and Covid-19 in 2020 — when tourism was brought to a standstill.

"If it were not for these three crises, we would never have a single day off. In Las Vegas, they have 'dark days' each week. But we perform at least three shows a day. It goes up to eight on a special day," said Sakdipat Sangsuriyong, show director of Tiffany's, in an interview with Life.

In 1974, Vichai Lertritraugsin hosted the first cabaret show in a bar at Bali Hai Pier. As tourists flocked through word of mouth, Sutham Phanthusak stepped in to expand its capacity to a new location. It was then passed down to his daughter, Alisa Phanthusak Kunpalin, managing director of Tiffany's.

Before joining in 2003, Sakdipat had a background in medical science. While pursuing master's and doctoral degrees, he received mentorship in performing arts including setting, costume and makeup with Patravadi Mejudhon, founder of Patravadi Theatre, which came to be known as the centre of modern performing arts in Thailand.

"In those days, there weren't many options. I did a lot of activities in high school, but had to choose a science-maths track for career prospects. It was totally different from today," he recalled.

His passion has since opened the door to Tiffany's. Sakdipat started as a show director of its beauty pageants — Miss International Queen and Miss Tiffany's Universe. He then went on to oversee cabaret shows for theatre.