Major Nom

Originally written and performed in 1987 by Zarganar—a popular Burmese comedian, actor, and fierce junta critic—the all-male, at-turns witty, at-turns slapstick comedy Beggars’ National Convention was performed with four fellow comedians on several occasions. It became a historic event, its impact lingering in audiences’ memory to this day. The actors wielded humor as armor, mining the collective psyche to make social and political commentary explicit. Like Russian dolls, Zarganar layered multiple spoof executions, using physical and homophonic humor while strategically staging the performance in front of the town hall of Yangon—Myanmar’s capital until 2005. His biting satire mocked General Ne Win’s Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP), exposing its militaristic hierarchy, failing educational system, and disastrous economic policies—so severe the government sought international financial aid, even from Nepal. Timed with a military parliamentary council meeting, one of the shows ended with the comedians being arrested immediately after the performance and held in an interrogation camp for three days.

The 13th Berlin Biennale brings The Beggars’ Convention to the historic Sophienstraße in Berlin-Mitte. It is restaged by Major Nom, instrumental in fundraising for the Civil Disobedience Movement after Myanmar’s 2021 coup. This movement defiantly united vast segments of society, disrupting military operations and drawing global scrutiny. Thinking through the work of fundraising through the historic play, Major Nom satirizes slacktivism, the international development sector, and the corrupt, fascist trends of twenty-first century world leaders—mirroring Zarganar’s original performance structure and character dynamics, but this time performed by queer and female-identifying actors.

Text: Somrak Sila