Simon's Dream in Chiangmai
Simply Superb !

Let me take you by the hand to Amazing Thailand! This is the blast-off tune at Simon's Cabaret Chiangmai and, before touchdown 90 minutes later; you will have been thrilled and enraptured by the spectacular journey of Simon's Dream.

But first things first, located just behind the Novotel and Rimping Chotana Superstore, Simon's Cabaret offers two performances per night. The first at 7.30 PM is great for a pre-dinner entertaining evening while the second show, at 9.30 PM is for early diners who want to be whisked away for a dazzling dessert of color and music. Admission is 400 baht. The entrance to Simon's is a fairyland of twinkling lights in a garden setting and a small bar provides refreshments for early arrivals.

A further cocktail bar in the entrance foyer offers most of your favorites plus a selection of French, Spanish and Australian wines. A la Tom Cruise, Khun Tam can juggle and toss bottles and shakers in a whirl of motion. He assured the writer he doesn't drop many! A carved relief on the left of the foyer is worth a look; the Royal Barge, with H.M. King Bhumibol inside the canopy, passing Wat Arun on Bangkok's Chao Phraya River. A lovely piece of craftsmanship.

Upon entering the theatre, I was surprised by the size. It is huge (seating for 800 patrons) and gives the feeling of being inside a mysterious grotto or jungle clearing. Palms, ferns and greenery surround the amphitheater, mist drifts and water cascades from a rocky mountaintop. A moat fronts the wide, triple-stage performance area and seating is comfortably cushioned terrace style with plenty of legroom. By the way, drinks can be ordered inside the theatre with prices starting form a modest 40 baht for a Beer Chang or 45 baht for a can of Heineken.

Show time the lights dim and the audience is launched into Simon's Dream and a performance of illusion. You might think you are at the Follies Bergere, Les Girls or a Las Vegas show but this is Chiangmai's own. With a troupe of up to 100 performers (from Chiangmai and surrounds) the boy-boys and not so boy boys (can you believe they look more feminine than the real thing?) cast-off to Amazing Thailand. This is quickly followed by Lolita as she pouts, sashays and lip-synchs her way through "My Heart Belongs to Daddy". Absolutely wonderful! Glistening, white-winged angels, heavenly harps and a flute-playing, diaphanously draped Pan (ladies, ladies!) transport us further into Simon's Dream.

There are eighteen segments to the program and one immediately follows the other, nonstop, in a fast-paced, exhilarating, high-energy series of revues. The costumes are exotic, colorful and lavish, as are the settings on the wide, triple-stage. State-of-the-art sound and lighting systems plus other special effects intensify this magical world of illusion.

Without revealing all of the show contents (there are surprises), I can tell you that Simon's Dream will carry you around the world (and beyond!) to China, Korea, India, Papua New Guinea, Cleopatra's Egypt, France, Cuba and Brazil's Rio in a dazzling voyage of light, costume and music. Of course, our own Thailand is not forgotten and, through the mists, we are taken on a flight of the Thai mythological Kinaree (half girl/half bird) and the high regions of our Hilltribe peoples. A down-to-earth Tua Talog (comedy) routine had the audience whistling and hand-clapping in rhythm to the performer's lip-synched, punchy, raunchy, over-the-top rendition of "I Will Survive". This performance gave new heart to the writer, as the artiste's figure resembled the writer's own, which, alas, is no illusion!

The Finale brought all the performers on stage in a brilliant and bewildering rainbow of glitter and glamour and it was all too obvious that the audience didn't wat to waken from Simon's Dream. But the illusion was over; or was it? As patrons left the theatre, several of the not-so-boy-boys were waiting to bid a farewell. Greetings and laughter were exchanged, and photographs taken as departing guests puzzled over what was illusion and what was not.

The mysterious, wonderful world of Simon's Dream is a must to see. It is a stylish cabaret show which all the family will enjoy (even your Maiden Aunt) in a multimillion baht extravaganza of fun, excitement and entertainment. Opened since December 2002, this is the first time visitors to, and residents of, Chiangmai have had the chance to join in Simon's Dream in Northern Thailand. The writer was enthralled by the performance and is sure you will be too! (Call for Booking Tel. 053 410 321-3.)