Every time there's a Cabinet shuffle, "Sapha Joke" has to go hunting for a new cast

Every time there's a Cabinet shuffle, 'Sapha Joke' has to go hunting for a new cast

The violence at Government House last Tuesday prompted an urgent meeting across town in Lat Phrao: Television producer Paakpol Bunyaprakarn needed a script revamp for his popular parliamentary parody "Sapha Joke".

He had an episode almost ready to tape the next evening, but changes seemed to be in order.

"This is how life at 'Sapha Joke' has been for the past five years," says Paakpol, the managing director at Khonthai Entertainment, which produces the show.

The week before, Paakpol had been busy searching for someone who looked like new Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat. A Bang Khuntien pharmacist fit the bill and was "sworn in" just in time.

"Sapha Joke" - the name translates into English as "Humorous Government House" - is famous for its political dead ringers spoofing the legislature. Whatever is making news in politics ends up as a gag on the show - as positively as it can be spun.

"We never directly depict the violence," says Paakpol.

The nasty parts of reality are coded into jokes. Saturday night's script about Somchai's emergence on the scene includes a whole squad of extras playing the People's Alliance for Democracy.

The show is meant to be neutral, of course says Paakpol. "We just want people to look at things from a different perspective."

Educating the electorate

Behind the chuckles is an ambition to educate the viewers about democracy and its Thai variant. It's difficult, but it's not as hard as finding look-alikes who can act, says the show's publicist, Tanat Nitisatik.

They have to have a great sense of humour and comic timing to go with the resemblance, he says, adding that more than 1,000 people have applied for the cast.

Boonsri Sikong is a talkative guy, but ironically, when he's playing brash Samak Sundaravej, he becomes reserved, and needs to be goosed along.

One of the most popular characters is "Por Yai Jew", played by a near-perfect Chavalit Yongchaiyudh impersonator.

But when they thought they'd found a great Sonthi Boonyaratglin, he turned out to be a police officer, and they decided it might be risky having a cop play such a senior civil servant.