Chapter 4. The Interval: Thailand and Burma

Authors

Sears Eldredge, Macalester College

Files

Description

Following the joining of the Burma and Thailand sides of the railway in October 1943, there was an interval of four months before the workers were redeployed elsewhere that allowed the sick and exhausted entertainers to regroup. Encouragement of musical and theatrical performances in field hospitals and relocation camps as part of rehabilitation schemes to stimulate the healing process resulted in a sudden growth in the number and quality of entertainment.

About the Book

This book tells the story of how music and theatre helped the 61,000 POWs who were sent to these camps survive their ordeal. It is a story that is not well-known to history and it is now being recovered. It is a story about how music and theatre and the other arts are absolutely essential to a society's life.

Publication Date

2014

Recommended Citation

Eldredge, Sears, "Chapter 4. The Interval: Thailand and Burma" (2014). Book Chapters. 18.
https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/thdabooks/18