Chonburi International Hotel and Butterfly Club

By: Shakina Nayfack

Narrated by: Shakina Nayfack, Kate Bornstein, Annie Golden, Telly Leung, Jason Tam, Bianca Leigh, Ivory Aquino, Pooya Mohseni, Samy Figaredo, Angelica Ross, Liz Lark Brown, Ita Segev, Dana Aliya Levinson

In this world premiere play, written by and featuring Shakina Nayfack, a vibrant, international group of transgender women band together at a hotel in Thailand to confront the challenges and joys of gender confirmation surgery. Despite the group’s warm welcome, Kina (Nayfack) prepares for her life-altering operation all alone. But a caring nurse (Ivory Aquino), a wise couple (Kate Bornstein and Annie Golden), and a karaoke-loving bellhop (Telly Leung) may be exactly who she needs to ignite her truest sense of self. WTF Associate Artistic Director Laura Savia directs this spirited comedy about a woman who tests the bonds of an unlikely sisterhood.

The playwright wishes to thank The Drama League's Beatrice Terry Residency, Daryl Roth, Natasha Sinha, Beehive Dramaturgy Studio, Playwrights Horizons, Rachel Jett, Daryl Roth, and the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center’s National Theatre Institute.

Note: This play contains mature themes and language.

©2020 Shakina Nayfack (P)2020 AO Media LLC

An Easy-to-Visualize Audio Performance

Sounds like a.... play! I didn't even think about the foley work until the interview at the end - I pressed play and saw the entire thing. I never once "rewound" the audio which is rarity with my audiobook experience. I was captivated by the story and it was well-staged - like old-timey radio! I'm looking forward to hearing more by this writer and director.

Wow!

First let me say that I am a cis man and I knew next to nothing about this play before I started listening. But I deeply respect the Williamstown Theatre Festival and wanted to listen to all of their plays.
When it first started I have to admit I was a little confused. There are a lot of characters and that is tricky when in an audible book. But after five minutes I just started over again and this time I got it. I am so glad I did because this play is amazing!
Theatre can take you to worlds that you have never explored. Learn about I ideas you have never thought about. And be with characters that you have never had a chance to meet. And Chonburi did all three of those things for me.
Chonburi is hilarious and yet heartbreaking. it made me gasp as my heart exploded with joy. The video on this play said that Ms. Nayfack wanted to write a play that explored the great Hotel plays of days gone past. I know many of those plays, "Grand Hotel, Hotel L Baltimore" and I think Ms. Nayfack has far exceeded those old chestnuts.
Congrats to Audible and the Festival for producing this major new work.
And big congrats to the cast for knocking my socks off. I hope I get to see this live and on stage sometime in the near future!

Well-written and played, interesting.

I have finished and left this book my device for a year now! I just can’t delete it because I have wanted to write a review, and yet all I can say is that it is a very intimate window into a life I have never considered. Well-written and played, interesting.

Historic and moving

When I first heard that Shakina Nayfack’s new play CHONBURI INTERNATIONAL HOTEL & BUTTERFLY CLUB would be produced as an Audible play instead of a fully staged production at WTF, I was sad. But how thrilling it was to listen to this piece on Audible and still feel so connected to the characters and the story. It’s so rare that we have stories about trans people written and performed by trans artists, and this play feels somewhat historic in that sense. And even without seeing a fully realized set, I totally felt like I was right there inside a hotel lobby at the top of the play, thanks to the many talents that went into this Audible version.

Story We Never Hear Told With Compassion

In Chonburi International Hotel and Butterfly Club author Shakina Nayfack explores a tricky subject: trans women getting their gender reassignment surgery in Thailand. From personal experience Nayfack is able to create a full environment for her characters, who are at different stages of this process which touches all emotional buttons. "Kina" is the American we meet coming into the "Club" with an attitude and learns to appreciate her Butterfly Club members. Each character is seen as a real person who has positive and negative qualities. It's not always pretty, what happens before, during and after surgery, but you get a sense that these women are supporting each other as best they can. In spite of some horrific circumstances, in the end, it's not only gender, but friendship that emerges as the strong force in our lives.

Absolutely Adore this Play

Visceral and deep, this has the power to change lives through listening. Well worth it!

astounding

incredibly beautiful, poignant, funny, and touching. really amazing listen. so glad to have media like this.

Butterflies

This was a good story.
I like how we are taken into this world and get to experience everything thru the eyes of the woman going on this journey.
I was not aware of this place, that people had to go so far with what should be avaliable in most modern cities.
I like that a story was told on how like butterflies they are all gathering in one place to meet up. To see each other support each other, give themselves strength.
The main thing I will take from this story is that we are all learning, even people within the community is evolving and adapting. I'm specifically talking about how they talked about things like "real woman" and "trans woman" even among themselves they were correcting themselves. And the word CIS woman and the importance ofbtalking openly about the journey and the vagina.
There was also the talk about pronouns and how you do get attack if you say your old fashion and don't understand. People usually interpreted to mean you are bias and thats why you don't want to use those words but you know using them and they to refer to one person can be confusing when all our lifes we are taught that they and them refers to many people.
We are all learning and the worst thing someone can do when we are learning is attack and judge. We shouldn't close doors.
One day we will get rid of pronouns, sexes and colors but until then we need to listen to each other.

A captivating piece of theatre

These are the kinds of stories we need to hear MORE! This representation is so needed. This was an absolute joy to listen to. The struggles, successes, fears and friendships of these women going through this important step in their gender confirmation is palpable in Shakina’s writing and in the performances of the actors. It was educational, new, hilarious, heartbreaking and inspirational all at the same time. Highly recommend.

Beautiful story with depth

I had the privilege of seeing a staged reading of this wonderful play and I wasn’t sure how the Audible version would compare. Somehow, it excelled. Well written, at times heartbreaking, and with a warm humanity we all need right now.