Phuket Simon Cabaret stars spread their wings

PHUKET: The Simon Star Cabaret show, Phuket’s third ladyboy extravaganza, opens on Thursday with a special discount available for Thai nationals only, through February.

Executives of Simon Cabaret held a press conference at The Metropole hotel in Phuket Town today to announce the opening, which is the culmination of a 130-million-baht investment.

The venue is located on the grounds of the Phuket Orchid Gardens & Thai Village, behind Phuket Rajabhat University in Rassada.

Phuket Simon Cabaret chairperson Wirat Rouyrin promised the media that the show “would be 90% different” from the nightly spectacles that are staged at its flagship venue in Patong and would feature state-of-the-art light and sound technology.

Staff are still putting the finishing touches on the venue and stage production, she admitted.

“We will be about 90% ready for the opening on Thursday, but will be 100% by next month,” she promised.

To attract as many people to the show as possible, those presenting Thai ID cards will be admitted for just 200 baht each through February. However the primary target market will be regional tourists from other parts of Asia, she said.

Managing Directer Pornthep Rouyrin said there would be three 75-minute performances daily, each with 16 acts.

Gracing the stage of the 650-seat theater will be 70 “brand-new showgirls”, discovered through ladyboy beauty pageants held in Udon Thani and Chiang Mai, he said.

— Chutharat Plerin