_ courtesy of Nicholas Ganz

The Mustache Brothers troupe is a very famous group of third-generation practitioners of a-nyeint pwe, Myanmar’s traditional vaudeville, featuring puppets, music and slapstick comedy tinged with in-your-face political satire — all in a country where cracking the wrong joke can land you in jail.

And, Par Par Lay, the 60-year-old leader of the Mustache Brothers troupe, had recently to pay dearly for his daring jokes on ruling Generals in Burma. About midnight on Sept. 25, the police raided their home-cum-theater in Mandalay, in central Burma, and took him away.