The criminal court sentenced two theater activists to five years in prison for taking parts in a political play "The Wolf Bride" deemed lese majeste, but since the defendant pleaded guilty, the jail term was halved to two years and six months. The court earlier set to read the verdict at 1.30 of Monday. After rights groups have campaigned for weeks, inviting people to attend the verdict reading in the afternoon, the court on Monday decided to read the verdict in the morning instead. The lawyer representing both was not notified about the change and arrived the courtroom just in time. Last month, Patiwat S. (aka Bank) and Pornthip M. (aka Golf), pleaded guilty to the court for taking parts in a political play The Wolf Bride, which was performed in October 2013 at Thammasat University, Bangkok, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 14 October popular uprising. Patiwat is accused of starring in the play which centred around a fictional monarch in the role of a Brahmin advisor, while Pornthip was accused of organizing the play. The play was organized by former members of the now-defunct Prakai Fai Karn Lakorn, which was affiliated with Prakai Fai left-leaning political group. Patiwat and Pornthip were arrested on 14 and 15 August respectively and have remained in custody since. The criminal court repeatedly rejected their bail requests. Patiwat was in his fifth year at the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, Khon Kaen University. He is also the Secretary-General of the Student Federation of the North East. Pornthip is a graduate from Faculty of Political Science, Ramkhamhaeng University. She co-founded Prakai Fai Karn Lakorn in 2010. The group was aimed at making performance arts more accessible to the grassroots. Most of their plays concerned social issues, inequality, and politics. The group was dissolved in 2012 due to differences among group members. In early June, the junta's National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) summoned and detained about ten current and former Prakai Fai members and interrogated them about the play. Detailed report of the verdict comes soon.