Thai puppet theatre

The entrance to the theatre.
Note shrine to current Thai queen in upper right,
as well as glass box housing one of the Thai puppets at lower left.

Our activity for the evening was a trip to see traditional Thai puppet theatre in Bangkok's Pathum Wan district. After a bit of shopping at the Suan Lum Night Bazaar across the street, and dinner at a restaurant famous for its som tum (green papaya salad, which I ordered with a big plate of jasmine rice and a mango smoothie), we found the theatre and headed inside.

One of the puppet masks -- this one full-size,
to be worn by an actor.

Many masks and replicas of puppets were on display, and we were greeted at the entrance by one of the puppets! At Brian's urging, a couple of us stepped up for a photograph.

We are embraced by one of the demons. From left to right: Jen, Janice, me.

The performance itself was awesome. The play -- which recounted the Hindu legend of the birth of the elephant-headed god Ganesha -- combined elements of three distinct Thai puppet styles. The largest part of the action was depicted by puppets of the style known as Hun Lakorn Lek, a kind of performing art developed by Krae Sapthavanich, based on the older style of Hun Luang. These puppets are about three or three-and-a-half feet tall, decked out in elaborate costumes similar to those used on full-size persons in theater art performance and mask dance. The puppets are carved out of hard, light wood, made of different parts tied together by 16 strings. Each puppet in the show we watched was manned by a team of three puppeteers, dressed in traditional black clothing. The gender of the puppeteers was determined by the gender of the character they portrayed, though the voicing of the puppets (both male and female) was left to a panel of four men at the side of the stage. The movements and expressions of the puppeteers were exquisitely choreographed to reflect at all times the emotions and actions of their puppet -- it was true artistry, beautiful to behold.

The head of Ganesha.

The performance also incorporated elements of Thai shadow puppetry (Nang Yai), as well as traditional mask dancing done by a full-size actor (e.g., when one of the demons changed size). The careful and precise movements of the hands, head, arms, and neck were identical between puppets and full-size performers -- I believe this is because the puppets were meant to deliberately mimic the extant style of palace mask dancing back when the art form first developed, though I'm not entirely sure. Music was provided throughout by a small group of performers playing traditional Thai music at the side of the stage. When the ceremony ended, incense was lit at a shrine to Ganesha located where the voice actors had been sitting, and many in the audience filed up to the front to perform a kind of ritual worship. I went up to look but tried not to interfere with the people paying their respects.

A mask with many faces -- either a demon or a god.