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Published on February 24, 2008

Every weekday at 6pm, Am and Jack along with 30 other teenagers head over to a private studio at Bangkok's Chuchpimook Company and spend three hours practising ancient Thai dance movements that would bewilder most of their peers.

But these young people aren't just rehearsing for an upcoming khon (Thai masked dance) performance. They are also reviving an art that started life at the royal court as an entertainment for Siamese kings, but today is sadly under-appreciated by most Thais. Now, thanks to efforts by Chuchpimook, khon is making a comeback.

Led by MD Chaiyuth Kruekumsaenwee and composer and director Pairoj Thongkumsuk, Chuchpimook gathers talented performers to stage khon in Bangkok and upcountry in an attempt to revive public interest.

"Khon has all but disappeared from Thai society, which is a shame, as it is our heritage and the most beautiful performance art Thailand has ever had," says Pairoj.

The earliest known record of a khon performance dates back to the Sukhothai period some 800 years ago. The art form was practised in Ayutthaya, but it was not until the early Bangkok era, especially during the reigns of King Rama I and II, that it became popular. "Khon represents the real Thai identity," Pairoj notes.

Chaiyuth agrees, adding that khon is rich both in terms of entertainment and education.

The lack of public interest has long been a concern to composers like Pairoj. So when he met Chaiyuth two years ago, they decided to form their own company to preserve and extend the legacy of this art form. They hope that by focusing on training performers and staging shows, the company will be able to promote and support local artists.

It's a noble ambition as the employment outlook for khon students has long been bleak. Pairoj says it takes a khon student 10 years of study at one of the country's performing arts colleges, which together will usually produce more than 1,000 performers a year. Until Chuchpimook came along, the Fine Arts Department had been able to organise performances just twice a year in Bangkok.

"How are the dancers going to make a living unless Thailand has lots of troupes?" asks Pairoj. "We are the first and only company in the business of organising khon shows, so we've attracted quite a lot of attention from performers."

Chuchpimook has been on the road performing at least once a month since last year, on a tour that takes in Bangkok, Suphan Buri, Nakhon Ratchasima and Chiang Mai. There are plans to add more cities to its schedule later this year.

Last month, it launched a weekly khon television programme, "Kon Khon" ("Khon Men") on Channel 5.

"We need to reach out to our audience. TV is the most important medium because through it the art can reach people all across the country. And the show has been well received so far because it relates actual performances to the history and other aspects of this artistic heritage," says Chaiyuth.

Chuchpimook has also toured overseas where, according to Chaiyuth, the reception was much warmer than in Thailand, a fact he attributes to the sluggish interest in high art on home soil. "Foreigners appreciate our shows very much. In places like Germany and France, we played to packed houses - 1,500 tickets at between ¤30 (Bt1,800) and ¤80 were totally sold out. We're seeing signs of a growing level of attention from the Thais too," says Chaiyuth.

But it's no easy task and neither is it cheap. The company spends a fortune on the costumes, with each outfit costing more than Bt100,000 and taking up to three months to make.

Such extravagant garb deserves only the best performers, so Chuchpimook selects khon graduates and students from colleges and puts them through a rigorous screening process before they are allowed to perform on stage. They train three hours a day, five days a week.

Chuchpimook is loyal to khon traditions but minor changes are made to keep the art in tune with modern times and viewers. While the original plays were usually dominated by long hours of singing, the company quickens the pace with more narration, voice-overs and mime. That way, says Pairoj, the performance holds the viewer's attention.

"Viewers enjoy the voice-overs more than the endless singing," he smiles.

Another fascinating facet of a khon performance is the story, he adds. Khon relies on plenty of stories from Hindu and Buddhist epics like the "Ramayana", the "Mahabharata" and the jataka tales of the Buddha's previous lives.

The company's first Bangkok show, which takes place on Saturday at Thammasat University, is based on two separate stories, "The Birth of Hanuman" and "The Jataka Tales of the Reformed In-Law", both directed, composed and produced by Pairoj himself.

Taking the roles of Lord Rama and his wife Sita are Thanma "Jack" Yingtawornsuk and Pakkawadee Am" Pengsuwan. Pakkawadee has studied khon for four years, and has trained with the company for four months in preparation for Saturday's performance, while Thanma has been learning and practising khon for 12 years.

Committed to carving out a career in the Thai performing art, Pakkawadee says the beautiful and elegant Sita is a tough character to portray

"Sita lives for true love. I've had to train hard for this role and even out of the rehearsal room, I've found myself feeling, behaving and acting like Sita," she says, adding that the ingredients for a good khon performer are a pleasant personality, plenty of determination, a lot of patience and a well-proportioned body.

Rama has warrior-like qualities, but in love, he's sincere, very gentle and smart. "The hardest part of playing Rama is maintaining his good looks. So I go to bed early and exercise regularly to keep fit," says Thanma.

Both Thanma and Pakkawadee are determined to conserve the art form to which they are so committed.

"Khon is like the emblem of a nation. I'm trying my best to prevent it from disappearing from Thai society," says Thanma, adding that his highest ambition is to attain the heights of National Artist one day.

Chuchpimook Company's "The Birth of Hanuman" and the "Nitan Chadok [Jataka Tales] of the Reformed In-Law", are being staged on Saturday at 3pm at Thammasat University's Auditorium, Tha Phrachan campus. For reservations, call (02) 894 6310. For more information, visit Konkhon.net.

Manote Tripathi

The Nation