Thai Theatre & Thai Dance
 Traditional Thai theatre consists of six dramatic forms: khon, formal masked dance-drama depicting scenes from the Ramakian (the Thai version of India's Ramayana) and originally performed only for the royal court; lakhon, a general term covering several types of dance-dramas (usually for nonroyal occasions) as well as western theatre; li-khe (likay), a partly improvised, often bawdy folk play featuring dancing, comedy, melodrama and music; manohra, the Southern Thai equivalent of li-khe, but based on a 2000-year-old Indian story; nang or shadow plays, limited to Southern Thailand; and lakhon lek or hun luang-puppet theatre.
Ramakian: The Thai Ramayana by Naga Books (anounymous author) is a thorough exposition of the Thai version of Indian poet Valmiki's timeless epic.
MonKeys and Demons
Khon
In all khon performances, four types of characters are represented- male humans, female humans, monkeys and demons. Monkey and demon figures are always masked with the elaborate head coverings often seen in tourist promo material. Behind the masks and make-up, all actors are male. Traditional khon is a very expensive production-Ravana's retinue alone (Ravana is the Ramakian's principal villain) consists of over a hundred demons, each with a distinctive mask.
Perhaps because it was once limited to royal venues and hence never gained a popular following, the khon or Ramakian dance-drama tradition nearly died out in Thailand. Bangkok's National Theatre was once the only place where khon was regularly performed for the public; the renovated Chalermkrung Royal Theatre now hosts weekly khon performances enhanced by laser graphics and high-tech audio.
Scenes performed in traditional khon (and lakhon performances) come from the 'epic journey' tale of the Ramayana, with parallels in the Greek Odyssey and myth of Jason and the Argonauts. The central story revolves around Prince Rama's search for his beloved Princess Sita, who has been abducted by the evil 10 headed demon Ravana and taken to the island of Lanka. Rama is assisted in his search and in the final battle against Ravana by a host of mythical half-animal, half-human characters including the monkey-god Hanuman. See the Literature section for some details on the differences between the Indian Ramayana and the Thai Ramakian.
Drama through Dance
Lakhon
The more formal lakhon nai (inner lakhon) was originally performed for lower nobility by all-female ensembles; today it's a dying art, even more so than royal khon. In addition to scenes from the Ramakian, lakhon nai performances may include traditional Thai folk tales; whatever the story, text is always sung.
 Lakhon nawk (outer lakhon) deals exclusively with folk tales and features a mix of sung and spoken text, sometimes with improvisation. Both male and female performers are permitted. Like khon and lakhon nai, performances are becoming increasingly rare.
More common these days is the less refined lakhon chatrii, a fast paced, costumed dance-drama usually performed at upcountry temple festivals or at shrines (commissioned by a shrine devotee whose wish was granted by the shrine deity). Chatrii stories have been influenced by the older manohra theatre of Southern Thailand (see the following Manohra section).
A variation chatrii that has evolved specifically for shrine worship, lakhon kae bon, involves an ensemble of around 20 members, including musicians. At an important shrine like Bangkok's Lak Meuang, four different kae bon troupes may alternate performances, each for a week at a time, as each performance lasts from 9 am till 3 pm and there is usually a long list of worshippers waiting to hire them.
Lakhon phuut (speaking lakhon) is the equivalent of western theatre based on the Greek model - all dialogue is spoken rather than sung. This is the most modern of Thailand's theatre traditions as well as the most popular in cities and larger towns.
Outtrageous Costumes, Melodrama & Slapstick Comedy
Li-khe
In rural and small-town Thailand this is the most popular type of live theatre. Thought to have descended from drama-rituals brought to Southern Thailand by Arab and Malay traders, the first native public performance in Central Thailand came about when a group of Thai Muslims staged a li-khe for Rama V (1868-1910) in Bangkok during the funeral commemoration of Queen Sunantha. Li-khe grew very popular under Rama VI and has remained so ever since.
Most often performed at festivals by troupes of traveling performers, li-khe presents a colourful mixture of folk and classical music, outrageous costumes, melodrama, slapstick comedy, sexual innuendo and up-to-date commentary on Thai politics and society. Farangs-even those who speak fluent Thai-are often left behind by the highly idiomatic, culture-specific language and gestures. Most li-khe performances begin with the awk khaek, a prelude in which an actor dressed in Malay costume takes the stage to pay homage to the troupe's teacher and to narrate a brief summary of the play to the audience. For true li-khe aficionados, the coming of a renowned troupe is a bigger occasion than the release of a new James Bond sequel at the local cinema.
Kidnappings & Rescues
Manohra
 Also known simply as nora, this is Southern Thailand's equivalent to li-khe and the oldest surviving Thai dance-drama. The basic story line bears some similarties to the Ramayana. In this case the protagonist, Prince Suthon (Sudhana in Pali), sets off to rescue the kidnapped Manohra, a kinnari or woman-bird princess. As in li-khe, performers add extemporaneous comic rhymed commentary-famed nora masters sometimes compete at local festivals to determine who's the best rapper.
Shadows & Shapes
Nang
 Shadow-puppet theatre-in which two-dimensional figures are manipulated between a cloth screen and light source at night-time performances-has been a South-East Asian tradition for perhaps five centuries. Originally brought to the Malay peninsula by Middle Eastern traders, the technique eventually spread to all parts of mainland and peninsular South-East Asia; in Thailand it is mostly found only in the South. As in Malaysia and Indonesia, shadow puppets in Thailand are carved from dried buffalo or cow hides (known as nang in Thai). Two distinct shadow-play traditions survive in Thailand. The most common, nang tha lung, is named after Phattalung Province, where it developed based on Malay models. Like their Malay-Indonesian counterparts, the Thai shadow puppets represent an array of characters from classical and folk drama, principally the Ramakian and Phra Aphaimani in Thailand. A single puppet master manipulates the cutouts. Which are bound to the end of buffalo-horn handles. Nang tha lung is still occasionally seen at temple fairs in the South, mostly in Songkhla and Nakhon Si Thammarat provinces. Performances are also held periodically for tour groups or visiting dignitaries from Bangkok.
 The second tradition, nang yai (literally, 'big hide'), uses much larger cutouts, each bound to two wooden poles held by a puppet master; several masters (almost always male) may participate in a single performance. Nang yai is rarely performed nowadays because of the lack of trained nang masters and the expense of the shadow puppets. Most nang yai that are made today are sold to interior decorators or tourists-a well crafted hide puppet may cost as much as 10,000B.
In 1994, in order to celebrate the king's 50th year on the throne, the Fine Arts Department initiated a project to restore the original 180 year-old set of nang yai figures used by the Thai royal court. The project required the refurbishing of 352 puppets along with the creation of a hundred new ones to complete the royal set, known as Phra Nakhon Wai (City-Shaking)-a tribute to the impact they had on audiences nearly two centuries ago. In addition to the occasional performance in Nakhon Si Thammarat or Bangkok, nang yai can be seen at Wat Khanon in Ratchaburi Province, where nang yai master khru Chalat is passing the art along to younger men.
Royal Marionettes
 Lakhon Lek like khon, lek or 'little theatre' (also known as hun luang or 'royal puppets') was once reserved for court performances. Metre-high made of koi paper and wire, wearing elaborate costumes modeled on those of the khon, are used to convey similar themes, music and dance movements.
Two Thai puppetmasters are required to manipulate each hun luang-including arms, legs, hands, even fingers and eyes-by means of wires attached to long poles. Stories are drawn from Thai folk tales, particularly Phra Aphaimani, and occasionally from the Ramakian.
Hun luang is no longer performed, as the performance techniques and puppet-making skills have been lost. The hun luang puppets themselves are highly collectable; the Bangkok National Museum has only one example in its collection. Surviving examples of a smaller, 30cm court version called hun lek (little puppets) are occasionally used in live performances; only one puppeteer is required for each marionette in hun lek.
Another Thai puppet theatre called hun krabok (cylinder puppets) is based on popular Hainanese puppet shows. It uses 30cm hand puppets that are carved from wood, and they are viewed from the waist up. Hun krabok marionettes are still being crafted and used in performances to this day.
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