In the purely classical
form, Thai drama and dance are
indivisible. The khon masked drama is derived from Indian temple
rituals and dancing and draws its story line from the Ramakian,
the Thai version of the Indian epic Ramayana. During the
Ayutthaya period, the khon was acted by accomplished male court
retainers playing both male and female roles because until the
19th century the movements were thought too strenuous for women
to perform. By the mid 1800's both men and women were appearing
on stage together. Khon performances are characterized by
vigorous, highly-formalized action. Acting and dancing are
inseparable, each step having a definite meaning which is
emphasized by precisely defined music to suggest walking,
marching, laughing, etc. Because some actors and actresses are
masked and cannot speak, narrative verses are usually recited and
sung by a chorus that sits with the accompanying woodwind, gong,
and drum ensemble. The leading male and female performers do not
wear masks and on some occasions they may speak. The ornate
papier mache masks, decorated with gold, lacquer, and paste
jewels, are works of art and perfectly portray the protagonists'
personalities. Costumes are made of rich brocades adorned with
sparkling costume jewellery and closely resemble the apparel of
royalty and celestial beings in classical Thai mural paintings.
Major characters are readily identifiable by the predominant
colours of their costumes. Phra Ram, the hero, wears deep green,
while his brother, Phra Lak, wears gold and the monkey-god
Hanuman wears white. Khon productions were originally so long
more than 20 hours that performances were staged on two
consecutive days. Indeed, a performance of the entire Ramakian
[with 311 characters ] would take more than one month [720 hours
plus] of continuous performance. King Rama II's shorter version
of the epic is used for dramatic purposes and contemporary
adaptations of certain episodes are as short as three hours.
Lakhon dance drama is less formal and actors, with the exceptions
of monkeys, ogres, and other non-human, non-celestial beings, do
not wear masks, Lakhon plots are drawn mainly from the Ramakian,
the Jatakas, and folk stories, Khon and Lakhon costumes are
identical, but Lakhon dance movements are more graceful, sensual,
and fluid, the upper torso and hands being particularly
expressive with conventionalized movements portraying specific
emotions. Lakhon is subdivided into numerous variation, the
major three being Lakhon Chatri, Lakhon Nok, and Lakhon Nai.
Simplest of all in form and presentation, Lakhon Chatri is often
seen at popular shrines, such as Bangkok's Luk Muang [City
Pillar] where dancers are hired by supplicants whose wishes have
been granted to perform for the shrine deity. Lakhon Nai drama
was originally presented only by court ladies in the palace. It
was graceful, romantic, and highly stylized. Lakhon Nok plays, on
the other hand, were performed outside the palace and acted only
by men. Filled with lively music, off-colour humor, and rapid,
animated movements, Lakhon Nok was the ancestor of the enormously
popular Li-ke folk theater which is still a feature of many
provincial festivals. Li-ke, a burlesque of Lakhon containing
elements of pantomime, comic folk opera, and social satire, is
generally performed against a simply painted backdrop during
temple fairs. Its court-derived stories are embellished with
local references and anecdotes, and spontaneous dialogue is
freighted with outrageous puns and double entendres. Two
neglected dramatic forms are Nang Yai shadow play and hun
marionettes, both regular forms of entertainment in Ayutthaya. In
Nang Yai, intricately fashioned cowhide figures, some two metres
tall, are held against a brilliant backlit white screen. Bearers
of the figures dance their parts, the movements of which were
later to provide the pattern for Khon and Lakhon. The Nang
Talung, a more popular shadow play found mainly in the south of
Thailand, closely resembles the Indonesian Wayang. Beautifully
fashioned Nang Talung figures are smaller than their Nang Yai
counterparts and are often constructed to have one moveable
part-an arm, a leg, or a chin. Concealed from audience, the
manipulators are skilled singers and comedians whose repartee
keeps the action bubbling. Hun marionettes, seldom seen today,
are superbly crafted figures which differ from European
marionettes in that they are manipulated from concealed threads
pulled from below rather than above. A more popular version is
Hun Krabok [literally "cylindrical model"] which are similar to
Punch and Judy style hand puppets.