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By Martin Dea
Coming from the Western Hemisphere my view and memories of puppet
performances are, in general, associated with childhood recollections
based on television and travelling fairgrounds. The most popular
of these would be the "Punch and Judy" shows where one
person would control all the puppets out of the gaze of the audience
with sticks attached to the main body of the characters. The majority
of those watching would be children although one can assume that
their parents had been dragged uncomplainingly along. In all of
these shows the same performance is carried out and no great lessons
are learned nor voyages of discovery made.
I have not witnessed a puppet show for many years, although occasionally
I have seen versions (on television) where the characters are controlled
by strings. These have for the most part been very well polished
and produced performances. Therefore it was with a keen interest
that I became aware of the Joe Louis Theatre based in Bangkok and
began to read and research it before attending one of the shows.
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The traditional Joe Louis puppet performance is unlike any other
I have ever witnessed. Each puppet is controlled by three puppeteers,
which gives the tiny characters their amazingly realistic movements
and uncannily human gestures. Another major difference, which I
found to be the most startling, is that during the performance the
puppeteers, instead of remaining behind the screens - are an integral
part of the show and become one with the recital.
Before the performance, three of the puppeteers walk on stage with
the figure they are to control. They demonstrate with precise and
fluid movements how they move in unison to create a lifelike characterisation
and presentation. I was glad for this introduction and explanation
as it eased my transition into this new world and made the show
much more entertaining because of it. This exhibition has a voice
over in both Thai and English.
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The play that I witnessed was adapted from the Thai epic poem "Pra
Apai Manee" The poem was written during the 1820's in Bangkok
by Pra Sunthorn Woharn, more commonly known within literature circles
as Sunthorn Phu . In full length it is over 1000 pages long. As
this would not suit an audience's attention span, the theatre has
adapted it to deal with one aspect only - the birth of a boy child
called Sud Sakorn. As in the poem the play deals with fantastical
creatures, feats of daring do, magic spells and colourful creations.
Much to my surprise and of course added for a present day audience,
Elvis Presley makes a cameo appearance.
I waited with my headphones firmly in place while the lights dimmed.
I was appreciative of the English translation at the beginning of
each piece to assist my understanding of the narrative - although
I had been given a sheet of paper with a summary of the performance.
Not wanting to go into too much detail of the entire recital, suffice
to say that the play deals with the journey of the aforementioned
Sud Sakorn, who at the age of 3 is playing in the sea with his mermaid
mother. There he encounters a beast he has never seen before. The
3 year old being of mystical origin himself decides to fight with
it but fails to defeat it. He speaks to an ancient guru who teaches
the boy to tame it using magical spells. After his victory the boy
sets out on a perilous journey in search of his father. Along the
way he meets all types of tricksters, ghosts and evil spirits who
tempt him from his path. Eventually he grows up and learns to deal
with the perils of the world and those who would try to steer him
from walking along the road less travelled.
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I will not give away any more of the story but it is one that is
transferable to any culture, although this one is deeply rooted
in Thailand. The very mixed race audience soaked up the atmosphere
and were carried along by the narrative and seemed to enjoy every
minute of it - as I did. In some instances where my lack of the
Thai language let me down and I was unsure as it what actually was
happening, I was still able to enjoy the poetic display, elegant
music and rich colourful sets that propelled the story. I was also
interested to see that the puppeteers mouth along the dialogue that
is being spoken off set. I would imagine that this was to keep the
performance fresh for them. I did not find the presence of the puppeteers
a hindrance, rather, they added to my enjoyment.
Afterwards I was invited by Khun Aradee, who is the head of marketing
for the Theatre to watch some of the puppets being made and painted.
I spoke to her as the experts carried out their tasks. I was interested
to find out that this type of Theatre is more commonly known as
"The Hun Lakorn Lek" and that "it disappeared from
Thai culture for over 50 years." Mr Sakorn Yangkeawsot commonly
known as Joe Louis, "adapted and revived the puppets and performances
for future generations to come" Khun Aradee continued "in
1985 Joe Louis was invited by the Thai Tourism Authority to give
a performance to celebrate Thai tourism" she further stated
that "the audiences especially liked the elaborate costumes,
lifelike expressions and the unique method of controlling the puppets."
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Joe Louis has given his own style and methodology to The Hun Lakorn
Lek; the head and faces have been modified to allow for more movement,
the performance has changed to allow the puppets to seem as real
as possible but most importantly the theatre "incorporated
the puppeteer into the performance, so the audience can witness
the coming alive of the character" and "this is the true
heart of the theatre." I had believed that this was always
part of the theatre, even from its origins but I was mistaken in
my assumption as Khun Aradee confirmed. It occurred to me then,
that this Theatre was not afraid to change with the times and that
by adaptation and a keen sense of audience tastes, they would stay
alive for many generations to come. I asked my companion if she
could sum up the feeling and emotion of the play for me, she thought
for a moment and then referred to the epilogue of the piece stating;-
No knowledge is as worthy
As the knowledge of things
But the best knowledge is
The knowledge of how to survive
Perhaps this is as good a summarisation of the play that you will
find anywhere and how to deal with perils that can be found in the
world.
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I continued to observe the construction of the puppets; each one
of them is made from wood and hollow inside. The upper body of the
puppet is made of kloy paper whilst the lower half is of aluminium
coil connected by intricate cords used for controlling the various
movements of the puppet. The main characters in the Theatre have
moveable wrists while the comedian characters wrists are fixed.
While some of the puppets can move their necks and jaws - especially
the comedian, none of them I observed can move their eyes. I asked
Khun Aradee about this, she told me that simply "the eyes are
made of crystal." The making of these puppets, the painting
and the dressing is something to be marvelled at. The amount of
time, effort and attention to detail is something which I have never
witnessed before.
As I walked away from the beautiful theatre the thought occurred
to me that the soul and heart of the performance comes directly
from the puppeteers themselves. The elegance and dance movements
flow entirely with each motion of the puppeteer. I could only imagine
how much training and discipline went into the performance that
I had just watched. I was also very impressed that at no moment
did any of it seem stale or false. Oh and just for the record, the
characterisation of Elvis Presley was there to tempt the young hero
away from his righteous and traditional Thai path, whether or no
this ruse worked you will have to find out for yourself at the Joe
Louis Theatre - I heartily recommend it, a beautiful location with
an outside dining area located in The Bangkok Night Bazaar.
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