Wonder of khon renewed

Months of effort have gone into creating fresh costumes and stage design, and the annual Royal Khon Performance is almost ready for the Thailand Culture Centre in mid-November.

It will be the much-anticipated restaging of “The Battle of Indrajit, Episode of Prommas”, back by popular demand, following well-received productions in 2007 and 2009.

Her Majesty the Queen’s Support Foundation is again presenting the show, this time with an array of added highlights.

The new costumes come from the South, all sumptuous Muang Nakhon brocade skilfully woven at the Nuen Thammang and Baan Trok Kae handicraft centres in Nakhon Sri Thammarat.

Ajarn Sudsakorn Chaisem, who’s in charge of production and ornament design for the Royal Khon Performances, has lost none of the sharp focus that helped make previous shows such a delight to watch. This is Thai classical drama equal to the highest international standards. 

“The preparations in terms of the stage and props are almost 100 per cent complete,” he says. “There will be six scenes this year – ‘Oppose for Time (The Throne Room of Romakal)’, ‘Phra Ram Pavilion’, ‘Battlefield’, ‘War News (The Throne Room of Lonka)’, ‘Destroyed Ceremony’ and ‘Prommas’.”

Within these scenes, Subsakorn enthuses, “are several highlight scenes that are really beautiful”. 

The show opens with “The Battle of Mankornkant”, and he promises that the audience will be utterly impressed right from the outset. 

“The throne of Romakal is very beautiful and stunningly built with the help of Chinese-style artistic elements. Then, in the battlefield scene, there’s a beautiful sculpture of the Demon Bird, Asul Paksa, 1.5 metres high. Thossakant’s Glass Arch in the throne room of Lonka is truly gorgeous, with gold set in the glass, a much-improved version over the last performance.”

Part 2, which generated so much discussion following previous presentations, has even more thrills in store, Sudsakorn says. “People are very excited to find out what the Erawan Elephant will look like this time. We’ve performed this episode twice, but we’re constantly developing the performance over time, using much more advanced technology, which allows us to capture exactly what’s in our imaginations. 

“The audience will be seeing an Erawan three and a half metres tall, enhanced with special effects to make it look almost real. The elephant can move its trunk, neck and all three heads and even bow.”

The same scene also features a golden crescent moon three and a half metres in diameter sitting above Sappaya Mountain. 

“All of these features will combine to ensure an unforgettable experience for the audience this year,” Sudsakorn says.

 

LET BATTLE COMMENCE

- The Royal Khon Performance “The Battle of Indrajit, Episode of Prommas” will be performed from November 17 to December 6 at the Thailand Cultural Centre. 

- For details, see www.ThaiTicketMajor.com or www.KhonPerformance.com.