Traditional Thai Puppet Theater

Last week, my friend Ekvara and I went to the Traditional Thai Puppet Theater at the Suan Lum Night Bazaar. I met Ekvara a few years ago when she worked at JD Edwards. She since moved back to Thailand and now works for Datapro. We have stayed in contact and she has again graciously offered to play tour guide! This time she suggested the Puppet Theater. The performance was taken from the Ramakian (Ramayana). The Hindu tale of Prince Rama has been portrayed in movies, plays and so on all over the world for centuries. Thai Puppet Theater has it's own unique take on this timeless tale.

Each puppet requires three humans to manipulate. The human movements are very intricate and stylized. It takes years and years to perfect the skills. Included below somewhere are a number of pictures from the theater. Both male and females may 'operate' the puppets. To me it is somewhat reminiscent of Japanese Bunraku.

This particular performance was a small part of the Ramakian. It focused on the evil King Mayarap's attempt to kidnap and kill Prince Rama and the Monkey King Hanuman's rescue of the Prince.

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