Khon Masked Dance Drama

Khon is the masked form of the Ramakien, Thailand's telling of the Ramayana, and it was a court art long before it was a public one. Demons and monkeys wear lacquered papier-mache masks built up over months and finished in gold leaf and mirror glass; gods and humans go unmasked under tiered crowns, faces held as still as masks anyway. The dancers do not speak. A narrator and chorus carry the text while a piphat ensemble of oboe, gongs and drums drives the movement, which is slow, angular and rehearsed from childhood. UNESCO added khon to its intangible heritage list in 2018. Full productions run several hours; smaller theatres stage condensed versions through the year.

Highlights

• The masks - lacquered and gilded, one form per character type.
• The piphat ensemble - gongs, drums and the reedy pi oboe.
• The monkey troupe - the acrobatic core of the big set pieces.
• The chorus and narrator - the spoken text the dancers never touch.

When to go

The large annual production plays in Bangkok during the cool season and sells out early, so book as soon as dates appear. Smaller venues run condensed hour-long programmes year-round, most evenings. Read a summary of the Ramakien beforehand; without it the plot is very difficult to follow from the movement alone.

Good to know

The pace is deliberately slow and the story is told in a language and register most visitors cannot follow, so an hour can feel long. Tourist-facing versions cut the drama to a string of highlights with dinner attached. Full productions are expensive, and photography is usually restricted once the curtain goes up.

Nearby

Bangkok's old city theatres sit within reach of the river piers and the palace quarter.