Nang Yai Shadow Theatre

Nang yai uses puppets the size of a person: a single sheet of cowhide cut and perforated into an entire scene, mounted on two bamboo poles. The puppeteer does not sit hidden. He dances the figure in front of a lit white screen and then behind it, so the audience sees both the painted hide and the shadow, while a chorus narrates episodes of the Ramakien over a piphat ensemble. The form is older than khon and far rarer. The best-known surviving troupe is at Wat Khanon in Ratchaburi, where the temple keeps a collection of antique puppets in a small museum and trains local schoolchildren to keep it going.

What you actually see

• The hide puppets - single sheets cut and perforated into full scenes.
• The double view - figures danced in front of the screen and behind it.
• The temple museum - antique puppets preserved and displayed.
• The student troupe - local schoolchildren learning the steps.

When to go

Performances at Wat Khanon are usually held at weekends and on festival days, and schedules shift, so confirm before driving out. Cool-season months make the two-hour road trip from Bangkok comfortable. The museum is open outside performance days, but seeing the puppets standing still is only half the point.

Honest expectations

This is a village temple, not a theatre: no fixed timetable, no English commentary, plain seating and a short programme. Turning up unannounced can mean an empty hall. It is a long way to travel for a performance measured in tens of minutes, and it makes sense mainly combined with the canal markets or the river towns nearby.

Nearby

Damnoen Saduak's canals and the Mae Klong river towns lie south of the temple.