GreenBkk Scoop | Performers bring their craft out in the open

Performers bring their craft out in the open

After 58 years, Sangkheet Sala _ an open-air theatre operated by the Fine Arts Department _ remains a popular place for culture aficionados.

Young performers dazzle the audience with an elegant traditional dance at Sangkheet Sala.

Wantanee Muangboon, a performing art expert at the Fine Arts Department, said the theatre attracts the audience with a variety of quality shows, Thai traditional music, Western classical music, dance and drama. There are also likay and lamtat performances by professional artists and music by non-Fine Arts performers, like pi phat percussion ensembles from renowned conservatories.

"Of course, drama and dance draw a bigger audience," she said.

Inaugurated in 1948, the theatre came into existence as an experimental project. At first, it was open once a week, on Wednesday evenings. But the enduring popularity caused the Fine Arts Department to change the programme date to Saturdays and Sundays. It is seasonal theatre with show programming running from November to May, from 4pm onward, as the weather allows.

The show programmes are prepared by the Fine Arts Department and by guest artists, she said.

The shows by the Fine Arts Department are prepared by the same group of artists who take care of the shows for the National Theatre.

According to Wantanee, it's basically the same show presented in a different setting.

"The National Theatre is formal, with a spectacular lighting system and stage props, while at Sangkheet Sala, there's a relaxed mood. The audience can sit anywhere. They may stretch during the performance or walk around to get some food to fill the stomach."

The ticket price for Sangkheet Sala is low, at 20 baht, while tickets for the National Theatre start at 60 baht.

In the courtyard of the Wangna Buddhaisawan Reception Hall in the National Museum, the theatre's background is attractive, with a set of traditional-style buildings.

The audience comes from all walks of life. The open theatre which charges 20 baht for entrance also attracts foreign tourists because of its easy-going environment.

Sangkheet Sala is the place where the historic drama production, Conqueror of the Ten Directions or Phu Chana Sip Thit, an adaptation of a famous novel by Chot Praepan under the pen name of Yakob, was launched in the 1980s, said Wantanee.

Pakorn Pornpisuth took the role of Jadet, the leading character, while National Artist Suphachai Chansuwan was Mangtra and Wantanee played Nanthawadee, Mangtra's wife, who has to suppress her feelings for Jadet. The late Ajarn Seree Wangnaitham, who directed the play, was Jadet's mentor, Ajarn Kusodaw.

The production became a smash hit and Seree decided to move the play to the main National Theatre so that it could be presented year round.

The audience's long queue for tickets is still memorable. It's not uncommon for the queue to go beyond the theatre fence.

The drama was suspended when Seree passed away in 2007.

"Ajarn Seree was so great, no artist would dare to take over the role in this play," she said.

The audience of Sangkheet Sala is comprised of long-term fans, Wantanee noted. "Some follow their favourite artists who are to perform here. Some are fans of lamtat performers, for instance," she said.

Somrit Luechai, independent academic, said he is a big fan of Sangkheet Sala.

"This is a great place, a real public space for people who love Thai culture. It's like a community. Many in the audience know each other, I believe," he said.

Sangkheet Sala provides an impressive cultural programme that cannot be found on television, he said.

"We can see kabuki performances on Japanese television or classical music performances on European TV but here's there's nothing and I'm glad that at least we still have Sangkheet Sala," he said.

Somrit urges the Fine Arts Department to open a similar theatre in the provinces to give a chance for those upcountry to have access to cultural heritage.

"Such a great place should not be concentrated only in Bangkok," he said.

Credit: Bangkok Post (www.bangkokpost.com)