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By
: Suy Se, Photos Courtesy of Sovanna Phum.
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Lakhon Niyeai: a modern spoken
drama.
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Lakhon Bassac,
Lakhon Yike and Lakhon Niyeai drama are the three
popular forms of Khmer musical theatre. "Lakhon"
itself is translated as "theatre." Each
dramatic style was almost decimated by the massive
Khmer Rouge executions, but survived even though
many of the performers were killed.
But now the art forms are facing a new kind of threat.
It's not clear, if they will be pull through this
time, in the era of television and karaoke. This
year, the Royal University of Fine Arts had planned
to accept a class of 30 students, to study the two
forms of musical theatre Bassac and Yike. "Only
two students applied for Lakhon Yike, while the
Bassac program drew only one applicant," said
Mr. Proeung Chhieng, the Vice Rector of the Royal
University of Fine Arts. The cause of the decline
in popularity is apparent: "the problem is,
they know that, when they finish they will have
no jobs. That's why we don't dare to train them
in a lot of numbers, " |
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Mr. Proeung Chhieng
said. Cambodia is not the only country whose musical theater
is facing economic pressure. While lavish musical productions
remain popular on New York's Broadway, the price for a
ticket has risen to $50, or $100, or even higher.
Cambodian musical productions are rooted in the countryside,
where the typical audience of farmers rarely have more
than a few hundred riel to spend on entertainment. The
folk opera, Lakhon Bassac, is a lively and entertaining
form of Khmer theater. It originated in the mid 19th century
in the Bassac area, in the province of Prahtrapheang (which
was in the lower part of Cambodia, |
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Lakhon Niyeai: one of the surviving
dramatic art forms within the kingdom
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now known
as southern Vietnam). Lakhon Bassac was popularized
along the waterways, through which it used to move,
and thus through the remainder of the country. It
originated with the itinerant river-borne theatre
groups of Cambodia and Southern Vietnam. Traveling
up and down the Bassac - Hau Giang River in large
sailing boats, these troupes would pull in to give
performances at the major centers of population.
Today in Cambodia, Lakhon Bassac is unfortunately
slowly disappearing for the simple fact that its
performers cannot earn their living practicing their
art.
Lakhon Yike is a more ancient art form, dating from
the 8th century. The style originated from a theatrical
game involving a multitude of different sized drums,
singing and dancing.
Regarding Yike theatre Mr. Preuong Chhieng said:
"What is needed the actors who have beautiful
voices, are pretty, and are good at performing.
But it is very hard to choose them because some
of them have beautiful voices, but they are not
pretty."
Khmer Lakhon Yike parallels the Thai Likay and the
Malay Jikey, in its mixture of classical and modern
choreography and costuming, drawing its themes from
old tales of the Khmer kings. |
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It features an
ensemble of both traditional and modern instruments. "Both
[Bassac and Yike] involve music, dance and melodrama,
with lavish costumes and scenery often based on the Ream
Ke, the Cambodian version of the Indian epic Ramayana."
Mr. Proeung Chhieng explained.
However, the theatrical tradition made a strong comeback
after 1979, when the Khmer Rouge were driven from power.
The State of Cambodia government subsidized the art form
heavily, allowing performers to earn a living, while they
reassembled the near destroyed repertoire.
Today’s young performers are increasingly choosing
easy money over traditional culture. Between 1980 and
1986, the Royal University of Fine Arts graduated average
of 80 theatre students per year. Next year's graduating
class will include three Bassac students and 13 who majored
in Yike.
Mr. Proeung Chhieng said he is optimistic that the popular
music fad will pass, as others have before: "What
is new Khmers catch onto very quickly, but what is not
Khmer will not last,
"At the time of the arrival of the video, Khmer theatre
began to decrease, step by step," moreover, he added,
"during the years of 1986 to 1989 Cambodian people
discovered and preferred videos . . . at the time we lacked
security and the theatre performed at night, this caused
people to stay at home and watch TV instead.
"In 1990, video begun a decline and the people were
very poor, they turned to watch theatre once again but
we lacked the capital necessary." Mr Proeung Chhieng
illustrates.
"Really, budget is very crucial in starting to do
anything," according to Mr. Mann Kosal, Director
and Puppeteer of the Khmer Art Association of Sovanna
Phum. For each theatre show, they charge between 1,500,000
to 2,500,000 riel: depending on the customer and the performance.
"I don't think it is expensive because we have to
spend money on clothes and props. One performer will get
only 3,0000 riel," Mann Kosal said. He said that
there are at least 20 performers in a show.
Today in Cambodia, it is common knowledge that the Kampong
Cham theatres are some of the best shows. However Mann
Kosal points out that: "it is not clear which group
is performing well because the best performers always
move from group to group."
According to Mr. Mann Kosal, there were many kinds of
Khmer theatre. After the Khmer Rouge regime was driven
from power, there were only three forms of Cambodian theatre,
which were very popular amongst Cambodians. These are
Lakhon Bassac, Lakhon Yike and Lakhon Niyeai.
Whilst being one of the most modern forms of theatre:
Lakhon Niyeai is still a favorite. Mr. Mann Kosal said
that it remains popular to the people. Part of this is
because the General Department of Sports led a group of
Lakhon Niyeai, last March, to play in many provinces and
cities, such as Sihanoukville, Kep and Svay Rieng. During
this tour, both the audiences and public support were
phenomenal.
Modern spoken drama or Lakhon Niyeai, was first produced
during the 1940s, initially centered on French works in
translation. In subsequent decades, original Khmer plays,
by Hang Thun Hak and others, began to appear and the genre
grew steadily in popularity, leading to the establishment
in 1950s of a National Theatre School, with a resident
company. Both were subsumed into the Choreographic Art
and Music campus of the Royal University of Fine Arts,
when the latter opened in 1965.
But these popular art forms of theatre lost popularity
during the year of 1986, while the people turned to watch
videos and televisions instead. Yet later on they turned
to watch the theatres once again.
"In the 1960s, people loved the Twist dance, but
in a short while they tired of it and returned to love
popular Cambodian singer Sin Sisamuth." Proeung Chhieng
uses as an example.
Although it has endured many turns and twists of fate,
it seems the spirit of the Khmer Theatre is one that will
endure. Modern fads will come and go but in the end people
will always want to go to the theatre. |
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