Minister promises a year of ‘Khon’

The Culture Ministry is planning a year of activities to further promote ‘khon’, the classical masked-dance theatre that has now been added to UNESCO’s list of ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage’.

Members of the UN Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation (UNESCO) meeting in Mauritius added Thai khon among several new world cultural treasures.

It is the first time that Thailand has been represented on the heritage list, and Culture Minister Vira Rojpojchanarat credited the achievement to Her Majesty the Queen’s efforts to bring the theatre form into the 21st century with gala annual performances.

“She ordered a complete redesign for the costumes and ornamentation, the makeup, stage, format, lighting and sound, turning it into a royal khon performance,” he said.

“More live performances will be staged in the coming year and we’ll be screening the animated film ‘Ramayana’, which the ministry produced.”

Vira said there would also be exhibitions, children’s books and a documentary film presented around the country, and a khon digital database would be created for use by future generations.

While few would decry the focus on preserving traditional khon, some critics have said the government should also be supporting contemporary theatre as well.

Also recognised by the UN agency as a form of Intangible Cultural Heritage “in need of urgent safeguarding” was Cambodia’s similar masked-dance form known as lakhon khol.

ORIGINAL STORY: The Nation Weekend