After three decades of preparation and rehearsal, it is finally a dream come true for National Artist Chakrabhand Posayakrit and his students to bring hun krabok, or Thai rod puppets, to life in the Taleng Phai performance in their own theatre at the almost-completed Chakrabhand Posayakrit Museum in Bangkok's Sai Mai district.
Hundreds of performers from all walks of life, including artists, musicians, lecturers and primary-school pupils, as one big family, have invested much time and effort into the art. They are now ready to bring out their best in weekly shows all year round to raise funds for the construction of the museum, which is likely to open by year's end. Until the end of February, the shows are fully booked by corporations.
Almost every scene, especially the army-marching, cockfighting, huge crocodile, independence declaration and elephant-back battle scenes, of the story of King Naresuan the Great's victory over Burmese invaders wowed the audience at the recent full-dress rehearsals.
Viewers were also mesmerised by the costumes for the four lead puppets -- King Naresuan; his younger brother, Phra Ekkathosarot; Burmese Viceroy Phra Maha Uparaj; and Phra Suphankanlaya, the elder sister of King Naresuan. These costumes were embroidered with gold thread and studded with real rubies and other precious stones. The costume of Phra Suphankanlaya was the first and was created by Chakrabhand himself.
National Artist Chakrabhand Posayakrit mastered hun krabok, or rod puppets, for a rehearsal of Taleng Phai in the past.
"I learned how to master puppets from Kru Chuen [Sakulkaew, national artist, puppetry] and received the puppet Phisua Samut [Female Giant] from her," Chakrabhand told the Bangkok Post in July of last year. "I learned the art of embroidery from Kru Yuean Phanuthat and passed all the techniques on to my students."
Although a stroke and health problems over the past few years have prevented the 75-year-old national artist from mastering the puppets himself, his eagle eyes are still focused on every single detail of his brainchild -- Taleng Phai. He regularly observes the rehearsals and provides suggestions. Earlier this month, he came to the new theatre to watch one of the full-dress rehearsals.
Chakrabhand is well-known for his artistic role in every process, from crafting puppets to being a puppet master himself in the performances. Among the most well-known are Phra Aphai Manee in 1975 and 1979, and the Nang Loy episode of the Ramakien in 1977.
Scriptwriter and Chakrabhand Posayakrit Foundation deputy chairman Vallabhis Sodprasert.
Born in 1943, Chakrabhand studied at Vijiravudh College and later at the Faculty of Painting, Sculpture and Graphic Arts, Silpakorn University. He has had artistic talents since childhood. His love of classical dance has been clearly reflected through his drawings and paintings.
His love of traditional puppetry began when he was approached to restore the deteriorating hun lek puppets formerly owned by Krom Phra Ratchawang Bovorn Vichaicharn, viceroy in the reign of King Rama V. He studied the original craftsmanship, design and techniques to ensure authenticity. Eventually, he created a series of his own puppets.
In 2003, Chakrabhand performed puppetry with his troupe at a ceremony to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Silpakorn University. The same year, he was declared National Artist (Painting).
According to his book Hun Thai (Thai Puppetry), Chakrabhand saw hun krabok for the first time during the Phra Aphai Manee performance by Nai Piak Prasertkul on television around 1955 or 1956, when he was only 12. After the show, he created his own rod puppets from materials like seashells, egg shells, Salacca wood, old paintbrushes and incense sticks. He even made a miniature set with doors for puppets to enter and exit. "It was a small puppet theatre for 'self-playing' and 'self-viewing' from a mirror," he wrote.
"When studying at the Faculty of Painting, Sculpture and Graphic Arts, Silpakorn University, I took a course that required the students to study traditional paintings at the National Museum Bangkok, and I saw numerous puppets that are art objects. Therefore, I made hun krabok puppets that were 1 khueb [25cm] tall. The puppets were made of solid bamboo and the mastering sticks of paintbrushes. And I painted the sets, which matched the size of the puppets."
Later, in 1974, Chakrabhand met Kru Chuen (Prasertkul) Sakulkaew, owner of Nai Piak Puppet Troupe, and started to collect the heads of the puppets that Kru Chuen kindly sold to him. Kru Chuen taught him how to master puppets because she saw his interest in hun krabok. "I restored those old puppets which were later borrowed by the volunteer-housewives association to be shown at its 'Hobbies' exhibition at the Siam Society. The show attracted much public interest, so I built the torsos for those puppets until there were enough puppets for the performance," he wrote.
The scene depicting Phra Suphankanlaya departing Ayutthaya Kingdom for Pegu.
Chakrabhand was also taught the art of puppet mastering from master Kru Wong Ruamsuk, owner the Chuchert Chamnansilp Hun Krabok Troupe in Samut Songkhram. Later, Kru Chuen sold him all the major puppets from the Nai Piak Troupe, along with the cupboards, except Sinsamut, the son of Phra Aphai Manee and Phisua Samut, and some of the hermits' heads. They are, according to the national artist, the first batch of hun krabok created by Piak Prasertkul, back in 1899.
In 1978, Chakrabhand began to create hun krabok for the Sam Kok (The Romance Of The Three Kingdoms): Jocho Destroying The Naval Fleet performance, which was staged in 1989. These puppets don traditional Chinese costumes decorated with embroidery. Later, in 1990, Chakrabhand started the creation of hun krabok for Taleng Phai.
In 1990, the script for Taleng Phai was penned by Vallabhis Sodprasert, scriptwriter for Sam Kok in 1989. Later, the lyrics were set to music by the late Thai classical music gurus Kru Boonyang and Kru Boonyong Ketkhong and Kru Jamnien Srithaiphan.
The cockfighting scene.
"I spent one month writing the script in the ninth lunar month -- the same month as the fall of Ayutthaya Kingdom. It derived from my faith. I already like Lilit Teleng Phai [a book of poetry]," Vallabhis, deputy chairman of the Chakrabhand Posayakrit Foundation, recalled.
According to him, after the script writing and musical arrangement, the making of the Taleng Phai puppets began with Chakrabhand creating the head of Phra Suphankanlaya.
"We started rehearsals around the year 2000. We rehearsed, improved things and added music and dancing postures simultaneously," he said.
Asst Prof Sankavat Pradithpongse, lecturer at the Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University, masters the puppets King Naresuan, Phra Suphankanlaya and Phra Maha Uparaj, and performs in the Prelude for Taleng Phai. He was assigned by Chakrabhand to take over his roles after the stroke.
The lecturer, who started mastering hun krabok in 1988 for Sam Kok, said: "It's hard to explain my feelings. I'm excited, not because Taleng Phai is finally on the stage. For me, I do the best whether I rehearse or perform for real. I'm excited to eventually see this hun krabok performance as imagined by Ajarn Chakrabhand and Phi Tong [Vallabhis]."
Forty-two-year-old artist Sutee Nutarlai masters the puppets Phra Maha Uparaj, Phra Maha Thane Khanchong (King Naresuan's monk teacher), Najinnong (Phra Maha Uparaj's cousin), Burmese bureaucrat Mang Japaro, Siamese bureaucrat Khun Theporachun, angels, drummer and Burmese dancer for this performance. He is also one of three dancers for the Prelude.
"I am delighted and excited. I have come this far, having the opportunity to master the lead puppets thanks to Ajarn [Chakrabhand]," he said, adding that Chakrabhand was a great teacher who taught him the art of puppetry when he was starting from zero.
According to Vallabhis, there is still room for improvement for Taleng Phai. So far, more than 100 puppets have been completed. More are yet to be crafted, such as 50 Burmese soldiers, 40 Thai soldiers and Burmese vessels. Ten horses and four of all eight elephants for the battle scene are ready. In addition, the independence-declaration scene needs more than one Buddha statue.
"The content is for worshipping all teachers, masters and heroes. It is sacred, not just entertainment," the deputy chairman of the foundation said. "Taleng Phai is the fruit of hard work, which has continued since 1989, 30 years in total."
For the time being, the Taleng Phai performance can be reserved for corporate shows only. All proceeds go to the Chakrabhand Posayakrit Foundation.
Interested entities can contact the foundation at 02-392-7754 or via its website http://chakrabhand.org.
Future rehearsals will be open to student groups, but permission is required.
