On Arkas mountain in a dark forest full of naga (serpents) and other poisonous creatures, monkey warrior Champhuwaraj, disguised as a big black bear, storms a pavilion inside Rothan Hollow. In there he interrupts Intorachit, son of the demon King Thotsakan, during a ritual of soaking his arrow in the pool of naga venom.
Wirunmook, the son of demon Wirunchambang, fights monkey warriors Hanuman and Ongkhot.
Intorachit later battles against the monkey army led by Phra Lak and eventually fires the arrow at him. Phra Lak is wounded but not dead, so his elder brother, Phra Ram, shoots his own blessed arrow to summon the Garuda to chase away the naga, who possesses the cursed arrow.
This episode in the epic Ramakien — the Thai version of Ramayana — will no longer be just an exotic tale of mythical creatures and an enchanted land, but will be brought to life for the first time, along with the centrepiece of a 7m-high Garuda, with the use of state-of-the-art technology.
This year's khon performance, The Battle Of Intorachit: Nakabat by the Support Foundation under Royal Patronage is, like every one of the annual spectacles before it, a much-awaited event of national art, cultural heritage and tradition.
This year's khon performance is the eighth edition of the annual production, following Her Majesty the Queen's command that a khon performance be held every year in order to preserve this great performing art.
"HM the Queen is delighted that the annual khon performance has become so popular and attracted so many viewers. Many of the audience members have watched our khon productions several times and have been expecting new things each time we put it on," said Thanpuying Charungjit Teekara, assistant to the Support Foundation secretary-general and the chairman of the performance.
The traditional make-up for khon.
"This time, there will be new settings, especially the Rothan Hollow and the great Garuda flying scene. I have seen the set, including the 7m-high Garuda statue. It will be incredible."
According to Thanpuying Charungjit, HM the Queen wishes to preserve khon, which combines all traditional Thai arts, for the new generation. Thus, the Support Foundation staged five episodes: Prommas (twice in 2007 and 2009), Nang Loi (twice in 2010), Suek Maiyarap (2011), Jong Tanon (2012) and The Battle Of Kumbhakarn — Mokasak (2013). All these performances went smoothly and with great success, huge attendance and several requests for additional shows. It's proof that in the modern world of various distractions, khon remains a crown of traditional performance that still finds enthusiastic audiences.
After every performance, members from the audience were requested to fill out questionnaires on the performance and their favourite episodes from the five. The information was then submitted to HM the Queen to assist her in selecting the right episode, which will be performed later this year. The Battle Of Intorachit: Nakabat was chosen and will be staged from Nov 7-Dec 5 at the Main Hall, Thailand Cultural Centre.
ML Piyapas Bhirombhakdi, vice-chairman and public relations director, added that the committee this year allowed young performers to audition and play their part in inheriting the national heritage. "All the judges were very satisfied to see very good participation in this year's audition," ML Piyapas said.
The judging panel has selected 25 young performers out of the 800 that auditioned. Ramakien episodes usually feature five different types of roles. For this audition, 84 performers auditioned for the roles of phra (the princes), 199 for the roles of phra lakhon (women playing men in dance sequences), 256 for the roles of nang (women), 130 for the roles of ling (the monkey) and 130 for the roles of a demon.
"HM the Queen was very happy to learn so many members of the young generation attended the audition. The audition was very strict in terms of dance and manners. In every rehearsal, instructors would observe the performers practise their dancing and coach them one by one. In each performance, the instructors would come to watch their students."
Director Pramet Boonyachai said that the performance of each episode is special in its own way and that The Battle Of Intorachit: Nakabat is extraordinary as the script, penned by King Rama I, is different from that written by King Rama II in the depiction of Wirunmook: a demon child with a top knot hairdo that rides a horse.
According to Pramet, the committee and production team have worked the script into a two-hour long performance and have mixed modern techniques to create a fun performance that also preserves the ancient tradition of the Royal Court's khon.
Champhuwaraj, disguised as a bear, attempts to stop Intorachit’s ritual of soaking his arrow Nakabat in the naga’s venom.
This performance consists of five key scenes — Longka Palace, Phra Ram's Pavilion on Emerald Mountain, the Rothan Hollow, Battlefield One and Battle Field Two — and three small, yet spectacular scenes including Wirunmook inspecting the army in the Longka Palace scene and the naga dance in the Rothan Hollow scene.
The latter promises to be both amazingly beautiful and scary, while the battlefield scene is also spectacular as it utilises a new scene-shifting technique and a gigantic Garuda flying down from the sky to destroy the naga.
"Several experts and national artists have provided their full knowledge and skills to the performers in the scene where Wirunmook inspects the army. In this scene, the performer playing Wirunmook must perform the Ram Napart Samer dance, which was passed down from the late khon guru Yai Changthong. I guarantee that the audience will surely enjoy this special and exquisite spectacle," the director said.
Sudsakorn Chaisem, stage and equipment designer, agreed that the viewers will be in awe of certain scenes, including Prelude — Rabam Narai 7 Pang, written by Prince Narisara Nuwattiwongsa, in which the god Narai rides the gigantic Garuda in a stunning heaven scene amid a splendid dance.
Chatree Thongchalam, who plays monkey warrior Hanuman, voiced his happy feelings for having the third opportunity to perform in the Support Foundation's Khon performance.
"I have been in the previous two performances, but every time I perform, I feel it is a challenge and also an honour to be part of the khon performance and efforts to preserve our national art and cultural heritage."
Phra Lak, the younger brother of Phra Ram, leads the army of monkey warriors.
