Khon [โขน] Dance at the Thailand Cultural Centre

Thailand Cultural Centre Hall

The Khon is a traditional masked dance drama. It was originally performed at the court of the Ayutthaya Kingdom. It is based on the Thai Ramakien drama, which is an adaptation of the Hindu Ramayana epics. The performance uses masks and elaborate costumes. 

The performance involves four sets of characters, male, female, monkeys and demons. It is the tale of

Khon actors

the struggle between the forces of good and evil. Ramayana depicts the story of Prince Rama. There are four main characters: the hero, the heroine, the ogre, and the monkey. The best-known characters in the story are the monkey warriors, the monkey god Hanuman, and Phra Ram.

This type of performance has been revived by Queen Sirikit, the Queen Mother of Thailand and remains under royal patronage. Originally, the Khon dance was only performed by men. It combines many forms of art that include also a narrator and a piphat [ปี่พาทย์] ensemble (a Thai classical music featuring wind and percussion instruments). 

VDO sound of the choir

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The actors at the finale

Mask display

Portrait of a dancer

Mask of a monkey

Mask of a demon

Khon actors on the scene at the end of the performance