The key features of Likay performance and its

reciprocity to Thai soap televised drama

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By:
6448041228 Paveethida Nuchan (Nuch)

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2800211 Thai Culture for Communication Section 10

Aj. Sukanya Sompiboon
 In Thailand, Likay is the most popular form of folk theater in which “the performance
combines spoken text, dance, song, music, ornate costumes, and decoration” (Sompiboon,
2012). It is commonly performed on temporary stages, at temple fairs, other communal
festivities, and permanent stages. The following paragraph will provide the key feature of
Likay performance and its reciprocity to Thai soap televised drama.

To begin with, the first key feature, participation, is the heart of Likay performance,
particularly between performers and audiences. Because Likay frequently performed on
temporary stages at temple fairs, a large number of people can attend the event. Therefore,
the audience, which includes both children and the elderly, has the opportunity to engage with
the performers directly. Regarding audience participation, the audience might interrupt the
performance by yelling recommendations for what the performers should do in a scene. In
other ways to engage the performance, audiences can participate by presenting the performers
with garlands and flowers and cheerfully yelling and clapping their hands throughout the
performance. The audience’s reaction can boost the performers’ energy.

Next, Improvising is another key feature of Likay performance which is related to

audience participation. During plays, improvisational techniques can encourage the performer
and the audience to ‘perform’ together as Likay performers improvise the dialogue to speak
with their audience. Also, one of Likay’s most distinguishing features is its capacity to
present a dramatic scenario that links to audiences’ imaginary worlds, frequently without the
use of a script, and players directly address the audience, asking feedback and thanking them
for their attention and support.

Another feature of Likay performance is that Likay repertoires are mostly predictable
as they are based on abridged monarchical legends and fairy tales. And, most audiences
already know the show’s plotlines because Likay troupes often perform the same stories,
allowing the audience to compare it with other troupes to find the best one. The typical Likay
performance contains five types of main characters: hero, heroine, villain, villainess, and
clown. These characters are frequently mistaken for kings or queens since the stories are
generally abridged monarchical stories.
 Furthermore, Likay’s performances are also notable for their sound and visual beauty.
Likay’s symbol is sparkling outfits and headdresses, including crystal crowns and ornaments.
Also, it often toys with meaning through exaggerated speech, dress, and even the expression
of impossible daydreams. For instance, Lights and music, costumes, attitudes, and beautiful
movements, the symbols of Likay, depict enjoyment of exaggerating reality.

In 1955, Thai television was established, with Channel 4 being the first to show a
wide range of programming. In the beginning, this channel produced on-air love, revenge,
and adventure drama. On the other hand, Comedy and vaudeville were also broadcast in order
to appeal to the majority of audiences who loved viewing popular theater such as Likay. As a
result, between 1958 and 1963, Likay broadcasts became extremely popular. However, In the
1960s and 1970s, Likay lost ground to the movies, and in the 1980s, it fell even more with
the introduction of new television plays. Even though cinema and television have become
forms of popular mass media, shifting audiences away from the traditional popular stage, the
residual substance and manner of Likay are still offered in mass-mediated cultural
performances. Because of Likay’s appealing aesthetic quality, its motifs have been purposely
used in television shows to attract large audiences. It can be said that Likay had a strong
influence on Thai soap operas since they were full of traditional folk-popular messages that
were related to Likay’s.

In addition, soap dramas have consistently adopted the dramaturgical formulas of

Likay. Even today, the romantic notion that the hero and heroine will be together forever and
the Buddhist didactic doctrine that goodness always conquers over evil is at the heart of Thai
popular performances. Storylines of Likay and soap dramas are often based on quotidian
situations, particularly love triangles between husbands, major wives, and minor wives;
depressed love; revenge between two families; and misunderstandings between couples. The
happy-ending, romantic formulas often seen in Likay reveal the internal truths of heroes and
heroines who eventually find their solution to their problems.

Moreover, one major factor showing Likay’s influence on Thai soap drama is the
one-dimensional characters. The appearances of good characters primarily reflect their
principles; an example of this is the heroine is always attractive, no matter what she is doing,
because she is righteous due to her good acts, following Thai aesthetic, philosophical, and
religious teachings. In brief, Characters in Thai television dramas are comparable to Likay
characters, although they lack headdresses, sparkling jewelry, and ornate costumes of Likay
characters.

In conclusion, the key features of the Likay are participation between performers and
viewers, improvising the dialogue, predictable storylines, and beauty both in image and
sound. Also, Thai soap dramas adopted the dramaturgical formulae from Likay as well as the
characters of Thai drama are influenced by Likay.
 References

Miettinen, J. (n.d.). Likay “Folk Operetta.” ASIAN TRADITIONAL THEATRE & DANCE.
https://disco.teak.fi/asia/likay-folk-operetta/

Sompiboon, S. 2012. The Reinvention of Thai Traditional-Popular Theatre: Contemporary

Likay Praxis. Doctoral dissertation, Exeter: University of Exeter. Available at:
https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/handle/10036/4070

Verstappen, N. (2018, June 1). Prayoon Chanyawongse’s Cartoon Likay: Amalgamating

Likay Theatrical Form and Comics into a Unique Thai Genre, The Comics Grid:
Journal of Comics Scholarship 8, p.9. doi: https://doi.org/10.16995/cg.121