I am Don Quixote the Trio Likay: A Soul-searching Content within Thai Popular Performance
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This article mainly focuses on the recent production of Anatta Theatre Troupe, named “I am Don Quixote the Trio Likay,” which presented in Bangkok Theatre Festival 2019. The performance exhibited the combination of social themes and entertaining images belong to both Don Quixote of La Mancha and likay form as a reconstruction of popular theatre. The story is about a broke business man who assumes himself as a world-renowned knight, Don Quixote of La Mancha, in likay style. He makes the great efforts in promoting justice and equality for underprivileged people in Thai society. The production demonstrates a confidence in presenting identity of popular theatre and challenging Thai socio-cultural formation of popular status. The result demonstrates that sophisticated messages, such as soul-searching, social critique and satire, humanity and equality can, in an apparently paradoxical manner, be conveyed through likay-style performance. “I am Don Quixote the Trio Likay”, therefore, enables to hybrid the theatrical practice between tradition-popular based and contemporary theatre in Thailand.
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References
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