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Hun lakhon lek (Thai : หุ่นละครเล็ก, pronounced [hùnlā.kʰɔ̄ːnlék] ) is a type of traditional small Thai puppet which uses three puppeteers working together to produce a character with more mobility and lifelike movement.
Hun la korn lek has been a form of entertainment for the Thai people and foreigners alike for more than a century. It was invented by Kru Krae Suppawanich in 1901 during the reign of King Mongkut (King Rama IV). He developed it while trying to construct a Hun Laung (Royal Thai puppet), which he found involved too many complicated structures and too many strings. He decreased the number of the strings inside the puppet, and thus invented hun la korn lek. His first performance was in Varadis Palace.
Kru Kare continued performing with his puppets, but after World War II he found he was growing older, and that hun la korn lek was beginning to decrease in popularity. He passed 30 of his puppets onto his daughter-in-law, and the rest of his puppets were "drowned" in the Chao Phraya River. Later on, his daughter-in-law passed the remaining puppets on to Sakorn Yang-keawsot (English nickname Joe Louis) because of his ability in performing with the puppets. Hun la korn lek was brought back to the public eye by the ministry of culture at the celebration of the 200th anniversary of Bangkok in 1985, and has been publicly performed continuously ever since.
All the structures and head are molded from clay to generate a character with a human-like appearance. These clay pieces are covered with paper and allowed to dry in the sun. Arms and legs are made from fabric which is filled with cotton. Wooden foldable joints are attached so limbs have a lifelike movement. Hands and feet are carved from Thong Lang wood, a wood which is lightweight and carves easily. The pieces are painted. Costumes are made using handmade cloth and sewed by hand according to traditional Thai sewing methods. The face of the puppet is painted with colored clay to match the color of human skin. Eyes and lips are painted with poster paint.
To perform Hun la korn lek, three puppeteers are each responsible for different functions. They need to have a thorough knowledge of basic Khon dance, and a lot of practice and teamwork are required for the three of them to perform together as one character. The first puppeteer controls the head and the right hand of the puppet. The second puppeteer controls the left hand of the puppet. The third puppeteer controls the feet of the puppet. They must be skillful and experienced enough to control every part in unison to produce a perfectly coordinated character.
Hun la korn lek performances generally involve renditions of Thai Royal novels and traditional Thai novels, mainly Ramakein and Sang Thong. The play does not generally involve a performance of the whole story from beginning to end, but only one chosen part of the story which is divided into three acts. The story may be told in its original version or rearranged by the composer. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Supermarionation is a style of television and film production employed by British company AP Films in its puppet TV series and feature films of the 1960s. These productions were created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed at APF's studios on the Slough Trading Estate. The characters were played by electronic marionettes with a moveable lower lip, which opened and closed in time with pre-recorded dialogue by means of a solenoid in the puppet's head or chest. The productions were mostly science fiction with the puppetry supervised by Christine Glanville, art direction by either Bob Bell or Keith Wilson, and music composed by Barry Gray. They also made extensive use of scale model special effects, directed by Derek Meddings.
Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance that involves the manipulation of puppets – inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. Such a performance is also known as a puppet production. The script for a puppet production is called a puppet play. Puppeteers use movements from hands and arms to control devices such as rods or strings to move the body, head, limbs, and in some cases the mouth and eyes of the puppet. The puppeteer sometimes speaks in the voice of the character of the puppet, while at other times they perform to a recorded soundtrack.
A marionette is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed to an audience by using a vertical or horizontal control bar in different forms of theatres or entertainment venues. They have also been used in films and on television. The attachment of the strings varies according to its character or purpose.
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Bunraku is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, founded in Osaka in the beginning of the 17th century, which is still performed in the modern day. Three kinds of performers take part in a bunraku performance: the Ningyōtsukai or Ningyōzukai (puppeteers), the tayū (chanters), and shamisen musicians. Occasionally other instruments such as taiko drums will be used. The combination of chanting and shamisen playing is called jōruri and the Japanese word for puppet is ningyō. It is used in many plays.
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A hand puppet is a type of puppet that is controlled by the hands that occupies the interior of the puppet. A glove puppet is a variation of hand puppets. Rod puppets require one of the puppeteer's hands inside the puppet glove holding a rod which controls the head, and the puppet's body then hangs over most or all of the forearm of the puppeteer, and possibly extends further. Other parts of the puppet may be controlled by different means, e.g., by rods operated by the puppeteer's free hand, or strings or levers pulled the head or body. A smaller variety, simple hand puppets often have no significant manipulable parts at all. Finger puppets are not hand puppets as they are used only on a finger.
Digital puppetry is the manipulation and performance of digitally animated 2D or 3D figures and objects in a virtual environment that are rendered in real-time by computers. It is most commonly used in filmmaking and television production but has also been used in interactive theme park attractions and live theatre.
Ancient Siam is a museum park constructed by Lek Viriyaphant and occupying over 200 acres (0.81 km2) in the shape of Thailand.
Sakorn Yang-keawsot was a Thai puppeteer. He was a master of the hun lakorn lek. Also known by his English nickname, Joe Louis, in 1965 he founded the Sakorn Hunlakornlek troupe with his daughter, Thitawan Yangkheiosod. Later, in 2001, his son, Pisutr Yang-keawsot formed a new troupe named Joe Louis and founded Joe Louis Puppet Theatre under his acknowledgment. He was named a National Artist for performing arts in 1996.
The Joe Louis Puppet Theatre or Nattayasala Hun Lakhon Lek, is the traditional Thai Hun Lakorn Lek marionette show originating in 1898, which was modeled from the Siamese court puppetries aged 1782 CE with the Chinese Glove puppetry influence at the Front Palace of Siamese Prince Wichaichan. It was first founded in 1985 under the name Sakorn Natasilp by Sakorn Yang-keawsot, later the Joe Louis Puppet Theatre, and publicly performed by request of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). Later, the Joe Louis Puppet Theatre bestowed the official name as the Nattayasala Hun Lakhon Lek theatre and was patronized by Princess Galyani Vadhana.
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A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. Puppetry is an ancient form of theatre which dates back to the 5th century BC in ancient Greece.
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