French Cultural Centre to Organize Lakhaon Theatre Festival in Phnom Penh

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea and Chhut Chheana

The French Cultural Centre has organized a Lakhaon Theater Festival in Phnom Penh from October 3-9, 2008, according to Alain Arnaudet, director of the French Cultural Centre (FCC).

Alain mentioned that the international Lakhaon performance, which would be held at Chenla Theater Hall, in Phnom Penh, beginning at 18:30 pm, was free of charge for all of Cambodian people and visitors in Cambodia.

He told the press conference, held at FCC on September 24, 2008 that for this year’s festival, there would be twelve companies from Cambodia, France, Laos, Burma and Thailand displaying their skills during the festival. According to FCC estimates, this will create a magnificent spectacle involving 300 skilled performers.

“This is the second time that the FCC has organized the International Theater Festival in Cambodia. This year, French and Asian artists will collaborate on new creations while they are in residence. This promises to be a priceless moment of mutual enrichment,” Alain Arnaudet told the press conference.

“The main purpose of the Lakhaon festival is to participate in the rebirth or renaissance of various traditional theatrical forms of Southeast Asia, and to promote the development of new contemporary forms through encounters and exchanges between artists from other cultural horizons,” he said.

Alain said the festival would present plays from the Khmer classical repertoire that originate in traditional theatrical forms; but the event would also provide a showcase for varied and contemporary creations. He said that seven new and previously unseen Khmer creations will receive their premiers during this second festival and they will feature nine theatrical forms including Trab, Polsrei, Pleng Ka, Sbaekpor, and Ayai.

Chen Neak, Khmer Lakhaon Festival Organizer for the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts (MoCFA), said that the International Theater festival helped the ministry and Cambodian government in many ways. The festival will not only preserve but develop traditional Khmer theatrical forms as living expressions of the creative spirit. Without this loving concern and attention, these venerable forms of dramatic art will disappear.

Neak said that according to MoCAF’s archive of documents and recordings, there are a total of 24 Khmer traditional theatric forms in Cambodia. However, he said that due to the wars in Cambodia, seven of these theatrical forms have had to be recreated using the limited evidence available to MoCFA. These reclaimed theatrical forms will form the centerpiece of the 2008 Lakhaon Theater Festival.

He also said that in order to preserve the remaining traditional theatrical forms, the ministry is seeking financial support from donors inside and outside the country.

He concluded, “We think that we would able to research and document our traditional theatrical forms when we have sufficient financial support from donors. We will also try our best to produce new creations from our traditional theatrical forms for plays to be staged during the next international theater festival. We are confident that these international festivals will help preserve the richness of Khmer culture for generations as yet unborn.”

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