FRENCH in form, LAO in spirit

Vientiane's object theatre troupe Kabong Lao is a must-see at the International Street Show.

Of all the troupes performing at the Mekong Arts and Media Festival two weeks ago in Phnom Penh, one of the audience's favourites was Kabong Lao, a nine-year-old object theatre company based in Vientiane.

Either performing indoors at the Chaktomuk Hall or outdoors near the Mekong riverbank, their short comic skits, with no spoken dialogue, broke all cultural barriers, drove the imagination, stirred wild laughter and drew loud applause.

Using ordinary second-hand objects like pakhaoma, coconut shells, bottle caps, pie pans, baskets, flip-flops and brooms, Kabong Lao is proof that good theatre doesn't necessarily cost a lot of money to produce—just lots of creativity and an adventurous spirit of experimentation.

At the workshop for the Mekong Festival’s participants they showed that what matters more is how human performers put these objects together to create characters and then manipulate, or giving life to, them.

Oftentimes, three performers are in charge of one large puppet, and synchronization is a key here.

The troupe's artistic director Leuthmany Insisiengmay, or Lung Loet as Thai artists love to call him, received a grant from the French government in the mid-1990s to study le theatre d'objets with the Turak Theatre in Lyon. In 2000, with assistance from French artist Michel Laubu, Lung Loet founded Kabong Lao, performing new hybrid art called hun kabong.

"At the beginning, about 100 people signed up. From that we selected 50 and then five of them were sent to Lyon to be trained. It was difficult to get support from the government because they didn't quite understand why we needed used objects, instead of nice-looking new ones."

Today, the troupe has about 15 members, three of whom get a full-time monthly salary from Laos' Information and Culture Ministry while others are hired project-by-project.

“Major support is now from international NGOs, mostly from Sweden and Japan, who commission us to create performances for various advocacy issues concerning, for example, children, environment, women’s rights, and AIDS. With this support, we’re able to perform in many provinces in Laos," Lung Loet says.

"When time permits, we teach our audiences, young or not-so-young, how to make object theatre and they're very proud of their creations."

As for the future, Lung Loet, who always performs with the troupe despite his age, said, "We'd like to perform, with some simple dialogues, longer stories—well-known ones like Pla Boo Thong for example."

Some members of Kabong Lao performed in the opening ceremony of the 25th SEA Games in Vientiane on Wednesday, while four members, including Lung Loet, traveled to International Street Show in Bangkok. It's the first time that the troupe will perform for the Bangkok public after a private show for an ASEAN meeting a few years ago.

Next year, the troupe has another major task—co-hosting the Mekong Performing Arts Laboratory with the Philippine Educational Theatre Association and Save the Children (UK), welcoming many theatre companies and children to the Lao capital.

Kabong Lao performs three times daily at the International Street Show in Lumpini Park. On Thursday, they're on stage three near the clock tower; on Friday at stage 10 near Lan Tawan Yim; on Saturday on stage one in front of Sala Chalerm Phra Kiet; and on Sunday at stage 12, close to Sala Daeng intersection entrance. Visit www.BangkokStreetShow.com

The writer's travel to Mekong Arts and Media Festival is supported by Philippine Educational Theatre Association and Save the Children (UK).