Cultural Tourism: Ban Suchart Shadow Play in Nakhon Si Thammarat

Cultural Tourism: Ban Suchart Shadow Play in Nakhon Si Thammarat  

     One of the many types of art performances that have been passed on from generation to generation is the “shadow play,” which tells stories in poetry written in local dialects. Today, this performance genre is disappearing, but it is still being preserved at Ban Suchart Shadow Play in Mueang District, Nakhon Si Thammarat, and it is called House of the National Artist Suchart Subsin, or Live Shadow Play Museum. It is the very first shadow play museum in Thailand; therefore, it is an important learning center and a place to learn about the cultural heritage of this part of the country.

     The museum is in the same area as the house and consists of two buildings; the first one is a two-storey wooden building with an empty basement. The second floor is an exhibition of the shadow plays, and the highlight is a 200-year-old set of shadow play characters for the classical Ramayana story. In addition, there are shadow plays from other countries, such as China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Turkey. The lower floor houses an exhibition about how to make a shadow play character, plus a souvenir shop selling products such as T-shirts and shadow play characters. The second building is also a two-floor wooden building with a basement, and there is an exhibition displaying tools people use to work with when making puppets, such as a weaving machine, metal tools, and knives, which are part of Khun Suchart's collection, aside from the shadow play. Moreover, there is a shadow play theater where actors perform the plays for visitors of the museum. 

     The charm of a shadow play is the style of the performers and telling stories based on both the past and present with jokes. With his witty style, Suchart's nickname was the “Black Shark,” and in B.E. 2539 (1996 C.E.) he was awarded the honor of National Artist in Performing Arts (local performance), while his museum has also won two Thailand Tourism Awards, which are Outstanding Cultural and Historical Tourist Attraction Award in B.E. 2539 and Best Cultural and Historical Tourist Attraction in B.E. 2542. At present, the museum of Suchart's Shadow Play, or Ban Suchart Shadow Play, is taken care of by Khun Watee. It is one of many museums that are well known among foreign tourists who are on the look-out for cultural highlights.