The Revival of the Laotian Ramayana
‘Phralak Phralam’- the Laotian form of the Ramayana epic, used to be performed in front of the palace for the King in the 1960s by the young people of Luang Prabang. It was the largest event of community performance in Laos, binding the community together in a ritual of affirmation. Today, these young people are now the elders who are teaching the dance and music to the present youths who range from 10 – 18 years of age.
Since 2002, Theatreworks International has worked to raise funds for RBT and has assisted on a host of issues including capacity building of the local administration and technical team, technicians, dancers, musicians; accountability; technical planning and artistic consultation. With a generous grant from The Rockefeller Foundation, this initial process has been to support the community spirit of the project as well as elders-core team of Laos experts, policy makers, artists.