This production is bursting with potential and is a fantastic cultural introduction for audiences unfamiliar with Southeast Asian and Thai-style performances. It is clear the show was ambitious in scope, weaving together dance, music, puppetry, and mythology into something quite different from your average night at the theatre. The props and costumes are beautifully crafted, perfectly capturing the essence of the themes being explored, and you can tell a lot of care went into getting the visual side of things right. The performers involved have more informal backgrounds and less experience of stage performance, which leaves room for improvement. However, I have to say that their effort and enthusiasm shone through, and their performance was good.

The puppetry was my personal highlight of the show. I find it fascinating to watch, with vivid lifelike movements brought to life by the performers’ control, and it is the sort of thing that really sets this production apart from a conventional play. The production could use a clearer use of shadows or veils to cover the puppeteers faces as initially it distracted me. The interaction between puppeteers and live actors kept things engaging throughout, and I noticed the audience had genuine moments of chuckles dotted through the performance, the humour and charm of the piece landed well even for those with little prior knowledge of the mythology. They had a habit of interacting with most of the audience, at times that interaction would benefit from being dialled down and limited. That sense of interaction was not just confined to the puppetry either – there was a consistent thread of engagement running through the whole show that kept me watching closely.

Where the production could still develop is in some of the finer details: the pacing of the story occasionally felt a touch uneven, and the narrator pacing could do with further development. The use of a clearer framing device might help audiences less familiar with Thai mythology to follow the plot more easily. The use of stage space was good but could be pushed further to make fuller use of the lighting and thunder effects, which could help to be more striking and add atmosphere. An increase in the sound volume, polish in the sound design, and a touch more confidence from the performers would go a long way. All said though, this is a promising piece with real heart behind it, and one I would happily recommend to anyone curious about Thai culture and storytelling done differently.

This show was for one night only, but you can book other Lambeth Fringe Festival shows by clicking this link – https://lambethfringe.com/events

Reviewer: Mary Lee Wallin

Reviewed: 25th September 2026