Upcoming spoken theatre festival looks to promote culture, artistic values
រូបថតឯកសាររបស់ក្រសួងវប្បធម៌ ដែលបង្ហាញពីទម្រង់នៃល្ខោននិយាយ។
#Arts & Cultur
The Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts is planning to stage the 2026 Spoken Theatre Festival (Lakhon Niyeay) this October.
Themed, “A Bundle of Chopsticks”, the event will take place on October 1–2 in Phnom Penh, as part of ongoing efforts to safeguard Cambodia’s traditional art forms.
“This cultural event is intended to contribute to the maintenance, promotion and preservation of national cultural artistic values. Specifically, it aims to encourage spoken theatre artists to participate in cultural dissemination and showcase their abilities and talents to the public, raising awareness of the value of this intangible art form,” explained a ministry statement.
The theme reflects an ancient Khmer proverb that teaches the value of unity, solidarity and collective strength, noting that while a single chopstick can be easily snapped, a bundle tied together is much harder to break.
The ministry is inviting art association and individual performers to enter. The qualifying round will be conducted via video submissions of between 15 to 30 minutes in length. The final round will feature live performances and will be broadcast live on the ministry’s official Facebook page.
According to Soung Sopheak, a researcher of the genre, Lakhon Niyeay is a theatrical form where characters perform based on social realities, aiming to address problems or provide public education on specific issues.
Chhort Bunthang, head of the Department of Culture, Education and Tourism Relations at the International Relations Institute of the Royal Academy of Cambodia, emphasised that while maintaining Khmer art is vital, developing its appeal is even more significant. He argued that preservation without development or innovation hinders cultural growth.
“We must consider how to maintain traditional forms while incorporating creative spoken theatre,” he said.
“Secondly, we should not focus only on repetitive old stories. We need new scripts containing educational messages for society, such as those concerning drugs, alcohol, online scams or war. We must introduce new stories and performance techniques while remaining within the spoken theatre framework,” he added.
He encouraged all citizens to take pride in their cultural roots and use them to showcase national identity, strengthen Cambodia’s soft power and attract tourists as much as possible.
-Phnom Penh Post-
