Bangkok City Guide - Culture

Bangkok has many traditional dance and theatre groups, which perform around the city, although nowadays they are more popular with tourists than locals, who have generally embraced Western imports. The city does have its own orchestra, the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra. Western plays, with famous actors from Britain and America, are often put on for short seasons at some of the international hotels.

Both Thai and international cultural performances, including classical music, dance, ballet and pop concerts, are frequently held in the Thailand Cultural Centre, Ratchadaphisek Road (tel: (02) 247 0028; website: www.culture.go.th), the National Theatre, Rachini Road (tel: (02) 224 1342), and Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre, New Ratchadaphisek Road (tel: (02) 229 3000; website: www.qsncc.co.th). Tickets can be obtained in advance from the venues or from Thai Ticketmaster (tel: (02) 262 3456; website: www.thaiticketmaster.com).

Music and Dance: Sala Rim Naam (tel: (02) 437 3080/6211) is owned by The Oriental Hotel and is located on the opposite bank of the Chao Phraya River, next to the Peninsula Hotel. The nightly traditional music and dance show starts at 2030, preceded by dinner at 1900. Although there are numerous traditional shows daily throughout the city, this one, reputed to be the best in Thailand and beautifully located in a traditional teak pavilion-style restaurant, is unmissable. Thai classical performing arts take place at the Patravadi Theatre (tel: (02) 412 7287; website; www.patravaditheatre.com) on Soi Wat Rakhang.

The Bangkok Symphony Orchestra (tel: (02) 255 6617; website: www.bangkoksymphony.org) performs in the Thailand Cultural Centre (see above) and other venues around Bangkok. Bangkok Opera (tel: (02) 663 3236 or 661 4688 for tickets; website: www.bangkokopera.com) also performs at the centre.

Theatre: Classical dramas are very colourful and expressive and these are held on the last Friday and Saturday of each month at the National Theatre (see above). The Bangkok Playhouse, on Phetchaburi Road (tel: (02) 319 7641), puts on modern plays each week on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. The Chalerm Krung Royal Theatre, on Charoen Krung (New Road) (tel: (02) 222 0434), has regular performances of plays and musical dance dramas. For those fascinated by the infamous ‘ladyboys' or katoeys of Bangkok, there are two performances each night at the Calypso Cabaret in the Asia Hotel on Phayathai Road (tel: (02) 653 3960; website: www.calypsocabaret.com), which are always packed out.

Film: Bangkok has a large number of cinemas but not all show English-language films. Some show movies with English soundtracks but many will have been dubbed into Thai. Cinemas that show films in English or with English subtitles include: EGV Multiplexes (tel: (02) 515 5555; website: www.egv.com) and Major Cineplexes (also tel: (02) 515 5555; website: www.majorcineplex.com), both with various venues throughout the city; Lido Multiplex, Rama I Road (tel: (02) 252 6498), and United Artists, located at Soi 24 Sukhumvit Road (tel: (02) 664 8711).

Nineteenth-century Bangkok features in the spectacular film Anna and the King (1999). The filming did not take place in the city as the Thais banned the book on which it was based (see Literary Notes below), as well as the earlier film, starring Yul Brynner, claiming that they were historically inaccurate. The James Bond movie, The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) uses Bangkok, as well as the stunning Phang Nha Bay, as a backdrop. A 2001 epic Suriyothai (directed by Prince Chatrichalerm Yukol) depicts life in the Ayutthaya period of Thai history and the story of the heroic Queen Suriyothai, with some incredible battle scenes. Thai director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang is one of Asia's bright new hopes. His film Last Life in the Universe (2003) about a romance between a suicidal Japanese man and a Thai prostitute in Bangkok has gained critical acclaim. In 2006 he directed Digital Sam in Sam Saek 2006: Talk to Her and Invisible Waves. Some of the scenes from the very successful Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004), directed by Beeban Kidron, were filmed around Soi Cowboy in Bangkok.

Literary Notes: A prolific writer of the darker side of expat life is Christopher G Moore who often uses Bangkok as a backdrop. Particularly well known are Spirit House (1992) and Asia Hand (1993), the first two books in a series of seven titles featuring the private eye Vincent Calvino. The latest one, Minor Wife, was published in 2002. Jake Needham's novel, The Big Mango (1999), depicts the story of an ex-GI returning to Bangkok in search of money stolen from a Vietnamese bank. The Beach, by Alex Garland (1997) is also a good read for anyone heading to Thailand, and his depiction of the backpacker scene in Bangkok is particularly accurate. Dean Barrett's 2003 Skytrain to Murder is a murder mystery set in Bangkok.

The King and I (1956) is probably the most famous film about Bangkok and the royal court. The film is based on the book Anna and the King of Siam (1944) by Margaret Landon, which itself is a novel adapted from The English Governess at the Siamese Court, the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, recounting her period as a governess in the court of King Mongkut. A more historically accurate account of the time can be found in The Kingdom and the People of Siam (1857) by Sir John Bowring, who was responsible for negotiating the treaty with King Mongkut.

Still based around the royal family, The Bangkok Secret (1990) by Anthony Grey investigates the mystery surrounding the murder of King Ananda in Bangkok in 1946 - an event that is often glossed over and the identity of the assailant is still unknown. One of the best-known residents of Bangkok was Jim Thompson, who was responsible for building a major industry (silk) and whose home is a Bangkok landmark (see Key Attractions). He mysteriously vanished in Malaysia in 1967 and William Warren wrote a book about his life and disappearance called Jim Thompson: The Legendary American of Thailand (1976).