Byline: Greta Kite-Gilmour

Remember that awesome international comedian who came to Phnom Penh about three years ago and had the entire room in stitches? If so, I guess you were fortunate enough to catch him in the boarding queue at Phnom Penh airport, probably en route to a gig in Bangkok or KL. Lucky you. The rest of us, meanwhile, were sat patiently cringing in a poorly lit, noisy room wondering how the shit a few haughty drunks with a microphone managed to pass themselves off as a comedy act.

This scene may be unfamiliar to those only now venturing out to comedy nights – an understandable choice, frankly, because until a couple of years ago, there wasn’t any real impetus to do so. In December 2011, recognising a demand for quality live stand up comedy within the country, promoter Dan Riley – with the help of Australian comedy guru Jonathan Atherton and Singaporean comedy promoter Andre Chalson – conceived the Comedy Club Cambodia. Since then, the CCC has grown to create opportunities for rising talents to hone their skills through courses and structured open mic nights. More recently, Comedy Bookers Cambodia (founded in 2014 by Riley, Siem Reap-based comedian Steven Halcrow and Phnom Penh-based Scotty Muldoon) has successfully sourced and secured internationally acclaimed comedy acts for countrywide gigs.

Early Days

Like many nascent art forms, the comedy circuit has undergone a tumultuous journey in order to sustain a viable and esteemed position within the city’s contemporary culture. Now, with several primary host venues having recently closed, coinciding with the impending departure of much-loved CBC Co-Founder and Verbal High open mic founder Muldoon, the comedy circuit faces a whole new set of hurdles. Having worked from the bottom up, however, the lads are no strangers to a challenge. Halcrow explains exactly how one begins building a legitimate comedy scene almost entirely from scratch:

“I met Dan two and a half years ago when the scene only consisted of a couple of guys (Dan, Scotty and [forthcoming Verbal High organiser] Sam Thomas),” he says. “I then returned from the UK to Cambodia a year and a half ago and there were a bunch more guys and girls giving it a go and nicely packed rooms (Equinox will be sorely missed!). I learned a lot in the time I spent gigging in the UK from observing audiences, professionals and fellow open spots alike, and when I arrived in Cambodia I was suddenly in a position where I could apply what I had learned to the fledgling scene here, which, at the time, needed a bit of structure: it was basically a lot of long shows, very raw acts, loud audiences, zero etiquette, and a general lack of awareness of any of the above.”

Realising that international comedy acts were integral to the steady growth of the CCC, Halcrow, Riley and Muldoon joined forces to develop the CBC last year. Shortly after, Muldoon introduced Verbal High open mic nights at Meta House under the CBC umbrella group.

Nu-wave Comedy

Over time, the team has been duly rewarded for the dedication, faith and touch of insanity necessary to guide their vision to fruition, with continuous expansion and new waves of quality homegrown and international acts.

“The comedy scene has definitely grown – we’ve all gotten a little fatter,” Muldoon says. “And since [CCC] began, the city has seen a lot of [international] comics pass through and inspire the local scene to flourish: local expats are able to improve their game by learning from the pros who we are so lucky to have come here, and who are kind enough to share any tips and advice.”
Riley adds, “The expat community has grown to a sufficient level to not only produce enough people able to perform live comedy regularly, but also enough people to demand regular gigs and fill out venues. Sure, I’d like more to turn up for the Comedy Club shows, as we have a lot of costs, but I like the fact that our two monthly open mic nights are usually nicely packed. Outside of Phnom Penh, The Comedy Club Kampot was set up in December last year, and we’ve done three shows already. Sihanoukville is making its debut this month with Martin Mor, and now Full Metal Comics is an established monthly open micer at Sundance.”

Proud Crowds & Methods to Madness

Beyond physical expansion, however, perhaps one of the most important developments within local comedy has been the influx of new informed and devoted audiences. This attribute – though frequently overlooked by the sporadic gig-goer – is one that can be critical to the success of a single event, as well as the continued growth of the art form (and yes, comedy is an art form. Get used to it).

“The audiences are a lot more comedy savvy now and arrive expecting a comedy show as opposed to a drunken ramble,” says Halcrow. “This is testament to the acts that make up the scene who are more committed to writing and not just getting inebriated, standing onstage and winging it in the hope of a cheap laugh. It is developing at a very organic pace and acts are getting better all the time. Acts and audiences are becoming more educated in what stand up is about.”

In this sense, a long-term, almost symbiotic relationship between show value and audience quality has evolved within structured comedy shows. Subsequently, when developing his first Verbal High open mic nights, Muldoon was faced with an all new dilemma: to attract and sustain a previously unfamiliar audience to shows that couldn’t provide drawcard headliners nor consistency in performance quality, but still needed to make a buck or two. His solution? Elephants.

Muldoon explains, “[Many] people just didn’t wanna pay $10 to see an international comedian – that’s crazy cheap. So then it was just about getting bums in seats. A smaller venue was chosen and some free open mic nights were put on. That solved that problem,” he says. “But in doing so it created another: chatty audiences. We couldn’t understand it – you’re at a show, listen/watch the show. Eventually, over time, people started to ‘get’ it and what we were trying to do. When I started Verbal High I decided to charge a dollar entry because then people feel invested in the show and any profits made go to the EARS [Elephant Asia Rescue and Survival] foundation. The crowds have matured alongside us and have grown into full, attentive audiences.”

No Cheap Laughs

The country’s comedy circuit evidently treads the familiar financial tightrope of its creative kin, continuously aiming to achieve a balance between providing quality (and accordingly costly) performers, while creating enough revenue to sustain a long-term scene.

Riley says, “Recently, I’ve had to turn down quite a few guys that are around, purely because we can’t pay their expenses. The model I’ve been forced to work with for Phnom Penh now is having no more than one international headliner per month. If others are willing to come on their own budget, then we’ll gladly host them if they are properly vetted.”

Riley nevertheless empathises with comedians who choose to skip Cambodia while touring the region, having worked closely with several comedy promoters based throughout Southeast Asia.

“There’s a lot more money going around Singapore and Malaysia, so the ticket prices are accordingly higher and they can afford multiple professional comics on the same bill,” he explains. “We have reduced our costs significantly to maintain a really low ticket price – nearly 10 times less than a show in Singapore, for example. The comics who come here are taking considerable pay cuts compared to their usual rates in the region. Thankfully, they still agree to come. A few even return, such as the sensational Glenn Wool, slated for a return this October.”

Cultural Clashes

Regional economic discrepancies clearly influence the prospect of attracting international comedians to the country, which in turn directly affects the growth of the local comedy scene.

However, capital is not the definitive explanation for the comparative success of comedy in surrounding countries. Having already stated the importance of creating a dedicated crowd following, Riley points out that attendance of locals may be an integral factor in doing so – something which is perceptibly higher in neighbouring Southeast Asian comedy clubs.

“Singapore and Malaysia particularly thrive because their audiences are comprised of both expats and English-speaking locals,” Riley says.  “I’m not saying that expats are worse than locals as audience members, but I’ve always heard good things about the shows there – high energy and appreciative – and I think that the locals are a contributing factor to their success.“

That’s not to say that regular locals are non-existent within the crowd. It’s just that if you don’t include the bartenders, the comedians’ girlfriends, or the randoms who just happened to be in the venue that night, you could probably count them on one hand. Though undoubtedly multi-faceted, the most obvious reasons may involve the prevalent language barrier (heightened in the presence of a touring Scotsman with a thick accent and colloquial tongue), and contrasting humour. Anyone who’s watched popular Khmer comedy TV will be familiar with its classic slapstick clowning and OTT caricatures (noobs, YouTube Bayon TV Comedy). In the West, on the other hand, the most successful comedians tend toward their own extremities: either subtle, self-effacing wit, or explosive socio-political commentary (offset by the occasional strategically timed dick joke, of course). It’s not difficult to see where lies a divide.

So, to paraphrase almost anyone who’s ever worked within the local contemporary arts scene, how can that gap be bridged? Perhaps the most practical answer is through the encouragement and support of Khmer comics on the circuit. Riley’s finger is on the pulse, pronouncing Vatthina Tola, Phnom Penh’s only practicing Khmer comedian, as one of the city’s most promising rising talents. “I’d really like to see our only Cambodian comic take his unique act further afield.” Riley says. “I’m working on that…”

Halcrow agrees, adding, “[Thina] is a comic who gigs regularly and is an enthusiastic proponent of comedy in Cambodia.”

Learning From the Pros

Halcrow, who continues to MC for headlining acts across Southeast Asia, believes that on a long-term basis the growing popularity of comedy throughout the continent will ultimately work to the advantage of the localised comedy scene.

“Southeast Asian comedy in general is growing very rapidly: there’s comedy pretty much seven nights a week in KL, Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai as well as the Comedy Club Bangkok and shows in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh and Yangon,” says Halcrow. “Our aim is to work together with scenes all over the region to bring the best comedians from all over the world to our audiences. Tours of Cambodia, like the one we have set up for Martin Mor this month, will hopefully become a regular thing and will give the local guys the opportunity to gig with some great comics and learn from watching them. The better the local acts are, the stronger the local scene will be and this will lead to a better standard of show.”

Phnom Penh-based performers are already demonstrably reaping the benefits from first-hand performances and training with internationally acclaimed professionals in the field. Upcoming organiser of Verbal High nights, Sam Thomas, perhaps best reflects this in his comedic trajectory. Since taking Irish comedian Aidan Killian’s Comedy Crash Course alongside Muldoon in 2013, the 25-year-old stand-up comic has steadily crafted his own unique performance style and now regularly performs at Verbal High nights, supports various international comedians at CCC shows, and workshops material with anyone keen to join.

“Most people would suggest Sam Thomas as someone who could go pro,” Riley attests. “He’s certainly impressed a lot of guys with his performances, and his dedication to improving both himself and other comics based here is laudable.”

Misbehaving & Farewell Waving

After having spent six years in the country, half of which has been dedicated to comedy, Muldoon confidently passes the open mic reigns to Thomas next month. Though admittedly woeful at his exodus, Muldoon prefers to focus on the accomplishments made and whimsical memories he’s collected along the way.

“There are too many moments to pick from (most being inappropriate to print or even share!),” Scotty says. “One incident involved [comedian] Glenn Wool and I inventing a cocktail shooter, the C-52. Basically a B-52 with the added ingredient of codeine. Was an interesting night after knocking back a few of those!”

On a more sobering note, Scotty adds, “[I’ll miss] all of it, but mostly the supportive community we’ve built up around the scene. I shall look back upon this period with pride and fondness. Thank you, arkun, and muchas gracias. Without an audience there can be no show.”

Give Scotty a hug goodbye at the Comedy Club Cambodia’s upcoming show presenting internationally acclaimed headlining comedian Martin Mor at 8:30pm, Friday May 22 at Show Box, #11 St. 330. Supported by Vatthina Tola, Scotty Muldoon and Steven Halcrow as MC. Read more on Mor on page 15.

Before 2013, SLR-laden tourists and backpackers from around the world flocked to Siem Reap for one major reason. Since its conception a little over two years ago, however, Phare, the Cambodian Circus has provided culture-seeking visitors an additional point of interest outside the ruins of Angkor. Now, the number one non-temple attraction in the city, the nightly indoor shows by a troupe comprising students and graduates from Phare Ponleu Selpak Association – an NGO arts school in Battambang – has grown to attain international recognition and acclaim.

Ten years before Phare, the Cambodian Circus – an annual touring circus show involving national and international performers – was conceived by Phare Performing Social Enterprise and PPSA. Known as Tini Tinou International Circus Festival, 2015 will mark its 9th year of touring, during which it will stop through Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Battambang between May 7-16, presenting workshops and parades as well as themed circus shows.

Despite running for just short of a decade, Tini Tinou Festival organiser Melissa Fornaux admits that it didn’t get to this point without having endured some major hardships along the way, following a plotline familiar to many who have attempted to cultivate an artistic venture within the local environment. “It started in 2004, mainly as a way to promote and develop the Cambodian art scene. Unfortunately, it was cancelled in 2010 due to funding limitations,” Fournaux says.

Thanks to a combination of good timing, a tonne of talent and resourcefulness, and a perhaps a spot of good fortune, however, Fournaux and her team were afforded an opportunity to take a second stab at reviving their vision. “Last year, Phare artists were invited by the European Delegation in Cambodia to perform for the Europe Day. PPSE and PPSA saw an opportunity to revive the festival, with new financing and a brand new format. The two nights in 2014 were a success, so we’re back this year.”

Last year’s comeback festival ran over two days in Phnom Penh, featuring all Cambodian troupes. With more experience to draw upon and some careful long-term planning, this year’s Tini Tinou has exploded into a 10-day festival across three cities, featuring two Cambodian troupes (Battambang’s PPSA and Phnom Penh’s National Circus School of Cambodia) and four international troupes from Taiwan (Formosa Circus Arts), Vietnam (Heritage Social Ho Chi Minh City), France (O Ultimo Momento) and Switzerland (Les Papillons).

“For this edition, our goal was to have a very varied show, each showing the specificity of a country,” Fournaux says. “All international artists as well as the National Circus School of Cambodia have designed new shows specifically for Tini Tinou. This year’s festival will involve circus acts – juggling, acrobatics, diabolo, Chinese pole – but all of them performed with different techniques. One troupe also performs magic tricks (Heritage Social Ho Chi Minh City) and another one rythmic gymnastic (Les Papillons). Phare’s circus show features circus acts, theatre, dance and live music.”

But Fournaux says the Tini Tinou mission runs deeper than just showcasing a variety of different performance arts and their cultural variations. “The goal of the Tini Tinou Festival is to enhance cultural exchange between performers and development through the arts, which is also one of the missions of Phare,” Fournaux explains. “We’re trying as much as we can to create an atmosphere of sharing: each troupe shares its own experience of art as well as its different techniques through workshops. We believe that everyone has their own way of understanding the arts, so sharing is also a way to broaden one’s horizons and to personally develop.”

Artistic Director of Phare, the Cambodian Circus, Bountheun Houn agrees that personal development is a major objective of both the festival and the circus school itself, the achievement of which he believes is frequently reflected among his own students.

“I’ve known the artists for a long time and I’ve seen many of them change. Their personal behaviour has definitely changed,” Houn says. “They have developed the skills to pursue other things over a long time. Many have become more independent and, in fact, now like to work more privately, rather than in groups.”

This raises an important question regarding the future prospects of the students after they have completed their training at PPSA. Having received such specific training, what options are there for those who either do not wish to perform in the circus at the end of their training, or reach the point where it is no longer viable to continue performing due to their age, ability or competition from younger entrants?

Fournaux assures that, due to the carefully considered, holistic syllabus of the school, options for graduates of PPSA are many and varied. “Most of the artists who stopped performing are now circus teachers at our mother NGO Phare Ponleu Selpak,” she says. “Performance art is a very specialised domain, but Phare Ponleu Selpak is also a school. It means that the circus artists didn’t only study circus, but also received traditional education. Some of them also tour internationally, in Europe and the US, which gives them ideas and opportunities to develop.

“Phare also created a Career Development Programme and organises various training courses related to artistic and non-artistic fields, in order to give artists more opportunities to develop in their personnal and professionnal lives,” Fournaux adds. “Our main goal at Phare is to give artists the keys for self-development and to manage their own lives.”

Houn himself is a real-life example of this model. “Before [becoming Artistic Director at Phare] I used to be an artist and circus teacher. I performed in [Phare circus shows] Sokha and Putho, in which I was an acrobat and clown. Then I started managing artists, working with the artists at the school to perform at small private events around the country.”

Sreyleak Noi, a young contortionist and handstand specialist in Tini Tinou, joined the PPSA when she was nine years old and went on to join the circus school when she was 13. Before this, she sold cakes with her mother and sisters in her hometown in Battambang.

Noi says that her decision to join the circus school was, in fact, based largely on the graduate opportunities which the PPSA had to offer. “The circus school was different from the other programmes offered at the school. I saw the older generations of circus performers from Phare earning money and traveling abroad and I wanted that for myself too,” she says. “I was able to go to public school for free and to learn circus performing as well. Later, I could attend workshops and travel, always learning new things. The best thing is always being able to learn.”

At age 25, Noi has travelled to 10 different countries in Asia, Europe and Africa to attend workshops, perform, and to teach other international performers. Whether while traveling or through being involved with Tini Tinou Festival, Noi reiterates the importance of learning through interaction and exchange with performers from around the world.

“I learn a lot from meeting international performers and seeing them perform,” she says. “Everybody’s technique and styles are different. I sometimes keep in touch with them too.”

With continuous learning and development clearly a key motivator for Noi, she hopes to one day share her knowledge with younger generations. “I want to continue to perform as long as I can keep learning new things,” she says. “But I would also like to create my own show, maybe shows for children.”

If Noi is representative of other PPSA students and Tini Tinou performers, it appears that the PPSA and Tini Tinou organisers are indeed accomplishing their mission in terms of student learning and development through the school and festival.

Fournaux hopes that on a wider scale the festival will also serve as an inspiration for the growth and rejuvenation of the Cambodian arts scene.

“The goal of the festival is also to inspire Cambodian youth; to share art with the Cambodian community where access to it is reduced. That is one of the reasons why we’re inviting children of NGOs and communities,” she says. “The Cambodian performing arts sector is still in a rebuilding state, so I hope that the festival will allow the interest for circus and performing arts among Cambodians to grow.”

Fournaux is quick to emphasise, however, that, while it stems from an NGO with a long-term social mission for its students and the wider arts community, Tini Tinou is still, at its heart, a festival, a central purpose of which is to engage, amuse and inspire.

“It’s important to remember that the festival is entertainment – we want people to have fun. What I personally hope is that every person coming, children as well as adults, will be inspired by all the talented young artists who will perform.” Fournaux adds, “And of course, I hope that this edition will be as successful as the last, to allow us to organise a bigger and more amazing Tini Tinou next year!”

Tini Tinou International Circus Festival will perform at the National Circus School of Phnom Penh, National Assembly Street, from 6pm, Thursday May 7-Saturday May 9. See www.pharecambodiancircus.org for ticketing and programme information.

Taking a quick break from his latest painting project – a giant naga winding up the wall of the Institut Francais – street artist Theo Vallier wastes no time reeling off the events, challenges and objectives involved in the upcoming Cambodian Urban Art Festival, curated by him and fellow street artist known as Chifumi.

In a paint-spattered T-shirt and adrenalin-fuelled, but carefully articulated speech, Theo explains, “On April 23rd there is the opening party [at Institut Francais]. There will be all different things: one exhibition of Chifumi and my artworks in the gallery on one side; on the other there are big murals painted by the artists involved; Skateistan has an exhibition of hand-painted skateboard decks, all made in Cambodia; then the KlapYaHandz show will be in the garden.”

Pausing to point out a name and image on the festival brochure, Theo continues with contained excitement, “We also have Alias, who is a light painter. He does what we call ‘light graffiti.’ He sets up a long exposure camera in the dark and he works in front of walls with graffiti. He uses light to draw things in the air in front of the graffiti, and with the long exposure, it sticks on the photo like a drawing. He can’t see what his picture will look like until after it is captured. He will be showing his series of photos using this unique technique.”

Running from Thursday April 23 to Sunday May 17, the first Saturday of the festival will include a tuk tuk tour of several prominent murals around the city, painted by selected artists in the lead-up to the event.

“There will be around 30 tuk tuks and it’s free admission. These artists will have a wall to paint around the city,” Theo says, holding up a flyer including familiar names such as Lisa Mam and Peap Tarr, as well as newcomers, including 17-year-old locals  Davido and Koy.

Theo explains the event and the process of gaining permission to paint with a hint of urgency: at the time of speaking, with only 13 days until the tour, authorisation is yet to be formally acquired.

“We will be starting soon. The thing is that we are working with the government on that project, the municipality. We have to ask permission to paint the wall on the street so we don’t get into any trouble from police. So we had to ask the artists to send a sketch of what they wanted to do – colours, design, everything – send them all to the government municipality, and wait for their answer. We finally got a ‘yes’ a week ago, but until then we were quite stressed. But we don’t have the official letter from them yet. Most of the places to be painted are very high exposure, so we can’t start without that. Within 13 days, we need to get that letter and the artists need to start and finish all their work.”

Both Theo and co-curator Chifumi are no strangers to the complications involved with painting publically, particularly in a city in which street art is still a relatively nascent concept. To further drive home the point, Theo receives a phone call only moments after chatting, informing him that the authorisation he had previously received to paint one of the public walls has been retracted.

Theo remains optimistic, however, focusing on the flip-side of pioneering an industry whose accessible, emergent nature affords the perfect opportunity for creative innovation and growth.

“Painting here is different from other cities. There are not a lot of artists, there are not a lot of painted walls around, so it’s easier to find free walls. Our idea for this festival is really to bring more creativity together in Cambodia. To show the young generation we can also paint on the walls and do nice things. This is also the message we want to send to the municipality: it’s not vandalism, its art. Real art. So we are bringing colours to the city, for everybody, for free.”

Theo adds, “It’s a lot easier for most people to access street art than to walk in the gallery – most [locals] will never pass the door of a gallery. Most Cambodian people don’t really even know where contemporary art is or why, or what it is about. The good thing with street art is that it’s free for everybody and that it’s easy to access.”

The confidence Theo maintains despite administrative setbacks is perhaps at least partially related to the comparative ease with which the entire project was made possible in the first place, thanks to ongoing help and support from the Institut Francais.

“They have been helping us from the beginning. It’s a lot easier to establish contact with the municipality since we are French artists in Cambodia doing it through the institute. If we went to knock on the governor of Phnom Penh’s door and just said, ‘Hey we want to paint on some walls,’ he’d be like, ‘Go away, please.’ It has been a lot easier to work with the French Institute. They have helped us a lot and it’s what’s made us able to do this as big.”

The concept for the festival, which Theo and Chifumi aim to repeat and develop annually, began way back when the artists began collaborating two years ago.

“We wanted to really try to create something within the context of Cambodia in terms of art and creativity. We want to show the young generations here that they can take their own culture and rework it in a more modern way,” Theo says. “All the work I’m doing with the Khmer patterns like the naga and Chifumi’s apsara hands are exactly that: it’s the idea to make the old culture more modern. It’s really not to look at what’s happening overseas, bring it here and copy it. We would really like for people here to appropriate this old style of Khmer art practice – because this culture is just super rich –to create something new and all their own.”

With an aim to promote all forms of local urban art, the festival will not be limited to painting, additionally including a hip hop performance and skateboard art. While these art forms are deeply rooted within an urban culture originating in America, Theo believes the urban art scene represents an important underlying mindset and attitude which is just as applicable and relevant to the emerging Cambodian youth culture.

“From the very beginning, graffiti was part of hip hop culture. Artists of both kinds really connected, always working together, and that’s way back at the very beginning of hip hop in the US,” Theo says. “[The art forms] still have that link, and skateboarding fits well with the two, especially here in Cambodia. I think it’s good to bring these kind of underground cultures and people together in Cambodia. It’s a way to be different, especially with skateboards now, because here they attract a certain way to dress differently, act differently and grow your mind differently too. You can see it happening through all these things among Cambodian youth, and that’s a great thing.”

Having now lived and painted in Phnom Penh for more than seven years, Theo believes that, with continuously increasing support for local modern art and design, as well as improved accessibility and communication with artists worldwide, the face of Phnom Penh’s contemporary art scene is undergoing a metamorphosis more rapid and significant than ever before.

“I’ve seen a lot of changes. At the time I arrived, I didn’t see any other kinds of graffiti in the city. But now it’s developing and changing,” Theo says. “The new generation is already more creative. There are more schools for design and graphic design, so they are more into that kind of thing, and now with the internet they can look more around the world into what is happening. So with all the underground communities like hip hop and skateboarding they’re getting more and more information on what is happening overseas and they can create their own thing. It’s only going to grow.”

The Cambodian Urban Art Festival opens 6:30pm on Thursday April 23 at Institut Francais, #218 St. 184.

At first glance, Lomorpich Rithy seems like your average uni kid. Casually dressed, well-spoken and congenial, she eagerly rattles off her latest projects with bubbly enthusiasm. Yet, as she further delves into her vision with a professionalism and poise one would expect of someone twice her age, it becomes clear that Ms. Rithy – who prefers to be called ‘YoKi’ – is not your regular student. Last year, at age 21, she founded Plerng Kob, a group of local university students drawn together by their love of art, and passion to reignite an interest in traditional art forms among younger generations. The major avenue through which they achieve this is the revival of the annual Bonn Phum, an ancient village festival traditionally held prior to Khmer New Year.

With equal parts humility and pride, YoKi explains how the idea for the collective first came about. “Plerng Kob is a group of art lovers: kids in town from different universities who just love art and to watch art performances. One day in August last year, we came together to talk about making a place to see our performances and share our interests with an audience,” she says. “So we are here to preserve art culture, but also take it into the next level. Plerng Kob means ‘campfire.’ It’s important because the original Cambodian light was made with a campfire – every house used one in front of their house. It’s also used for the traditional shadow puppet performance, which is displayed during festivals.”

As a natural progression of this concept, YoKi and the Plerng Kob team realised that one of the most effective ways to present traditional arts and culture was through a festival. Rather than create an entirely unique celebration, the group instead decided to revive what was once one of the most important village festivals in the Kingdom, Bonn Phum, adapting it with subtle additions to appeal to younger audiences in an urban setting.

“We presented our first Bonn Phum last year,” explains YoKi. “The idea came about because I was doing my thesis on documentary films and the shadow performance at the time. I started thinking about celebrating art through the context of the old way of performing. My sister, who is an art student at the Royal University of Fine Arts, said, ‘Let’s make a festival so I can show and sell my art.’ Another member of the group is a fashion student. She said, ‘Well, I want to show my fashion, so why don’t we present a fashion show there, too?’ Then we discovered the history of the village festival, so we took the old programme of the village festival and then added to it to create this new style of celebration.”

While recognising that the addition of a certain amount of modern elements were essential in engaging and inspiring a younger crowd, YoKi emphasises the importance of retaining the authenticity of the ancient festival customs as much as possible.

“The village festival concept has always been one of the original ways of life of the Cambodian people,” she says. “We always celebrated every festival at the pagoda, especially New Year’s Day. We gathered at the pagoda to play traditional games, to celebrate the fruit and vegetables we grew, to pay respect to the monks and to meet the people in town. It disappeared because of what happened following the war. So what we want to do is bring our people back to the old time, to what it looked like and how we celebrated. We have just adapted it to do so in a modern way. So we showcase new art, like fashion drawing and shows, alongside the old. It’s a platform where youth in the city can show their original artwork too.”

With a turnout of around 10,000 people over the three-day event last year, YoKi expects numbers to increase further this April, with a greater focus on attracting international attendees.

“Last year our target was mostly locals, but this year we want to target both local and international people. Our posters are bilingual this year, and we have introduced a tour package for foreigners as well. If you want to spend a day at Bonn Phum you will have a student guide and they will drive you around and explain how to enjoy it at its best. It’s free entry, but if you want to have a guide we will charge for transportation, food from some of the stalls, and the guide. But it’s very cheap – the students are very hard-working!”

With a range of traditional games and performances, a guided tour would seem a favourable option for city-dwellers – both foreigners and locals. Many of the traditional performances and activities will never have been seen before by many local urban youth, after having been forgotten for decades in the aftermath of the Khmer Rouge.

“One of the dances we present is the trod dance, a kind of performance that we normally perform during the Khmer New Year season,” YoKi says. “It’s like the equivalent of the Chinese New Year lion performance. You call them to your house to dance as a sign of good luck and blessing. It’s the identity of Cambodian New Year’s Day. So we want the Cambodian people to become more familiar with the trod dance, because many Cambodians, especially the younger ones, are so much more familiar with the lion dance than they are their own trod dance. Every day at 3pm we will show it so they can see.”

Activities are spread over a schedule which runs through both day and night, with nightly events showcasing the main traditional performances. The first night begins with bassac, a colourful pantomime, which YoKi likens to a hybrid of soap opera and comedy theatre, in which performers dress in very thick make-up representing regular characters such as the monkey or the giant. Traditional yike singing is scheduled for the second night, while the lakhon khol –  a masked dance performance – and a shadow performance wrap up the third night.

Although the festival is heavily performance-based, YoKi emphasises the importance of crowd participation at the festival, particularly during daily workshops and traditional games.

“For the daily schedule, we bring different workshops with small performances. We have ayai, which is stand up singing and a little bit of comedy, and also chapey. Then there is the hand drum performance which we all sing and dance to. We also allow a platform to play traditional Cambodian games, which are lead by village people and everyone can join in and play.”

Of course, no cultural celebration would be complete without paying homage to the local cuisine. Vendors from surrounding provinces will travel to the site to sell produce and cook for hungry festival-goers. “We sell food which is all Cambodian,” YoKi says. “Village people sell whatever products they like: food, milk, eggs – anything they want, they can sell there.”

Although Plerng Kob itself remains proudly not for profit, YoKi insists that one of the central aims of Bonn Phum is to ensure all artists and performers are paid for their services during the festival.

“The event is not for profit and the organisers, Plerng Kob, are just volunteers,” YoKi says. “But we collaborate with local sponsors, like the radio station FM 107.5, who help find us sponsors. That means all the artists in the event get paid. That is one of the main purposes of the festival. We want to create a place where the performers and artists can find their market. We don’t want them to perform for free – we pay them through sponsorship. We also do some fundraising before the festival starts, and because of the event we did last year we have more people who know about us and want to support us.”

With each year, YoKi and the Plerng Kob team plan to expand the Bonn Phum village festival, incorporating more performances and activities, and hopefully bringing it to more cities and provinces across the Kingdom.

“In the next few years, we would like to see it happen across the country on the 3rd of April in three places: Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville. Kampot too – it’s a very artistic province. That’s our future plan,” she says. “In the future, we’d also like to bring Bonn Phum to Cambodians overseas who are far, far away from their country. Cambodian Living Arts has a program called Seasons of Cambodia in New York. So we would like in the next 5-10 years to hopefully work together to bring Bonn Phum and the Cambodian way of life to Cambodians there.”

Comprised of a diversely talented team of young students, Plerng Kob uses the period between organising the annual Bonn Phum festival to continue working on smaller creative endeavours, gathering funding and providing support to young artists who wish to carry out individual projects of their own throughout the year.

“The members in our team have talents from many different fields,” YoKi says. “We have musicians, a painter, a fashion designer, an independent filmmaker, professional photographer, etc. So the idea is to ask [young people], ‘What do you want to do?’ And we will support them. Any young person wanting to showcase their work can ask us and we will help them and support them under the name of Plerng Kob. In November this year, for example, we will run a recycled fashion week, because that was an idea of one of our fashion designer team members. Bonn Phum is simply the first of many things that are to come from Plerng Kob.”

Plerng Kob runs from Fri-Sun April 3-5, from 7am-10pm daily at Prek Thloeng Pagoda. Entry is free.