Nang Talung is a traditional shadow puppet theater practiced mainly in the provinces of Songkhla, Nakhon Si Thammarat, and Phatthalung, though it is believed to have originated in Phatthalung province. Each province has its own distinctive style, recognizable by the morphology of the puppets and the details of their clothing and hairstyles. "Nang" means leather (in this case, leather puppets, as they were originally made of buffalo hide and are now made of cowhide), and "Talung" is short for Phatthalung. Several master puppeteers in the province create the puppets and give performances. I've included the GPS coordinates of Khun Lek's workshop, which I visited. It's located four kilometers outside of Phatthalung. He took a lot of time to explain the puppet-making process to me in detail. It was truly interesting, and I stayed for over an hour. However, since he only speaks Thai, it's advisable to bring a local guide for translation. There's also an area with a small museum displaying Nang Talung puppets from the three provinces. As mentioned before, there are other such workshops, for example the Bang Kaeo Shadow Puppet Figure and Handicraft Center or Hor Silp Nang Talung Thailand. However, I think you'll need a Thai tour guide who can translate everywhere.

Entry is free, but I gave him a small tip at the end. Apparently, Nang Talung performances are often held in Khun Lek on Saturday evenings. There's no set time; they wait until the hall is full, but it's usually between 7 and 8 p.m., he said. The performance is, of course, in Thai.

There is no public transport to get there.

How to get there

How do you get to the Nang Talung Shadow Theatre? There is no public transport there.