Likay Wik in Bangkok and Their “Imagining Community”

This article is a study of Likay Wik, a traditional Thai theatrical drama examined through stage performances and social activities that are shared commonly by Likay performers and the groups of regular audiences. The study aims at acquiring a comprehensive insight into the contemporary life of people in Bangkok society between 2006 and 2007. The conceptual framework is based on Tanabe’s “imagining community” (Tanabe 2008). The findings reveal a type of community that belongs to lower class people and their main method of creating a social network to open space for themselves in city living. There is fictive kinship creation which has emerged within 3 types of social space: 1) the interaction space in the daily life of the performers and the audience, 2) the performance space at the front of stage, and 3) the ritual space.