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Lakhon Bassac or Lakon Bassak ( Khmer: ល្ខោនបាសាក់) is a popular theatre of 
It is derived from 
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
, created by Khmer people
The Khmer people ( km, ជនជាតិខ្មែរ, ) are a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Cambodia. They comprise over 90% of Cambodia's population of 17 million.
near the Bassac River in southern Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
at the beginning of the 20th century. It is derived from Chinese opera
Traditional Chinese opera (), or ''Xiqu'', is a form of musical theatre in China with roots going back to the early periods in China. It is an amalgamation of various art forms that existed in ancient China, and evolved gradually over more tha ...
which explains some of the costumes, modified face painting, musical instrumentations (drums, gongs, chimes, and wood blocks), singing dialogues, acrobatics and fighting. Musically it appears similar to pinpeat
The ''Pinpeat'' ( km, ពិណពាទ្យ, ) is the largest Khmer traditional musical ensemble. It has performed the ceremonial music of the royal courts and temples of Cambodia since ancient times. The orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a ...
versions of Vietnamese ''cải lương
''Tuồng cải lương'' (, Hán-Nôm: 從改良) often referred to as cải lương (Chữ Hán: 改良), roughly "reformed theater") is a form of modern folk opera in Vietnam. It blends southern Vietnamese folk songs, classical music, '' hát ...
''. Dances in Lakhon Bassac are often popularized versions of Lakhon Kbach Boran (Khmer: ល្ខោនក្បាច់បូរាណ), a classical court performance. Repertoires come from Jataka tales and local legends, and sometimes by localizing dramas from China, Vietnam, and France, "such as altering the villains in Vietnamese '' hát bội'' from Chinese to Vietnamese!"
Before the Democratic Kampuchea era, professional troupes performed in Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its economic, indus ...
, Battambang
Battambang ( km, បាត់ដំបង, UNGEGN: ) is the capital of Battambang Province and the third largest city in Cambodia.
Founded in the 11th century by the Khmer Empire, Battambang is the leading rice-producing province of the coun ...
, Siem Reap
Siem Reap ( km, សៀមរាប, ) is the second-largest city of Cambodia, as well as the capital and largest city of Siem Reap Province in northwestern Cambodia.
Siem Reap has French colonial and Chinese-style architecture in the Old F ...
and other cities, while amateurs staged shows at religious festivals. Unlike many other forms of traditional arts, it was not destroyed under the Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. ...
, but rather co-opted for propaganda purposes.
References
Performing arts in Cambodia {{Cambodia-stub