Cambodian Theatre

This afternoon Lediya and I went to a Cambodian play called The Journey Across the Mine Fields to America by playwright Chantara Nop. We saw it at The Found Theater, a small local theater in Long Beach.

The modern musical-epic tells the story of a Cambodian girl adapting to life in the U.S. after losing her loved ones during the Khmer Rouge regime. The show was performed in Lakhon Yike, an ancient Cambodian art form incorporating music, dance and instrumentation.

The play was great because it showed people what the Cambodians had to go through to escape the oppression on their way to freedom. It was performed by volunteers from the Cambodian community who are motivated and driven to educate people about what happened nearly 30 years ago. I am always interested in knowing about the Cambodian culture and history and this play certainly educated me today.

Review of the play by the Long Beach Press-Telegram here.