Lakhon Komnit Organization
A grassroots Cambodian theatre group, dedicated to the inclusion of marginalised people and unheard voices.
Our vision:
An unheard voice at the centre of every theatre performance in Cambodia.
Our mission:
To expand opportunities to create, perform, witness and participate in theatre that explores personal stories and experiences from Cambodian society.
About LKO:
Lakhon Komnit Organization (LKO) is a grassroots Cambodian theatre group, dedicated to working with vulnerable, marginalised and excluded community members who face severe barriers to social and artistic participation.
Working as an informal theatre group since 2017, LKO registered as a local NGO in 2019. Lakhon Komnit means “Thinking Theatre” in Khmer language: everything we do is motivated by the desire to make people think deeply.
A thriving artform until its destruction by the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime of 1975-1979, Lakhon Niyeay is now almost completely unknown. Today, there are only three Lakhon Niyeay groups in the whole country, and Lakhon Komnit Organization is the only one based outside the capital Phnom Penh.
From our base in Battambang, we run workshops, projects and performances which engage marginalised people as participants, creators, performers and audience members.
Our team have direct personal experience of poverty, marginalisation, addiction and family violence. We work with communities to explore their issues of concern: domestic violence, discrimination against disabled people, drug and alcohol use, human trafficking, unmanageable debt, emotional and financial abuse.
We perform in non-traditional theatre spaces, on the roadside in remote villages, in school playgrounds, addiction rehabilitation centres and pagodas.
Specialised in Forum Theatre, we address challenging issues in a culture where direct discussion is taboo, asking our audiences to intervene in the action on stage to change the outcome of the play. We create space for people to take a step back and reflect on situations which seem impossible to change when we are too close to them. Opportunities for choice are revealed and participants are motivated and empowered to change their own lives.
Lakhon Niyeay fosters critical thinking and connection, improving the lives of Cambodian communities. Lakhon Komnit Organization is dedicated to theatrical regeneration and development, so that Cambodian people can know, benefit from and value this powerful artform.