Strategies for Showing “Likay Comedy”

Abstract

The objectives of this study are to compile ideas about comedy and Likay comedy and to analyze strategies of performing Likay comedy by studying and collecting data from academic documents, research, observations, and interview for the knowledge that is important to the comedy industry. Payon Kaewyai is an important figure in the Likay comedy industry. He is 75 years old and has been in the career for 30 years. He has a disabled right arm but with love and faith in the show, he found a strategy turning his role from acting as a cheater to a comedian,and turned his weaknesses into strengths, which made him become a famous Likay comedian. He also has a strategy to create a taste for the show in his own style. The researcher has studied significant strategies for showing the Likay Comedy of Payon Kaewyai using the Superiority Theory, Incongruity Theory, Release and Relief Theory, the theory of Dissonance, Deviation from Expectation, and Incompatible Relationship, and the theory of Showing Comedy. The results of the research were as follows: The study found that the strategies of showing Likay Comedy are the use of intelligence and resourcefulness as well as turning weaknesses into strengths. The strategies that helped boost his popularity, and still continue his fame can also benefit the Likay Performance, the folk art that is a cultural heritage of Thailand.