one sometimes sees in opera or in parodies of opera. Western operatic singing isn't much more appreciated by Thais classical Thai singing is by the average expat. Just a word about another type of local theatre you might run into near bridges and in Chinese temples. This is commonly misnamed "Peking opera' and is a rural cousin to it. In Thai it is called ngiu. Modern Sino-Thais generally cannot understand the dialogue, and many people find the techniques grating on the ear, particularly the enthusiastic use of gongs, cymbals, and drums. This form of theatre is slowly dying out. Thai nang yai and nang talung plays presented by narrator and 'acted' by a buffalo-hide cut-out that is manipulated in silhouette against a white screen are also becoming rarer every year. In the south of Thailand there are still several all-night performances of the nang talung. An interesting feature of these performances, besides their going from dark till dawn, is that the dialogue of kings is often spoken in Sanskrit-which no one understands but the ordinary characters use colloquial Thai, and often make contemporary allusions to local situations or politics.