Siamese lakhon troupes at the end of the 19th century

I am trying to make sense about how Siamese mahorasop (dance, drama, and theater) has developed during the Bangkok period (the second half of the 19th century).

The more I try to get into the topic the more I feel how little I know about Thai art. So, if anyone know anything, please throw in your ideas and corrections.

My main purpose is I want to have a picture of the interactions between the performers and the audiences back then.

The performers were large dance troupes owned by Siamese aristocrats. Main types of performances were lakhon nok (showed outside the royal court) and lakhon nai (showed inside the royal court).

lakhon nai was originally associated with the symbol of high status in the society, that of the king. So King Mongkut issued a decree forbid the lakhon nai to be performed outside of the royal court.

Dancers of the troupes tended to be female because under the Sakdina system, male phrai and tad were liable to work in drudgery.

Here there were two types: the lakhon luang (royal) troupes and the private lakhon troupes. The latter one seemed to be closely associated to the gambling halls which scattered all over.

So, The audiences were the King and nobles and those people who went to gamble. Private troupe could be one of the source of revenue for the aristocrats apart from those who gained income from other economic activities. This needs to be explore further since I don't have any idea how much the audiences were charged for each performance.

The interesting thing came at the end of the 19th century, when there were two things that, I think, affected performers directly.

First, the abolition of slavery. What I really want to see is what those people who belonged to the lakhon troupes in the sakdina period did after they were released. Though they were no more obliged to their nai, I am not sure they just abandoned their performing skills they had.

Second, the suppression of the gambling halls. Some academics see that private lakhon troupes declined after they couldn't find a place to perform. I wonder if that was the case.

I will come back to this topic when I have a clearer picture.

(This ideas are from Mattani Mojdara Rutnin, Dance, drama, and theatre in Thailand: the process of development and modernization, 1993)