Audience interest and cultural appreciation of Bangsawan theatre: a descriptive study of the Tribuana Bangsawan ASEAN performance

Bangsawan theatre is one of the significant traditional performing arts forms within the Malay cultural sphere, historically functioning as both entertainment and a medium of cultural storytelling. Despite its historical importance, the sustainability of Bangsawan theatre in the contemporary era depends greatly on the interest and engagement of younger audiences and cultural communities. This study employs a sequential exploratory mixed-method design to examine audience interest in watching or participating in Bangsawan theatre. Data were collected through a survey distributed during the Tribuana Bangsawan ASEAN performance 2025 at the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Auditorium in Kuala Lumpur. A total of 121 responses were received, of which 95 valid responses were analyzed after removing incomplete data. The study focuses on a single open-ended survey question asking respondents whether they were interested in watching or participating in Bangsawan theatre and the reasons behind their response. In the first qualitative phase, responses were analyzed using thematic analysis, which identified five primary themes: artistic engagement and personal experience, learning and knowledge, cultural heritage preservation, social influence, and lack of interest. In the second quantitative phase, themes were coded numerically and analyzed using descriptive statistics in SPSS to determine frequency distributions and valid percentages. The findings reveal that artistic engagement and personal experience is the dominant motivation, followed by learning and knowledge, and cultural heritage preservation . Social influence and lack of interest represent smaller proportions. The results highlight that audience interest is primarily driven by intrinsic factors related to arts participation and personal experience rather than external influences. This study contributes to the limited empirical literature on contemporary audiences for traditional Southeast Asian performing arts and provides evidence-based insights for cultural preservation strategies.