Kathakali show Kochi: which ticket to book

What you can book

The booking page sells one evening show in several formats, and you choose the format when you pick your date. When we last checked, there were six. Three are self-arrival: Theyyam and Kalaripayattu, Kathakali with a makeup demonstration, and all three arts. Two are transfer versions of the Theyyam and Kalaripayattu show and of the full evening. The sixth adds a visit to Athirappilly Waterfalls before the performances and takes about seven hours. Each option states its own length and whether transport is included, so read that line before you pay. The show runs daily, in small groups, with English-language guidance.

• Theyyam and Kalaripayattu: about an hour, no transport
• Kathakali with makeup demonstration: 2 hours, no transport
• All three arts: 3 hours, no transport
• Theyyam and Kalaripayattu with transfers: about 2.5 hours in all
• Makeup demo, Kathakali, Theyyam and Kalaripayattu with transfers: about 4 hours in all

Kathakali only, or all three arts?

Choose by what you came for. Kathakali is the slow art: painted faces, hand gestures and sung verses telling a story from the Hindu epics. Kalaripayattu is a fast, physical martial art, and Theyyam is a ritual dance driven by drumming, so adding them changes the pace of the night. The three-art evening is the wider introduction. The Kathakali option with a makeup demonstration gives you one art in more depth, in about two hours. Neither replaces a traditional Kathakali night, which has run from dusk to dawn.

Read next: What is Kathakali? What to expect in Kochi

Is the makeup demonstration included?

Not on every option. Two options name it: Kathakali with a makeup demonstration, and the longer option that adds Theyyam and Kalaripayattu with transfers. The self-arrival three-art option lists the three performances but doesn't name the demonstration, so check the option text for your date before you count on it. It's worth wanting. Kathakali makeup includes the chutti, a raised white frame along the jaw, traditionally made of rice paste and now of paper. Applying it takes hours, with the performer lying down. Seeing it done helps you read the faces later.

With transfers or on your own

Two options include return transport from your hotel in Kochi or Ernakulam, and their booking pages show a pick-up area, so check that your hotel falls inside it. The other options are self-arrival: the booking page shows a meeting point on a map, and you get yourself there. The stated length of a transfer option includes the ride, about two and a half hours in all for the Theyyam and Kalaripayattu option and about four hours for the full one. Your confirmation carries the pick-up or meeting details for the date you chose.

Read next: Watching Kathakali in Fort Kochi: A Practical Evening Guide

What Theyyam adds

Theyyam is a ritual art of North Malabar, the northern part of Kerala, in which the performer embodies a deity. Kerala Tourism counts nearly 400 different Theyyams. The headgear, called the mudi, is the most important part of the costume, and the faces are painted with natural colours, mostly red. In the villages it's performed at shrines and in houses, in a season that runs from about mid-October to late May. The Kochi show is a staged version for visitors, so expect the costume, the drumming and the trance-like movement, not a village ritual.

What Kalaripayattu adds

Kalaripayattu is a martial art from Kerala. The name joins kalari, a training ground, and payattu, training. Unlike many martial arts, it teaches weapons before bare-handed techniques, and the weapons include spears, daggers and the urumi. Kathakali borrowed body movements from it, which is one reason the two sit well in the same evening. The Kochi demonstration shows speed, agility, acrobatic moves and weapon work, a sharp change of pace after the measured drama of Kathakali.

Start times, cancellation and paying later

Start times differ from one option to another, and the booking calendar shows the time for your date. Your confirmation repeats it. This guide gives none, because they vary by option and can change. Booked through GetYourGuide, every option can be cancelled free up to 24 hours before the start for a full refund, and you can reserve now and pay later, so nothing is charged today. That makes it easy to hold an evening while you settle the rest of your Kerala plans.

Which theatre is it?

The booking page doesn't name the theatre. It shows a meeting point on a map, or a pick-up area on the transfer options, and your confirmation has the details. If a particular centre matters to you, check the map pin before you pay. If you compare this with a ticket sold by a theatre directly, compare the same four things: which arts are included, whether the makeup demonstration is part of it, whether transport is included, and what the cancellation terms are.

What to bring and what isn't included

Food and drinks, tips and personal expenses aren't included in any option, so plan to eat before or after, and carry some cash for tips if you want to leave one. The booking page recommends comfortable clothes. The show runs in small groups, and after the final performance there's time to meet the performers, ask about their training and take photographs. Switch your flash off before the performance starts.

• Photography is allowed, but flash photography is not
• Wear comfortable clothes
• Not included: food and drinks, tips, personal expenses
• Time with the performers after the last act

Who this isn't for

The show isn't suitable for wheelchair users. If you want a full traditional Kathakali performance, an evening of two or three hours is a different thing, because the classical form ran overnight. If you want to see Theyyam as a village ritual, it happens mainly in North Malabar between about mid-October and late May, not on a Kochi stage. And if one named theatre is the point of your trip, check the meeting point on the map first, because the booking page doesn't name it.