The Natyasastra is the deep repository of Indian performance studies. It embodies centuries of performance knowledge developed in South Asia on a range of conceptual issues and practical methodologies of the body. The composition of the Natyasastra is attributed to Sage Bharatha, and dates back to between 200 BC and AD 200. Written in Sanskrit, the text contains 6000 verse stanzas integrated in 36 chapters discussing a wide range of issues in theatre arts, including dramatic composition; construction of the playhouse; detailed analysis of the musical scales; body movements; various types of acting; directing; division of stage space; costumes; make-up; properties and musical instruments. As a discourse on performance, the Natyasastra is an extensive documentation of terminologies, concepts and methodologies. This book presents 14 scholarly essays exploring the Natyasastra from the multiple perspectives of Indian performance studies--epistemological, aesthetic, scientific, religious, ethnological and practical.

The theory of rasa enunciated by Bharata has stimulated both creativity and critical discouirse in the Indian arts for nearly 2000 years. The text of the Natyasastra is as relevant to literature, poetry and drama as it is to architecture, sculpture, painting, music and dance. Its comprehensive treatment of artistic experience, expression and communication, content and form emerges from an integral vision which flowers as a many-branched tree of all Indian arts.

Indian Theatre expands the boundaries of what is usually regarded as theatre in order to explore the multiple dimensions of theatrical performance in India. From rural festivals to contemporary urban theatre, from dramatic rituals and devotional performances to dance-dramas and classical Sanskrit plays, this volume is a vivid introduction to the colourful and often surprising world of Indian performance. Besides mapping the vast range of performance traditions, the volume provides in-depth treatment of representative genres, including well-known forms such as Kathakali and ram lila and little-knowa performances such as tamasha. Each of these chapters explains the historical background of the theatre form under consideration and interprets its dramatic literature, probes its ritual or religious significance, and, where relevant, explores its social and political implications. Moreover, each chapter, except for those on the origins of Indian theatre, concludes with performance notes describing the actual experience of seeing a live performance in its original context. Based on extensive fieldwork, Indian Theatre is the first comprehensive account of the subject to be written by Western specialists and addressed to the needs of readers in the West. It will be a valuable resource for all students of Indian culture and a standard work in the history of theatre and performance for years to come.

An annotated world theatre bibliography documenting significant theatre materials published world wide since 1945, plus an index to key names throughout the six volumes of the series.

Uncovers the ways in which the spectator's memory informs theatrical reception

Bharata's Natyasastra, the earliest treatise on dramatics, is, even today, the origin of our dramatic tradition. Besides being the most important study of dramatics, it is also the most comprehensive. The all-inclusive quality, however, creates problems for the reader who has to go through a great deal of unnecessary information. In this book, the author has culled all information essential and relevant to drama, eliminating the superfluous. Eschewing attempts to provide any kind of a scholarly or original interpretation of Bharata's views, the author has focused on giving the reader a connected account of the study of dramatics suing modern terminology. The purpose is to introduce those interested in drama to Bharata's wisdom and to throw light on the state of dramatics in ancient India. Written in a simple and lucid style, the author takes the reader through topics like theater houses, the stage and stage craft, play-construction and the rasa theory. All lovers of drama are sure to find this book both useful and absorbing.

Provides information on the history and present practice of theater in the world.