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The Pendulum of Intercultural Performance: Kathakali King Lear at Shakespeare's Globe

The Pendulum of Intercultural Performance: Kathakali King Lear at Shakespeare's Globe Kathakali King Lear, presented at London's Globe Theatre in 1999, is a case study in the possibilities and difficulties of intercultural theatre practice. This article uses Bharucha's and Pavis's theories on intercultural theatre to frame its analysis and shows how this production, by a multinational troupe collaborating over ten years, crafted a work that crosses Indian and European cultural borders. Text adaptation, character type assignment, casting, resistance by Indian critics, and refinement of earlier versions are detailed. The ultimate success came as this classical text of Western theatre fused with the physicalization of emotion by kathakali masters. The production illuminated both the Western text and kathakali technique in ways that allowed spectators and performers to experience Lear and kathakali anew, offering a positive model for further intercultural work. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Asian Theatre Journal University of Hawai'I Press

The Pendulum of Intercultural Performance: Kathakali King Lear at Shakespeare's Globe

Daugherty, Diane.
Asian Theatre Journal , Volume 22 (1) – Feb 15, 2005
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Publisher
University of Hawai'I Press
Copyright
Copyright © 2005 The University of Hawai'i Press.
ISSN
1527-2109
Publisher site
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Abstract

Kathakali King Lear, presented at London's Globe Theatre in 1999, is a case study in the possibilities and difficulties of intercultural theatre practice. This article uses Bharucha's and Pavis's theories on intercultural theatre to frame its analysis and shows how this production, by a multinational troupe collaborating over ten years, crafted a work that crosses Indian and European cultural borders. Text adaptation, character type assignment, casting, resistance by Indian critics, and refinement of earlier versions are detailed. The ultimate success came as this classical text of Western theatre fused with the physicalization of emotion by kathakali masters. The production illuminated both the Western text and kathakali technique in ways that allowed spectators and performers to experience Lear and kathakali anew, offering a positive model for further intercultural work.

Journal

Asian Theatre Journal – University of Hawai'I Press

Published: Feb 15, 2005

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