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From the Editor Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2024-09-11 Siyuan Liu
In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: From the Editor Siyuan Liu This issue starts with Christina Sunardi’s “Speaking of the Spiritual: An Exploration of Knowledge and Pedagogy in Performing Arts in Malang, East Java,” which examines ilmu or spiritual knowledge Sunardi’s teachers imparted or encouraged her to obtain during her fieldwork on gamelan music and dance in east Java
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Speaking of the Spiritual: An Exploration of Knowledge and Pedagogy in Performing Arts in Malang, East Java Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2024-09-11 Christina Sunardi
Abstract: This article examines spiritual knowledge or ilmu that performers imparted or encouraged me to obtain while I conducted fieldwork on gamelan music and dance in the regency of Malang in the cultural region of east Java spanning 2005–2007 and subsequent visits. Thinking through ideological implications of pedagogy—that is, “[w]hat’s at stake politically in any given pedagogical model” (Wong
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Celebration and Remembrance in Kalibo's Ati-Atihan: Mythmaking, Devotion, and Cultural Memory Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2024-09-11 S Anril Tiatco
Abstract: The Ati-Atihan is a Philippine festival held every January in Kalibo, Aklan province on Panay Island, in honor of the town’s patron saint, the Santo Niño (The Child Jesus) and, at the same time, a commemoration of the original settlers of the island, the dark-skinned Atis. The festival is believed to predate Hispanic colonialism. However, Spanish missionaries gradually added Christian meanings
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The Past in the Present: The Religious and Royal Dimension of Newar Traditional Dance Theatre, Nepal Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2024-09-11 Gérard Toffin
Abstract: This essay links the contemporary dance theatre of the Newars of the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal to the medieval Malla theatre that was staged from the thirteenth to the eighteenth centuries by the same Newar ethnic group. A detailed study of both types of performance, ancient and present-day, shows that a remarkable persistence has been at work through the centuries, even after the abolition
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Decolonizing and Producing Working-class Theatre in Pakistan: The Poetics and Politics of Sangat Theatre's Chog Kusumbhey Di (Picking Safflower) Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2024-09-11 Qaisar Abbas
Abstract: This article aims to map out the features of political theatre in the contemporary post-colonial society of Pakistan, with a focus on the first two decades of the twenty-first century. Though there were some sporadic developments in the earlier period, a relatively organized political theatre movement, with its ideological underpinnings within the leftist project, started in the 1980s as
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Ethos of Yajña Ritual: Mapping Girish Karnad's The Fire and the Rain Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2024-09-11 Sangita Patil
Abstract: This article maps the ethos of the yajña ritual, sacrificial worship intended to enhance both the person and the community, in Girish Karnad’s The Fire and the Rain (2011). It explores the yajña ritual on both physical and mental levels through the mythological tales. Using the Yavakri story from the Mahabharata, the play portrays the physical yajña as a seven-year ritual, in which one prays
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K-Pop Dance: Fandoming Yourself on Social Media by Chuyun Oh (review) Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2024-09-11 Emily Wilcox
In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: Reviewed by: K-Pop Dance: Fandoming Yourself on Social Media by Chuyun Oh Emily Wilcox K-POP DANCE: FANDOMING YOURSELF ON SOCIAL MEDIA. By Chuyun Oh. New York: Routledge, 2023. x + 184 pp. Softcover, $42.36. Anyone teaching in Asian studies, performance studies, or media studies today knows that K-pop is a hugely popular subject among
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Kabuki, A Mirror of Japan: Ten Plays That Offer a Glimpse Into Evolving Sensibilities by Matsui Kesako and David Crandall (review) Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2024-09-11 Jennifer M. Yoo
In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: Reviewed by: Kabuki, A Mirror of Japan: Ten Plays That Offer a Glimpse Into Evolving Sensibilities by Matsui Kesako and David Crandall Jennifer M. Yoo KABUKI, A MIRROR OF JAPAN: TEN PLAYS THAT OFFER A GLIMPSE INTO EVOLVING SENSIBILITIES. By Matsui Kesako and David Crandall. Japan Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture, 2016. 242 pp
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Re-Purposing Suzuki: A Hybrid Approach to Actor Training by Maria Porter (review) Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2024-09-11 Christopher J. Staley
In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: Reviewed by: Re-Purposing Suzuki: A Hybrid Approach to Actor Training by Maria Porter Christopher J. Staley RE-PURPOSING SUZUKI: A HYBRID APPROACH TO ACTOR TRAINING. By Maria Porter. New York: Routledge, 2022. 172 pp. Paperback, $42.95. In Re-Purposing Suzuki: A Hybrid Approach to Actor Training, Maria Porter offers a “system of text analysis”
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From Temple to Theatre: The Making of Commercial Grassroots Performance Spaces in Republican China Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2024-05-15 Sisi Wang
Abstract: This article analyzes the transformation of xiqu (traditional Chinese theatre) performance space in Republican China (1912–1949), focusing on the performances in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province. It investigates the institutional and habitus differences compared to larger urban areas, and changes in admission rules, particularly the implementation of ticketed admission, which transformed temples
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''Made in Korea'': Tradition and Transculturality in Changgeuk Lear Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2024-05-15 Yeeyon Im
Abstract: Changgeuk Lear of the National Changgeuk Company of Korea presents an intriguing case of interculturalism. Produced in 2022 by an elite creative team representative of Korean theatre, Lear is remarkable for its lack of traditional spectacles that have characterized many Korean Shakespeare performances. This essay analyzes the transcultural esthetics of changgeuk Lear in comparison to the
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Ran's Diary: Sexually Suggestive Protest and Counterpublic Discourse Staged by Asian Others in South Korea Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2024-05-15 Bomi Choi
Abstract: This article examines how theatres of migration in the professional sphere intervene in contemporary social issues around Asian immigrants in multicultural South Korea. Of those from other Asian countries, Ranui ilgi (Ran’s Diary, 2011) concerns female marriage migrants, confronting its non-migrant South Korean spectators with an uncomfortable and neglected reality of the migrant women’s
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changeABLE cohesion: Dance and Disability in Post-war Sri Lanka Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2024-05-15 Susan A. Reed
Abstract: Dancers with disabilities are increasingly participating in performances throughout Asia. In this article, based on long-term research, I provide an analysis of changeABLE cohesion, a mixed-abled, intercultural performance co-created by Sri Lankan dancers and Gerda König, choreographer of the renowned German DIN A13 dance company. The article focuses on the experiences and interpretations
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Ugly Past/Insensitive Present: Blackface in Persian Popular Entertainment Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2024-05-15 Hesam Sharifian
Abstract: This article is a scholarly expansion of my previous public writing in HowlRound entitled “Iranian Blackface Clowns are Racist, No Matter How You Sugarcoat Them in Obscure Archaic Mythology.” In the essay, I argue siāh-bāzi, an Iranian form of popular entertainment that features a main character in blackface, is indeed a racialized mockery of the African slaves who were brought to Iran from
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"This Is a Political Play": Making Coriolanus Relevant in Contemporary Iran Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2024-05-15 Ema Vyroubalová, Shauna O'Brien, Mohammadreza Hassanzadeh Javanian
Abstract: This article traces the performance history of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus in Iran, focusing on the most recent production of the play directed by Mostafa Koushki (b. 1984), performed between 2019 and 2020 in Tehran, Iran, and Kerala, India. Based on an original in-person interview with Koushki conducted by one of the authors in Tehran in July 2020, the article discusses how the production reflected
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Ideological Crisis, Compliance, and Self-Censorship: Identifying the Symptoms of Sinhala-Speaking Theatre Through Its Responses to the Civil War Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2024-05-15 Chamila Priyanka
Abstract: Although many Sinhala-speaking plays created in Sri Lanka after the 1960s focused on contemporary political and social issues, there were surprisingly few theatre productions that addressed the civil war, a significant political crisis in Sri Lanka. Additionally, those few plays that addressed the Civil War failed to provide an opposing thought to the racist ideology that led to the Civil
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Imigure Kaidan (Immigrant Ghost Stories) (review) Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2024-05-15 Beri Juraic
In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: Reviewed by: Imigure Kaidan (Immigrant Ghost Stories) Beri Juraic IMIGURE KAIDAN (IMMIGRANT GHOST STORIES). Directed by Kamisato Yudai. Produced by Okazaki Art Theatre. Co-produced by Naha Cultural Arts Theater NAHArt, Naha, Japan, 28–30 October 2022. The award-winning playwright and director Kamisato Yudai premiered his latest work Imigure
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The Challenge of World Theatre History by Steve Tillis (review) Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2024-05-15 Jessica Nakamura
In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: Reviewed by: The Challenge of World Theatre History by Steve Tillis Jessica Nakamura THE CHALLENGE OF WORLD THEATRE HISTORY. By Steve Tillis. Cham, Switzerland: Springer, 2020. 320 pp. Hardcover, $119.99. The title of The Challenge of World Theatre History reflects Steve Tillis’s dual approach that grounds his book: the challenge of producing
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Dancing the Dharma: Religious and Political Allegory In Japanese Noh Theater by Susan Blakeley Klein (review) Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2024-05-15 Justine Wiesinger
In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: Reviewed by: Dancing the Dharma: Religious and Political Allegory In Japanese Noh Theater by Susan Blakeley Klein Justine Wiesinger DANCING THE DHARMA: RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL ALLEGORY IN JAPANESE NOH THEATER. By Susan Blakeley Klein. Cambridge: Harvard University Asia Center, 2021. 401 pp. Hardcover, $70.00. Susan Blakeley Klein’s Dancing
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Performing the Ramayana Tradition: Enactments, Interpretations, and Arguments ed. by Paula Richman and Rustom Bharucha (review) Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2024-05-15 Amanda Culp
In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: Reviewed by: Performing the Ramayana Tradition: Enactments, Interpretations, and Arguments ed. by Paula Richman and Rustom Bharucha Amanda Culp PERFORMING THE RAMAYANA TRADITION: ENACTMENTS, INTERPRETATIONS, AND ARGUMENTS. Edited by Paula Richman and Rustom Bharucha. New York: Oxford University Press, 2021. 376 pp. Paper, $48.99. Performing
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Moving Bodies, Navigating Conflict: Practicing Bharata Natyam in Colombo, Sri Lanka by Ahalya Satkunaratnam (review) Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2024-05-15 Merritt Denman Popp
In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: Reviewed by: Moving Bodies, Navigating Conflict: Practicing Bharata Natyam in Colombo, Sri Lanka by Ahalya Satkunaratnam Merritt Denman Popp MOVING BODIES, NAVIGATING CONFLICT: PRACTICING BHARATA NATYAM IN COLOMBO, SRI LANKA. By Ahalya Satkunaratnam. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2020. 171 pp. $22.95. Ahalya Satkunaratnam’s
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Betsuyaku and the Comedy of Entropy Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2023-11-16 David Jortner
Abstract: Betsuyaku Minoru was one of the leading postwar dramatists when he passed away in 2020. This special section looks at Betsuyaku’s career from his early 1960s plays to his monumental 2007 work Yattekita Godot (Godot Came). The essays look at Betsuyaku’s relationship with the Theatre of the Absurd, both in Japan and in the West. This is especially true when one looks at the influence of Beckett
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Betsuyaku Minoru's Artful Ambiguity Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2023-11-16 John K. Gillespie
Abstract: Betsuyaku Minoru was a leading luminary of Japan’s ground-breaking angura (underground) theatre movement, his influence extending over 60 years. His signature style, marked by spare staging, absurdist situations and dialogue, abundant humor, and purposeful ambiguity, is reminiscent at times of Samuel Beckett. He builds ambiguity into the structure of his plays, provoking spectators to question
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Godot Came Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2023-11-16 Betsuyaku Minoru, John K. Gillespie
In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: Godot Came Betsuyaku Minoru Translated by John K. Gillespie Characters: Godot Pozzo Lucky Estragon Vladimir Woman 1 Woman 2 Woman 3 Woman 4 Boy Scene One A telephone pole. Just to stage left a bench and bus stop sign. No other props. Early evening. Woman 1 enters stage right, carrying a basket full of knitting materials, sees the bus stop
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Betsuyaku Minoru: The Playwright Who Came Back to a Place He had Never Been to Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2023-11-16 Roger Pulvers
Abstract: In this essay by playwright, director, translator, and colleague of Betsuyaku Roger Pulvers, the author looks at Betsuyaku’s work through a variety of perspectives, sharing academic as well as personal insights about the playwright and his work. He examines the ways that Betsuyaku’s plays echo the ambiguity and circularity found within the Japanese language. He also argues for the misapplication
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Sapamochanam (The Curse Liberation), A Kathakali Play by Sadanam Harikumar Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2023-11-16 Produced by Sadanam Kathakali Academy, VM Sreelakshmi, Lakshmi Mohan
Abstract: This play is a new interpretation of Urvashi and Arjuna from the epic Mahabharata. Immortal Urvashi of heaven was the life partner of mortal emperor Pururavas of earth, Arjuna’s fortieth ancestor. The story is that Urvashi, assigned to be an eternal virgin who was denied motherhood, experiences the bliss of motherhood because of Arjuna. Indra, Arjuna’s father, has brought him to heaven so
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Performance of Ṭhumrī in Kathak Dance Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2023-11-16 Purnima Shah
Abstract: During the eighteenth century, Lakhnau, the capital of the royal state of Awadh, emerged as the refined center for the arts. Over the next centuries, kathak maestros and elite tavāifs (soiree singers and dancers) enthralled patron connoisseurs with their exquisite ṭhumrī performances, receiving lavish rewards. Ṭhumrī exemplified an aesthetic synthesis of the devotional (bhakti) and worldly
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The Many Uses of Censorship: Cultural Regulation on Tamasha in Maharashtra Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2023-11-16 Sharvari Sastry
Abstract: This paper is a historical and conceptual inquiry into the nature of performance censorship and resistance, particularly in the context of subaltern “folk” forms, and its relationship to the archive. All censorial gestures also serve as archival ones, insofar as legislating censorship necessitates the generation of a collated record of objectionable material. However, this paper argues that
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The Comic Storytelling of Western Japan: Satire and Social Mobility in Kamigata Rakugo by M.W. Shores (review) Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2023-11-16 Alex Rogals
In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: Reviewed by: The Comic Storytelling of Western Japan: Satire and Social Mobility in Kamigata Rakugo by M.W. Shores Alex Rogals THE COMIC STORYTELLING OF WESTERN JAPAN: SATIRE AND SOCIAL MOBILITY IN KAMIGATA RAKUGO. First Edition. By M.W. Shores. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021. xviii + 261 pp. Hardback, $99.99. Expanding upon
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A History of Butō by Bruce Baird (review) Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2023-11-16 Tara Rodman
In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: Reviewed by: A History of Butō by Bruce Baird Tara Rodman A HISTORY OF BUTŌ. By Bruce Baird. New York: Oxford University Press, 2022. 288 pp. Paperback, $39.95; hardcover, $125.00. In A History of Butō, Bruce Baird traces the contingencies of timing, economics, personality, reception, and others that shaped the trajectory of some of the
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Betty Bernhard Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2023-04-04 Carol Fisher Sorgenfrei
Abstract: Betty Bernhard’s legacy in Asian theatre is due primarily to her extraordinary insight into discovering and promoting aspects of Indian performance—including Gujarati folk drama and issues of gender/sexuality—that were traditionally marginalized or overlooked; to her fundraising prowess and advocacy on behalf of Indian artists and colleagues, enabling international travel to pursue their
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Jonah Isaac Salz Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2023-04-04 Julie A. Iezzi
Abstract: This article chronicles the life and work of Jonah Salz, a theatre director, producer, teacher, scholar, and translator, who co-founded both the Noho Theatre Group (1982) and the Traditional Theatre Training (TTT) program (1984) in Kyoto, together with kyōgen actor Shigeyama Akira. Salz was the editor-in-chief of A History of Japanese Theatre (Cambridge UP 2016); has written and published
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Mortal Bromance: Homoeroticism on the Takarazuka Stage Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2023-04-04 Tove Solander
Abstract: The Takarazuka Revue is an all-female music theatre company founded over a century ago. It is an important institution in Japanese culture and has garnered quite a lot of scholarly attention, but only rarely from a Theatre Studies perspective. This article draws on Azuma Sonoko’s model for analyzing how onstage and offstage levels overlap and interact in the Takarazuka Revue. I challenge
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Yakiniku Dragon as Prophecy and Reflection Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2023-04-04 Seung-moo Paik
Abstract: The admiration of Korean critics for Yakiniku Dragon, a play about a Zainichi (Koreans in Japan) family, prevents an accurate interpretation of the play. This excess praise stems from the mixed emotions Korean people feel for the Zainichi. Mixed emotions, in which anger and love, disappointment and affection are superimposed, originate from a history of an absent father figure and influence
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Towards a Definition of Performance During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Study of Ramlila in India Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2023-04-04 Prateek
Abstract: This article demonstrates how Covid-19 transformed the performance aesthetics of ancient theatre traditions in India. I draw primarily on the October 17, 2020 performance of the Ramlila, the folk staging of Ramayana, produced by the Shri Ram Dharmik Leela Committee, Tri Nagar, one of the most popular theatre troupes in North Delhi. In the first part of the article, I explore the metatheatricality
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The Revived Mak Yong Theatre in Indonesia's Riau Islands: Narrative and Performance Structure Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2023-04-04 Alan Darmawan
Abstract: Mak yong is a form of theatre that combines music, dance, story, dialogue, and slapstick comedy in its performance. The traditions of mak yong are currently practiced in Malaysia, southern Thailand, and Indonesia’s Riau Islands. Focusing on mak yong that has been revived in the past fifteen years in the Riau Islands, this essay discusses the contemporary productions of mak yong and the consequences
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Den Kisot (Don Quixote) by Goenawan Mohamad (review) Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2023-04-04 Arthur S. Nalan, Irwan Jamaludin, Kathy Foley
In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: Reviewed by: Den Kisot (Don Quixote) by Goenawan Mohamad Arthur S. Nalan, Irwan Jamaludin, and Kathy Foley DEN KISOT (DON QUIXOTE). By Goenawan Mohamad, directed by Endo Suanda. Indonesian Cultural Arts Insitut Seni Budaya-Bandung Theatre, Bandung, Indonesia, 15 July 2022. Goenawan Mohamad, author and co-founder of Utan Kayu artists’ community
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Ceng Jing Ru Shi (Ago) by Stan Lai (review) Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2023-04-04 Chiayi Seetoo
In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: Reviewed by: Ceng Jing Ru Shi (Ago) by Stan Lai Chiayi Seetoo CENG JING RU SHI (AGO). Text and direction by Stan Lai. Theatre Above, Shanghai, China. 9–22 December 2019. Ceng Jing Ru Shi 曾經如是(Ago) is the latest work written and directed by Stan Lai, which was premiered in Shanghai in December, 2019. The play lasted for more than five hours
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Noh as Living Art: Inside Japan's Oldest Theatrical Tradition by Yasuda Noboru (review) Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2023-04-04 Jane Traynor
In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: Reviewed by: Noh as Living Art: Inside Japan’s Oldest Theatrical Tradition by Yasuda Noboru Jane Traynor NOH AS LIVING ART: INSIDE JAPAN’S OLDEST THEATRICAL TRADITION. By Yasuda Noboru. Translated by Kawamoto Nozomu. Tokyo: Japan Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture, 2021. xiii + 103 pp. Hardcover, ¥2,200. Yasuda Noboru’s Noh as
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Engeki: Japanese Theatre in The New Millennium Volume 5 ed. by Japan Playwrights Association, and: Engeki: Japanese Theatre in the New Millennium Volume 6 ed. by Japan Playwrights Association (review) Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2023-04-04 Beri Juraic
In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: Reviewed by: Engeki: Japanese Theatre in The New Millennium Volume 5ed. by Japan Playwrights Association, and: Engeki: Japanese Theatre in the New Millennium Volume 6ed. by Japan Playwrights Association Beri Juraic ENGEKI: JAPANESE THEATRE IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM VOLUME 5. Edited by Japan Playwrights Association. Tokyo: Japan Playwrights
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Jana Sanskriti: Performance as a New Politics by Ralph Yarrow (review) Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2023-04-04 David Mason
In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: Reviewed by: Jana Sanskriti: Performance as a New Politics by Ralph Yarrow David Mason JANA SANSKRITI: PERFORMANCE AS A NEW POLITICS. By Ralph Yarrow. New York: Routledge, 2022. 180 pp. Paper, $44.95. During the independence movement of the early twentieth century in India, overtly political theatre established itself as a fundamental
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A Man of the Theater: Survival as an Artist in Iran by Nasser Rahmaninejad (review) Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2023-04-04 Suzi Elnaggar
In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: Reviewed by: A Man of the Theater: Survival as an Artist in Iran by Nasser Rahmaninejad Suzi Elnaggar A MAN OF THE THEATER: SURVIVAL AS AN ARTIST IN IRAN. By Nasser Rahmaninejad. New York: New York University Press, 2020. 266 pp. Paperback, $21.95. Nasser Rahmaninejad is an Iranian artist who began working in theatre in 1959. During the
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Being Lost and Becoming: Exploring the Performance of Pain and Empathy in Maya Rao's Khol Do (Take It Off) Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2022-11-12 Raman Kumar
Abstract: This article critically engages with Maya K Rao's Khol Do (Take It Off), as a dance-theatre performance of pain and empathy through which the notion of being and becoming is contested. This nonverbal performance, revolving around one of the stories written by Saadat Hasan Manto that is based on the atrocities occurred during the India-Pakistan partition, is about a man in search of her daughter
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An Examination of Theatrical Forms of the Ashiq-Minstrel Tradition Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2022-11-12 Sercan Özinan
Abstract: This article examines the "ashiq-minstrelsy tradition," one of the ancient oral traditions of Anatolia. It evaluates its historical background, form, and performance conventions as a continuation of local cultural heritage. The article also discusses the theatrical forms of the tradition by making use of the ritual research of Roland Grimes.
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Exploring the Diversity of Japanese Traditional Puppetry Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2022-11-12 Claudia Orenstein
Abstract: A preliminary summary of Fulbright research exploring Japan's diverse puppetry and performing object traditions taking place during the Covid pandemic. While focusing primarily on ritual puppetry, including various versions of Sanbasō (a performance generally using three puppet characters taken from the noh play Okina, done for purification and blessings) and on the hinkoko tradition (the
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Global Modernizing Gestures in Staging a New Theatre Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2022-11-12 Hyo Jeong Hong
Abstract: This article investigates the reformation of a guyoenkeuk (舊演劇 old theatre) into a shinyoenkeuk (新演劇 new theatre) by the nationalist theatre reformers and the Wongaksa Theatre. This reformation was associated with the first half of Korean theatre reform and the Patriotic enlightenment movement under the Japanese protectorate (1905–1910). This article attends to claims by Korea's cultural
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Indian Drama in English: The Beginnings ed. by Ananda Lal (review) Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2022-11-12 Sukanya Chakrabarti
In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: Reviewed by: Indian Drama in English: The Beginnings ed. by Ananda Lal Sukanya Chakrabarti INDIAN DRAMA IN ENGLISH: THE BEGINNINGS. Edited by Ananda Lal. Kolkata: Jadavpur University Press, 2019. 243 pp. Hardcover, Rs. 450.00. Ananda Lal's Indian Drama in English: The Beginnings fills a critical lacuna in the study of Indian theatre history
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A Journal of the Plague Year by Terayama Shūji in Collaboration with Kishida Rio: "Contagious Magic" for a Time of Epidemic Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2022-03-16 Tsuneda Keiko, Colleen Lanki
Abstract: Terayama Shūji (1935–1983), a leading figure in the Japanese avant-garde theatre movement, founded his theatre troupe Tenjō Sajiki (The Peanut Gallery) in 1967. Terayama and company member/collaborating writer Kishida Rio (1946–2003) scripted Ekibyō ryūkōki (A Journal of the Plague Year) in 1975 as the last of three plays created for a European audience. Inspired by Daniel Defoe’s fictional
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Yi Kwang-su's Gyuhan (Sorrows of the Inner Room): Korea's First Modern Play? Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2022-03-16 Owen Stampton
Abstract: Scholarly enquiry into the formation of modern drama on the Korean peninsula has given way to vibrant debate over the years. The enigma of the inception of modern drama continues to elicit diverging opinions regarding the “first” modern Korean play. In 1916, writer, activist, and journalist Yi Kwang-su published his highly influential critical work “Munhak iran hao” (What is Literature?)
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The "Homosexual Code" in Contemporary Korean Theatre: The Case of Shakespeare's R & J in Seoul Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2022-03-16 Yeeyon Im
Abstract: This essay critiques the vogue of “the homosexual code” in contemporary Korean theatre, with a close-up analysis of ShowNote Company’s Shakespeare’s R & J that premiered in 2018. It first examines the surge of queer-themed films and theatres since the mid-2000s in relation to the growing visibility of homosexuality, the changing concept of masculinity, the “flower boy” syndrome, and neoliberalism
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Transnational Queer Solidarities and Ambivalent Affects in the Yeoseong Gukgeuk Project Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2022-03-16 Roweena Yip
Abstract: In this article, I examine siren eun young jung’s Yeoseong Gukgeuk Project, an ongoing contemporary art project about yeoseong gukgeuk, a Korean all-female performance form whose survival in the twenty-first century is marked by precarity. Situated at the intersections of archival documentation, ethnography, and visual art, I conceptualize the Yeoseong Gukgeuk Project as an archive of affect
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Reinventing Physical Culture through Yojō-han: A Midsummer Night's Dream by Yasuda Masahiro Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2022-03-16 Boram Choi
Abstract: In his A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2004), Yasuda Masahiro presents his perspectives on human bodies to discuss the subjects of human identity and communication with other people in the modernized Japanese society. He insists that Japanese people have fewer opportunities to recognize their inner condition and gradually lose their ability to interact with other people as they are working as
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Isan Contemporary Performance: Embodied Isan Tone in Thai Contemporary Performance Making Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2022-03-16 Tanatchaporn Kittikong
Abstract: As an identity, Isan (the northeast region of Thailand) is a problematic political construct that reflects ambiguous self-understanding and self-representation. Isan has long been challenged by Thai politics which cast the image of the Isan people as lower social status. However, the richness of Isan expression through Isan language, music, and cultures has always flourished. The research
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Mahābhārata Senki (review) Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2022-03-16 Sang Mi Park
In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: Reviewed by: Mahābhārata Senki Sang Mi Park MAHĀBHĀRATA SENKI. Presented by Shochiku Co., Ltd. Kabuki-za Theatre, Tokyo, Japan. 1–25 October 2017. As part of the celebration for the 60th anniversary of the 1957 cultural agreement between Japan and India, a Hindu masterpiece was adapted for the Japanese audience in 2017. Mahābhārata Senki
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Japanese Contemporary Objects, Manipulators, and Actors in Performanceby Mari Boyd (review) Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2022-03-16 Peter Eckersall
In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: Reviewed by: Japanese Contemporary Objects, Manipulators, and Actors in Performanceby Mari Boyd Peter Eckersall JAPANESE CONTEMPORARY OBJECTS, MANIPULATORS, AND ACTORS IN PERFORMANCE. By Mari Boyd. Tokyo: Sophia University Press, 2020. 349 pp. ¥3080. In Japanese Contemporary Objects, Manipulators, and Actors in Performance, the theatre
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Contemporary Group Theatre in Kolkata, Indiaby Arnab Banerji (review) Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2022-03-16 Kristen Rudisill
In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: Reviewed by: Contemporary Group Theatre in Kolkata, Indiaby Arnab Banerji Kristen Rudisill CONTEMPORARY GROUP THEATRE IN KOLKATA, INDIA. By Arnab Banerji. London and New York: Routledge, 2020. 168 pp. Hardcover, $160; Paperback, $48.95. Arnab Banerji’s accessible and informative book provides a window into the complex world that is Bengali
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Music of the Baduy People of Western Java: Singing Is a Medicineby Wim van Zanten (review) Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2022-03-16 Kathy Foley
In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: Reviewed by: Music of the Baduy People of Western Java: Singing Is a Medicineby Wim van Zanten Kathy Foley MUSIC OF THE BADUY PEOPLE OF WESTERN JAVA: SINGING IS A MEDICINE. By Wim van Zanten. Leiden, Boston: Brill, 2021 [KITLV 313]. https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/48323. DOI 10.1163/9789004444478 [open access]; hardback $198
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Performing the Arts of Indonesia: Malay Identity and Politics in the Music, Dance, and Theatre of the Riau Islandsed. by Margaret Kartomi (review) Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2022-03-16 Jennifer Goodlander
In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: Reviewed by: Performing the Arts of Indonesia: Malay Identity and Politics in the Music, Dance, and Theatre of the Riau Islandsed. by Margaret Kartomi Jennifer Goodlander PERFORMING THE ARTS OF INDONESIA: MALAY IDENTITY AND POLITICS IN THE MUSIC, DANCE, AND THEATRE OF THE RIAU ISLANDS. Edited by Margaret Kartomi. Copenhagen: NiAS Press
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Shakespeare in Singapore: Performance, Education, and Culture by Philip Smith (review) Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2022-03-16 Chelsea Curto
In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: Reviewed by: Shakespeare in Singapore: Performance, Education, and Culture by Philip Smith Chelsea Curto SHAKESPEARE IN SINGAPORE: PERFORMANCE, EDUCATION, AND CULTURE. By Philip Smith. London: Routledge, 2020. 206 pp. Hardcover, $160.00. In Shakespeare in Singapore: Performance, Education, and Culture, author Philip Smith argues that Shakespeare
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Mahābhārata Senki (review) Asian Theatre Journal (IF 0.3) Pub Date : 2022-03-16 Sang Mi Park
In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: Reviewed by: Mahābhārata Senki Sang Mi Park MAHĀBHĀRATA SENKI. Presented by Shochiku Co., Ltd. Kabuki-za Theatre, Tokyo, Japan. 1–25 October 2017. As part of the celebration for the 60th anniversary of the 1957 cultural agreement between Japan and India, a Hindu masterpiece was adapted for the Japanese audience in 2017. Mahābhārata Senki