ASIAN THEATRE JOURNAL最新文献

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 in certain cases—like that of tamasha, a popular performance form in Maharashtra—this kind of archival windfall is not simply an accidental consequence, but is fundamental to the way censorship is imagined and posited: as an actively preservatory, rather than prohibitive, force. Assembling accounts from government reports, censor files, magazine articles, memoirs, and oral histories, I trace how this archival discourse around censorship was articulated and enforced, and examine its impact, on modern tamasha historiography, in particular, and on institutionalized cultural regulation in the region at large. I argue that the re-framing of censorship as “preservative” imposed severe limitations on the possibilities for resistance, and consequently paved the way for the enduring appropriation of tamasha along caste and class lines.

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 that he might annihilate Indra’s enemies. Urvashi, who has fallen in love with Arjuna, approaches him for love but is rejected by Arjuna. Urvashi curses Arjuna to become a eunuch. Arjuna, who has realized that Urvashi was Pururavas’ wife, tells her in despair that she is no different from his biological mother Kunti and his stepmother Indrani, Indra’s wife. Urvashi’s dormant motherhood bursts forth as she hears this. At the end of the story, Urvashi embraces Arjuna with maternal love, lays him on her lap, and sings a lullaby. Arjuna and Urvashi are the protagonists of this play. The other characters include Urvashi’s two friends and two nymphs who appear in the interlude.

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 of the term “absurd” in regards to Betsuyaku’s work, focusing instead on the influence of Miyazawa Kenji. Finally, this essay looks at how Betsuyaku explores alienation and subtle humor in his characters, especially in his best known play, Zō (The Elephant).

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 and how Beckett was received in Japan. In this introductory essay, I argue that the perception of absurdism, inimically linked with tragedy, missed the connection to comedy, especially entropic comedy. Betsuyaku’s works are filled with this comic form wherein bodies, identities and social structures fall to decay and dissolution. Even as these bodies and structures decay, however, a dark humor pervades in Betsuyaku’s work; seeing his work through this comedic lens allows for greater understanding and appreciation of this major playwright.

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 the identity of the characters and, ultimately, themselves. Godot Came, taking off from the end of Beckett’s famous piece, is a prime example of his work.

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 themes based on undifferentiated love situated in the śṛṅgāra rasa (amorous, erotic sentiment). This essay is an attempt to highlight the infinite performative possibilities improvised by the dancer through imaginative interpretations of the ṭhumrī song-text and the connoisseur spectator’s interactive response in culturally specific meaning-making. Ṭhumrī performance epitomized the poetic “nāyikā,” who dominated prolific classic and regional literature over the millennia.