Books in the Dramaturgies series

This volume begins with the assumption that "Hindu" should not be conflated with "Indian" (as in the case of Orientalist criticism of Indian theatre) and that modern Indian theatre need not have its starting point in classical Sanskrit drama (as many Indologists would assert). Rather, this volume uses the insights of reception theory's critique of nationalist historiography to explore a possible framework with which one might theoretically locate the issues inherent in the terms "modern Indian theatre."Following the work of the eminent Indian comparatist, Sisir Kumar Das, this volume looks at how modernity in Indian theatre entails attempts of various Indian language groups to adjust to the forced cohabitation with both foreign and indigenous traditions. Rather than looking at Indian theatre as solely a process of Westernization or Sanskritization, this book looks at it as a response. The aesthetics of reception is then seen as a transactional and dialogical process wherein one is not always just responding to the Western or the classical Indian contexts. As opposed to most postcolonial and Indological readings, this volume traces the domain of the social imagination that has shaped modern Indian sensibilities across various languages and thereby resisting the hermetic aesthetic of reliance on hegemonic languages such as Sanskrit and English. The cover tries to reflect the overall approach of the volume. A theatrical play begins with the lighting of the ritual lamp to signify drama being given to humanity by Brahma, the Creator. According to the compendium on dramatic arts (The Natyashastra, chapter 21), the hand gesture depicted here heralds the ensuing dramatic action.

Wajdi Mouawad occupe une place centrale dans la production théâtrale contemporaine. Sa personnalité a su s'imposer dans le panorama international, à la fois par la portée foncièrement poétique qui inspire ses pièces, par la hardiesse de ses expérimentations dramaturgiques et stylistiques, et par la saisissante actualité des thèmes dont il traite.Articulé en six essais, portant sur différents aspects de la production théâtrale et romanesque de l'écrivain libano-franco-québécois, le présent volume constitue une contribution originale à la connaissance de cet auteur, à travers la prise en compte des thèmes majeurs qui émergent de son oeuvre, encore en train de se construire.Parmi ceux-là, l'attention portée à la rencontre avec l'Autre est sans aucun doute capitale dans la vision anthropologique de Mouawad, qui a su la décliner aux niveaux dramaturgique et stylistique, dans un souci de cohérence permanente et totale. Il réalise ainsi ce dialogue entre ethnies, races et cultures diverses qui constitue le fondement d'un humanisme nouveau.

In 1961, Martin Esslin named a body of plays that lacked plot, character depth, and details of time and space the "Theatre of the Absurd". Esslin explained that this type of theatre, minimalist in the extreme, constituted a response to the existential crisis of Europe, which was in the midst of recovering from World War II. But the fact that this body of theatre lacked details of time and space means that we may break the ties that anchor the Theatre of the Absurd irremediably to the historical context of post-World War II Europe. How can the Theatre of the Absurd speak meaningfully to us in the twenty-first century? This book explores this question by combining the avant-garde that Martin Esslin named in 1961 in his signature work The Theatre of the Absurd with gender studies, queer theory, and psychoanalysis, and avant-garde studies. The Theatre of the Absurd is capable of subverting post-millennial institutions and ideologies, including the Prison Industrial Complex and the West¿s domination of the Islamic world in a post-9/11 era.

«¿L¿universel, c¿est le local moins les murs¿». Cette citation est utilisée à l¿envi sans que l¿on précise toujours qu¿elle est extraite d¿une conférence prononcée au Brésil en 1954 par Miguel Torga (1907-1995). Souvent simplement nommé «¿Torgä», l¿écrivain engagé contre la dictature de Salazar est surtout connu comme diariste, poète et auteur de contes et nouvelles. Si son ¿uvre est largement traduite et dépasse l¿espace national et le siècle qui l¿ont vu naître, son écriture dramatique est négligée par les spécialistes qui abordent ses textes à l¿international. Cet ouvrage est la première étude approfondie qui se consacre au théâtre de Miguel Torga, quatre pièces écrites durant les années 1940 (Terra Firme, Mar, O Paraíso et Sinfonia, dont les trois premières seulement sont disponibles) auxquelles pour l¿instant seules quelques brèves publications ont été consacrées. Le dialogue avec ce théâtre semblait inassouvi et on propose ici de le reprendre selon la méthodologie de Michel Vinaver afin d¿y aborder, au plus près, la parole théâtrale et d¿en saisir les soubassements. Après une «¿lecture moléculaire¿», suivie d¿une «¿lecture d¿ensemble¿» d¿extraits présentés en version bilingue, l¿¿uvre dramatique est mise en contexte avec son époque politique, sociale et théâtrale. L¿opposition de Miguel Torga au régime salazariste, qui lui ôte la liberté de penser et d¿écrire, se manifeste de façon détournée dans son théâtre. Mais on verra combien ses personnages sont porteurs de réverbérations protestataires inavouables en apparence. Aborder cet écrivain implique de réfléchir sur l¿engagement en littérature et plus précisément sur celui d¿un artiste qui a dû subir les foudres du pouvoir coercitif de l¿État Nouveau portugais.

This book brings together essays on the Stratford Festival, on Shakespeare in Quebec, and on Canadian dramatic adaptations of Hamlet and Othello by Ric Knowles, one of Canadäs leading drama and theatre scholars. The essays discuss such major figures as Robert Lepage, Ann Marie MacDonald, Djanet Sears, Michael O¿Brien, Ken Gass, Robin Phillips, Marco Micone, and Martine Beaulne. Taken together they explore both the role that Canada has played in contemporary understandings of Shakespeare, and the role that Shakespeare has played in the constitution of postcolonial Canadian subjectivity and nationhood.

This book examines the dramatic rewritings that emerged in the period 1970-2007, during which stage adaptations flourished in Ireland. The year 1970 marked the beginning of a significant theatrical renaissance in Ireland, recalling that which occurred in the early twentieth century. This renewal was characterized by the prominence of major playwrights such as Brian Friel, Tom Murphy and Thomas Kilroy. The essays collected in this volume seek to provide new perspectives on theatre adaptation in Ireland, while shedding light on the particular features of the contemporary Irish theatre landscape. Far from being an exhaustive history of theatre adaptation, these articles, using differing methodologies, investigate the many ways in which adaptation has left its imprint on Irish theatre since the 1970s. Appended to this book is a DVD that offers excerpts from a staged reading of Enda Walsh¿s Pondlife Angels. This DVD also includes the recording of a roundtable discussion, in which two Irish directors express their views on contemporary Irish theatre.

In this critical anthology of essays and interviews, some of the world's most respected scholars and practitioners writing and working in the area of South African theatre today share their detailed examinations and insights on the complex and contradictory context of Post-apartheid society.

This book focuses on the precursor role of Ludwig Tieck in the Romantic revolution in drama which is seen in his fantastic comedy Puss-in-Boots (1797), a precocious benign forerunner of theatre of the absurd. Tieck's contribution is examined in the light of key dramatists of several strands of modernism.

This volume explores the multi-faceted semantics of ecology in contemporary Indigenous theater and performance. It focuses on the ways in which Indigenous playwrights from North America and Oceania depict the human link with Nature in today's global age.

Examining a collection of Irish plays, this book highlights how specific theatrical productions reflect the global factors at work in modern Ireland. Also, it seeks to document how Irish dramatists exert an impact on theatre practitioners from non-English speaking countries and enrich their stage aesthetics.