Theatre and Performance

This paper explores the evolution of Byomkesh Bakshi, the iconic
Bengali detective created by Sharadindu Bandopadhyay, as a lens to
examine the changing socio-cultural landscape of Bengal from the pre-Independence era to the present. Byomkesh Bakshi embodies the Bengali
bhadralok’s (middle class) hybrid Europhone cultural inheritance and the
search for a ‘native’ identity, reflecting the intellectual zeal and societal
engagement characteristic of the bhadralok. However, his portrayal has
transformed over time to resonate with contemporary audiences, moving
away from traditional bhadralok values—defined by Parimal Ghosh as
eroding under the pressure of a pragmatic, market-driven culture—
towards a modernized figure that incorporates globalized aesthetics and
psychological complexity. Contemporary directors like AnjanDutt and
Dibakar Banerjee have reimagined Byomkesh through the influence of
noir cinema and international detective archetypes, allowing him to
navigate the intricacies of post-colonial Calcutta and appeal to younger,
cosmopolitan viewers. These adaptations not only update Byomkesh’s
investigative methods and settings but also engage with his potential
political perspectives, subtly negotiating colonial and post-independence
censorship. This paper argues that Byomkesh’s enduring appeal and
relevance are rooted in his adaptability—retaining the core essence of
the satyanweshi (truth-seeker) while evolving in response to Bengal’s
shifting cultural identity. By tracing Byomkesh’s journey from a traditional
Bengali sleuth to a nuanced, globally resonant figure, the study illuminates how literary characters can serve as cultural barometers, mirroring broader societal transformations. Ultimately, Byomkesh Bakshi remains a significant cultural icon, reflecting the complexities of a region in constant flux while preserving the spirit of inquiry and integrity that defines his legacy.

The concept of the virtual is one of the central pillars of Gilles Deleuze’s philosophy. It emerges in his earliest writings and remains a constant presence up to the year of his death. The fact that the virtual traverses more than four decades of thought, however, implies that certain of its features evolve over time—so much so that it has given rise to markedly divergent interpretations of Deleuze’s philosophy. This article therefore proposes a tripartite account of the concept: the version of the 1960s, that of the 1970s, and that of the 1980s and 1990s. It will be argued that while the first formulation of the virtual still bears a structuralist residue – thus lending itself to transcendent or transcendental readings – the second, thanks to Guattari’s contribution, fully attains the horizontality of immanence, whereas the third stabilises it within the crystal of time.

本文從「風格」一詞的定義出發，重新追問藝術作品中內容、形式與感受性之間的關係。本文指出，風格並非單純形式，也不是作品內在屬性，而是作品經由評論、脈絡與觀眾經驗符號化後形成的神話。本文借巴特（Roland Barthes）、桑塔格(Susan Sontag)與布魯克（Peter Brook），將劇場風格理解為一種現場感官經驗：它發生在觀眾的觀看、聆聽與記憶之中，而不只存在於劇本、導演或舞台元素裡。由此，本文進而批評香港劇場論述長期以「另類」「實驗」等模糊框架迴避「前衛」，忽略前衛真正的力量在於衝擊觀眾的感官慣性。以「進念・二十面體」為例，本文展示其八十年代的震撼如何由反話劇觀、反闡釋與政治姿態構成；但當「進念」被評論神話化為可消費的風格，其前衛性亦逐漸耗損。本文最終召喚一種桑塔格式的「藝術色情學」：評論不應只解釋作品意義，而要精細描述劇場如何製造快感、震驚與不安。

本文以李援華的劇作、論述、排練筆記與戲劇實踐為核心，考察他在香港戲劇史中的多重角色。文章指出，李援華不僅是劇作家，更是戲劇教育者、推廣者與承傳者；其創作深受中國話劇傳統、洪深以降的社會問題劇觀念，以及「以戲劇育人」使命感所塑造。作者一方面分析其劇作中鮮明的說理傾向、理想主義與自我解剖式書寫，指出其藝術局限與時代落差；另一方面亦強調他在羅師戲劇組、中國話劇推介、劇場教育及排練方法上的深遠貢獻。透過《曹禺與中國》等案例，文章揭示李援華如何在中國傳統、香港本土化與現代戲劇轉型之間承擔橋樑角色，從而重估其作為香港戲劇先驅的歷史位置。

What is the relationship between theatre and the twenty-first century city? What impact do late capitalist urban transformations have on theatre? And how do theatres themselves shape and participate in such urban environments? These are the questions that sit at the heart of "Theatre and Gentrification in the European City", a multi-year research project funded by the European Research Council. Since starting our project in September 2023, we have approached these questions by way of a multi-sited lens, as well as a specific dimension of contemporary urban transformation: gentrification. In this article, we present the transcript of an international roundtable conversation featuring five artists whose work directly engages our questions, including Anna Rochowska (Warsaw), Charlotte Lagrange (Paris), Chris Bush (London), Florian Loycke (Berlin), and Yeşim Özsoy (Istanbul).

Hospital as a multi‑faceted and ambivalent space enables manifestation of different forms of protagonist identity and opens various possibilities of film representations. It was only the postmodern discourse, open to the types of characters and groups which had been nonexistent in the mainstream cultural reflections, that enabled meaningful presence of the diseased. Thus ‘the alien’, ‘the other’, ‘the untypical’ - that which does not fit in the modern order of reality - has been demarginalized. Three films created the basis for my observations on hospital as an institution of supervision, on hospital space as an ambivalent space of passage and, at the same time, a place of closure and exclusion, of peculiar dehumanization of a hospital subject - a human being. An inspiration for this reflection, along with the film examples whose action takes place in a psychiatric hospital (which is very significant), are Michel Foucault’s thoughts on the nature of panopticon and madness, as well a...

The combined use of metal music, Wagner, and Nietzsche in the same context is rarely seen. Metal, as a modern musical style and subcultural movement, resonates with protest and musical distortion, while Wagner's name is associated with opera and classical music, which are regarded as the highest and most harmonious art forms of the 19th century. Although each genre has developed its own distinct musical features, closer examination reveals striking parallels between classical and metal music. Scholars from various fields and perspectives have explored this similarity (Middleton, 1990; Walser, 1992; Lilja, 2009; St-Laurent, 2012; Popoff, 2015; Heritage, 2016; Mynett, 2019; Herbst, 2020; Miguel, 2025). In this article, I argue that both metal music and Wagnerian opera share a common origin: early Greek tragedy. The musical intensity, theatricality, and transgressive structure of ancient Greek drama provide both genres with a rich heritage that fosters authenticity, aesthetic fusion, and cultural vitality. Furthermore, the study discusses how German philosopher F. Nietzsche’s critique of the concepts of Dionysus and Apollo, as presented in The Birth of Tragedy (1872), serves as a vital reference point and unifying principle behind the coexistence of metal and opera. Thus, this article aims to explore the interaction between metal music and Wagnerian opera through the lens of a ritual-sacrifice-catharsis trilogy, paying homage to the dithyrambic practices of early antiquity, analyzed from a Nietzschean perspective.

This document details a five-part research project inspired by the divide between the sciences and theatre. It begins with research into this divide, historical examples of connections between science and theatre, and strategies for reconnecting science and theatre. Next is the analysis of interviews with professionals working at this nexus, conducted by the researcher, and a workshop built to test strategies for exciting artists about science. The fourth section details the devising of a plant science and mycology inspired theatre production designed to re-excite people about the natural world and increase their interest in interdisciplinary work. The final section analyses feedback from the cast, workshop participants, and audience members to determine the impact of the process, workshop, and production, and to identify useful strategies for science communication through theatre. Though the divide between theatre and science is understandable, there is incredible potential in connecting these disparate disciplines. When a powerful communication tool like theatre is combined with a scientific subject that encourages critical thinking, the product can inspire deeper thought about the world around us and encourage deeper connections with that world and its inhabitants.

This chapter discusses the importance of oral culture in education from theorizing to its applications in local communities and via daily interactions with others. By theorizing oral culture, the authors Ardavan Eizadirad and Njoki Wane, discuss its significance and impact as a universal language across generations, borders, and different geographies and spaces, particularly how it has helped maintain cultures, traditions, and languages through elders, knowledge-keepers the family unit, and other key figures in the community. With intentionality, the authors do not use any citations or references to honor and centre orality as a powerful medium for teaching and learning. Through a back-and-forth dialogical conversation, Ardavan and Njoki discuss their identities, professional and lived experiences with orality, and how they have grown in different ways from exposure to a variety of proverbs, idioms, and folklore tales. The chapter concludes by outlining how oral culture can be used in educational spaces and in community to engage students through storytelling and on a larger scale to address and take actions towards mitigating various systemic inequities.

Contemporary world literature offers a vivid ground for examining how women writers
negotiate identity, resistance, and self-representation across cultural and linguistic
boundaries. This chapter analyzes how female protagonists reclaim narrative authority
through acts of storytelling, reinterpretation of history, and the cultural translation of
inherited myths and experiences. Drawing on selected South Asian and Western texts,
the study highlights how women’s writing challenges patriarchal hierarchies while
reshaping the meaning of voice and agency within shifting global contexts. The
discussion situates these works within broader comparative debates about gender,
voice and cultural mobility, emphasizing how transnational literature challenges
conventional hierarchies of language and representation. By tracing parallels between
writers who write from the margins; geographical, linguistic or ideological, the chapter
underscores the emergence of a global feminist consciousness that is neither uniform
nor confined by Western paradigms. Through close reading and comparative analysis,
the chapter demonstrates how cross-cultural narratives of gendered resistance
generate new forms of feminine expression and contribute to an evolving transnational
feminist discourse.

This article focuses on what might be tentatively called the “monstrous ontoepistemology of memory” in Tadeusz Kantor’s Wielopole, Wielopole in reference to more general principles of the theatre of death (even though monstrosity is a problematic quality in this particular context). Through its contribution to the semiosis of life and death, Kantor’s project is used as a way of thinking of memory as an undead space disconnected from any particular recollection. Instead, for Kantor, theatre explores a more ontological figure of memory, which constitutes a nonhuman/inhuman fabric of being. Inspired by Jeffrey Jerome Cohen, investigations into the monstrous and the undead make it possible to explore the
renegotiations of life and death as they weaken the anthropocentric view of memory. As liminal terms, they also help this text envision the aforementioned fabric as the monstrous other to memory. The reading is supported with a posthumanist/deconstructivist framework informed by Jeffrey Jerome Cohen, Jacques Derrida, and Timothy Morton.

The association of mise en scène with quantum theory is not simply a metaphor of great aesthetic power; it is also an epistemological extension of modern theatre theory, which moves away from static models of interpretation and towards dynamic, fluid, and relational paradigms. To make this analogy clearer, we need to review the basic features of quantum theory-not with the intention of a specialized physical analysis, but with the aim of highlighting its philosophical underpinnings.

Η θεατρική παράσταση, ως αποτέλεσμα της καλλιτεχνικής δημιουργίας, αποτελεί ένα πολιτιστικό αγαθό που πρέπει να έρχεται σε άμεση επαφή και αλληλεπίδραση με το κοινό και η πρώτη διαδικασία για να επιτευχθεί αυτό είναι η επικοινωνία. Η επικοινωνία μίας θεατρικής παράστασης είναι ένα θέμα που απασχολεί τόσο τους καλλιτεχνικούς συντελεστές όσο και την ομάδα παραγωγής της και μπορεί να περιλαμβάνει διάφορα στοιχεία από την Ολοκληρωμένη Επικοινωνία Μάρκετινγκ, ανάλογα με την αντίληψη για το Μάρκετινγκ που έχει η κάθε ομάδα παραγωγής. Τη μετάδοση του Μηνύματος της Επικοινωνίας στα Μέσα και τα Κανάλια Επικοινωνίας, με απώτερο σκοπό την μετάδοσή του στο Κοινό, που είναι και ο τελικός Δέκτης, αναλαμβάνουν οι Υπεύθυνοι/ες Επικοινωνίας για κάθε παράσταση και φέρνουν σε πέρας το πρώτο σκέλος της διαδικασίας που αναφέρθηκε. Στην παρούσα εργασία εξετάζεται η κατάσταση της Επικοινωνίας των θεατρικών σκηνών της Αθήνας κατά το τελευταίο τρίμηνο του 2024 και παρουσιάζονται στοιχεία που αφορούν τα άτομα που ασχολούνται με αυτή καθώς και τους τρόπους με τους οποίους δουλεύουν. Με μία διαδικασία Ποιοτικής Έρευνας που περιλαμβάνει μία σειρά συνεντεύξεων σε βάθος με Υπεύθυνους/ες Επικοινωνίας παραστάσεων και μέσα από την επεξεργασία των απαντήσεών τους στις συνεντεύξεις, εξάγονται συμπεράσματα σχετικά με τις στρατηγικές που ακολουθούν και τις μεθόδους που χρησιμοποιούν για την εργασία τους, το Μοντέλο της Επικοινωνίας που διαμορφώνεται μέσα από τις πρακτικές τους, καθώς και σχετικά με τα βασικά χαρακτηριστικά και τις επαγγελματικές δεξιότητες που έχουν τα άτομα αυτά. Μέσα από την έρευνα καταδεικνύεται η στενή σχέση που έχουν οι Υπεύθυνοι/ες Επικοινωνίας με την ίδια την παράσταση και η σημαντικότητα που έχει η τελευταία για το έργο τους. Παράλληλα, με τα στοιχεία που συγκεντρώνονται από την έρευνα γίνεται και μία αδρή χαρτογράφηση του πεδίου της Επικοινωνίας του Θεάτρου στη σύγχρονη Αθήνα, ένα πεδίο που δεν έχει ερευνηθεί σε βάθος ως τώρα.

This paper looks at Kalkimanthankatha, an adaptation of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, as an aesthetic object where the absurdist postwar 'tragicomic' play becomes an avant-garde film where two protagonists search for the mysterious messianic figure of Kalki, whose arrival, in Hindu mythology, marks the end of one temporal cycle [yuga]. God as absence and the boredom of waiting and non-arrival turns from direct translations of dialogue from the play; discussions on esoteric philosophical dilemmas like the value of inaction; acceptance of the unknowable; and ceaseless search as affirmative to faith; to conspiratorial speak on impending war marked by passages read from Mao's Little Red Book (published 1964) evoking the history of the Naxalite movement. This paper will look at how the a priori acknowledgment of the cyclical rather than linear structure of time ratifies the motif of uncertain and infinite repetition that marks the absurd quality of Beckett's work and ask: does the cyclical promise of the future as regeneration condemn its prospects to an absolute boredom? Does linear eschatology maintain certain circuitous elements-the coming/return of the messiah (in/as the/a future)-that enclose waiting and boredom as a way of life? Are boredom and waiting fundamental threads interlacing eschatological thoughts? Through this film, the paper will ask what happens to 'future/s' when this seemingly unanticipated encounter of contrarian positions and bodies of knowledge take place as sacred/profane, modernity/tradition, aesthetics/politics, linearity/circularity and to see how boredom plays a pivotal factor in shaping such thought, discourse, and understanding.

This issue of Apertura traces visual technologies of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The aim is to explore how cultural and social processes were shaped by and interconnected to the various changes in visual perception. By analysing the performativity of early optical devices and image-based strategies, a multiplicity of thought forms, symbols and dreams can be revealed – which still influence our present. The research articles in this issue explore historical examples of the rise of visuality and new media experiences in Eastern and Central Europe from the perspectives of theatre and film studies, literary studies, philosophy, history of science, media archaeology, art history, and cultural history.

From Rome, Catholicism sought to spread itself throughout the early modern world. But, at a more local level, how did Catholic missionaries operate in the rural areas near the papal city? In the archival sources preserved at the Archivum Romanum Societatis Iesu (ARSI), the countryside around seventeenth-century Rome emerges as a site of widespread religious ignorance, superstition, and magic. Its proximity to the center of Catholicism highlights the problem of religious education in rural areas.

What is current in Deleuze would be the fact that the speculative radicality of his ontology determines the possibility of an ideal materialism of the pure event, in which a structure is analyzed as a multiplicity of virtual coexistences that are realized at different rhythms. Deleuze's philosophy is based on dynamic processes that give identity to objects, proposing a theory of morphogenesis in which difference is seen as a productive element in the context of an autonomous reality. Some of these processes are material and energetic, others are not, but even the latter remain immanent to the world of matter. Deleuze describes the first synthesis of time as that which extracts a difference and therefore reproduces the excitement in the contemplation of the excitement; the second synthesis establishes the empirical association, a horizon in which what has been learned finds the conditions of its reproducibility: the memory that is constituted does not contain past moments, but the form of the past as such. The main aspects of the third synthesis analyzed here are the order of time in relation to some physical-mathematical systems. The final section makes explicit the characteristics of this problematic epistemology and compares it with the more familiar theoretical version that predominates in the physical or mathematical sciences.

This article draws from the contemporary French thinker François Laruelle to perform a ‘non-philosophical’ analysis of recent literature from the analytic or Anglo-American philosophy of theatre. Much of this literature, I argue, suffers from the problem of application, namely: non- or extra-theatrical assumptions are both brought to bear upon and remain unchallenged by the philosopher’s encounter with theatre – particularly in the form of assumptions as to the nature of philosophy or the role or position of philosophy with respect to other forms of thought, such as theatre and performance. Having sought to articulate some of the problems arising from the conception of the philosophy of theatre as a definitional project, the article then considers – via Laruelle – what kind of ‘stance’ a philosophy of theatre might need to occupy in order not to impose its thought on theatre but to be open to theatre’s thoughts.

Reconstructing identity is a common practice within theatre design. When the performance focuses on the personality of a single person, the reconstruction goes beyond the superficial and become signifier of the life once lived. One practitioner who worked with this idea was Julia Trevelyan Oman, who collaborated with Patrick Garland for his Brief Lives in 1967. It is a one-man play, acted notably by Roy Dotrice, which focused on a retelling of John Aubrey and the creation of his book, Brief Lives. The set of this play draws on every known aspect of Aubrey’s life, toying with the notion of a collector of both stories and artefacts, in a chaotic, overflowing and overwhelming atmosphere built from the careful collection and placement of over 2,500 props, many of which were antiques in the time of Aubrey. Oman’s design style can be described as a detail focused naturalism, which she employed on this production with excess. Each prop was carefully chosen, collected and placed by Oman to signify different elements of Aubrey’s life, with the intention of building his identity. At the time, this performance held a record number of props, which contributed to its fame. Garland described the design as a ‘Jacobean kitchen sink’, the purpose was to bring the lesser-known historical figure to life. The result is a reconstructed home, showcasing the identity of the man now since displaced, in their attempt to reinstate him as the significant social historian he was. This paper will focus on the use of set design to build identity through depictions of the home, how Oman created a home signifying Aubrey as belonging in our modern world and the notoriety this brought the production and the person they were elevating.

Filem Kembara Seniman Jalanan ni memang menarik hati, kan? Terutama bila kita perhatikan cara pengarahnya sangat bijak guna Implied Space (Ruang Tersirat) dan Fragment Set (Set Fragment). Dua teknik ni bukan saja tunjuk pengarah tu kreatif dan berfikiran jauh, tapi juga betul-betul bantu cerita tu sampai ke hati penonton. Ia buat filem ni jadi lebih bermakna dan kekal relevan sampai sekarang! Pendekatan yang nampak ringkas tapi penuh makna ni lah antara sebab utama filem ni jadi ikonik dalam sinema kita.

In this study how the traditional understanding of identity is transformed to the idea of fragmentary self is going to be analyzed through Samuel Beckett's play Krapp's Last Tape. Thus, the terms tradition and transformation are used to refer to the ideas on subjectivity. The analyses of human identity have been the subject of philosophy, psychology, and sociology as well as literature. The interaction between these fields is inevitable when the subject matter is human identity. In the field of theatre the changes in the considerations on the human subject reveals itself in direct relationship with the studies in the above mentioned fields of study. In recent theatre we come across with identities that are reflected as multiple and fragmented and they are far beyond identities that are considered as predetermined, limited and complete. The studies on meta-drama, theatricality and performativity form the basis on such a reflection of fragmented human subject in theatre. The typical Beckettian character, Krapp is considered as revealing the process of this fragmentation. The play, through taking birthday ceremony as a starting point, reveals the complex network in the construction of human subject. Therefore, the use of language and the relationship between what is said and what is done are going to be analyzed in the play.

Mastery of nature seems less a grand enterprise of the species than a means of upholding the interests of particular ruling groups. Mastery over inner nature is a logical correlate of the mastery over external nature. No consumption, production, communication, transportation, illness, health care, death, learning or exchange occurs without the intervention of centralised administrations or professional agencies . That there is a crisis in architectural education today is perhaps due in no small measure to the fact that Architecture is now in our consumer society nothing more than a combination of technology, administration, politics, and economics with a design facade. For the most part, those people who are working in educational institutions are trying desperately to maintain professional standards while implementing cuts and working within Government guidelines, failing to notice (or pretending to) that it is the nature of professionalism itself which is being changed. The fact that Architecture (as with all professions) is being driven into the arms of `private enterprise, and its reliance on `new technology' should be obvious by now to all, things however are more complicated within

Over the last decade, the role of diversity, migration, and representation in the German cultural sector has drastically changed. The PostHeimat network — a three-year experiment in networked solidarity between major German public theatres, migrant actors, directors, and researchers — grappled with how to think about home after migration. The contributions to this book document the problems and potentials of reflexive and research-based migrant theatre initiatives. Emerging from research encounters and performances across Germany, this study incorporates the critical perspectives of activists, artists, practitioners, scholars, and cultural mediators from these initiatives and does not shy away from an open reflection on the failures and pitfalls of well-intended cultural policies.

Over the last decade, the role of diversity, migration, and representation in the German cultural sector has drastically changed. The PostHeimat network — a three-year experiment in networked solidarity between major German public theatres, migrant actors, directors, and researchers — grappled with how to think about home after migration. The contributions to this book document the problems and potentials of reflexive and research-based migrant theatre initiatives. Emerging from research encounters and performances across Germany, this study incorporates the critical perspectives of activists, artists, practitioners, scholars, and cultural mediators from these initiatives and does not shy away from an open reflection on the failures and pitfalls of well-intended cultural policies.

Tadeusz Kantor – jako artysta końca XX wieku – jest kimś, przez kogo przemawia niepokój współczesności. Czuje się on powołany do przekroczenia granic odwiecznego i niemodnego lęku przed nieznanym, przed nicością, przed pustką, a także lęku przed pamięcią przeszłości. Właśnie w nierespektowaniu pamięci widział Kantor źródło wszystkich kryzysów naszej części świata.
Witkacy również bał się jutra. Fascynacja nowym w sztuce i strach przed przyszłością w życiu stały się głównymi tematami jego utworów i były w twórczości dramaturga na tyle charakterystyczne, że stały się wyróżnikami całego nurtu jego kontynuatorów (witkacyzm).

This bibliography of Anglophone staged productions of Mikhail Bulgakov’s (1891-1940) work in Britain and the United States of America from 1934-2024 has been compiled as part of Hannah Klimas’ PhD research project funded by the White Rose College of the Arts and Humanities. As of the publication date, this bibliography was the most complete bibliography of Anglophone staged productions of Mikhail Bulgakov’s work in Britain and the United States of America in Anglophone scholarship.

馬來亞華僑與中國的政治社會聯繫，早於二十世紀初隨中國局勢劇烈丕變而始。因應革命建國、天災人禍或抵抗外侮等，大量話劇義演籌款活動於馬來亞絡繹不絕。尤其自1937 年「七七事變」促使中日戰爭全面爆發後，愈加激起華僑強烈的愛國意識，以抗戰為第一目標的救亡實踐理念，使戲劇運動達到前所未有的巔峰。同年，由當地人士及中國南來文人組成的「業餘話劇社」，因人才濟濟成為抗戰初期領導馬來亞當地話劇發展的重要劇團。

「星洲業餘話劇社」核心幹部實為馬共外圍組織「文抗」成員，劇社更為該組織的活動中心。綜觀其兩年間活動足跡，除配合中國時局宣傳抗戰政治意識與籌款救國，展現自身左翼色彩政治認同外，亦鼓勵演出具南洋本土色彩的劇作，且注重戲劇的藝術性。因此，從劇社的創作、展演、劇評和各種文字資料記載觀之，可發現劇社組織架構完備且縝密。他們不僅透過話劇演出與左翼團體聯繫，在演劇籌賑中藉助「救亡意識」激發當地華人對祖國與民族意識的想像外，亦嘗試製作演出保有藝術性的戲劇作品。儘管，劇社成員對戲劇藝術的眼界、實踐能力與組織能力，使其成為當時戲劇文化界的領導者與藝術指標，但與此同時，亦因其政治上的積極參與和勢力擴張，終導致解散的命運。

The political and social connections between the Malayan overseas Chinese and China originated in the drastic turmoil in China of the early twentieth century. In response to the revolution for a new country, natural and man-made disasters, or resistance to foreign invasions, numerous charity performances of drama and fundraising activities thrived in Malaya. Especially after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in 1937, which escalated into the full-scale outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, the Malayan overseas Chinese further aroused a strong patriotism, emphasizing the practices of the anti-Japanese war as the imperative of rescuing the country, bringing the theater movement to an unprecedented peak. In the same year, the Sin Chew Amateur Drama Society ( 星洲業餘話劇社 ), composed of locals and literati from southern China, emerged as a leading theater troupe spearheading the development of local drama with
its abundant talents in Malaya during the initial stages of the Anti-Japanese war.

The core members of the Sin Chew Amateur Drama Society were affiliated with the Malayan Communist Party’s peripheral organization Cultural Anti-Enemy Support Association ( 文 抗 ), and this drama society as the hub for the organization's activities. Looking at the society’s two-year activities echoing to China’s situation , in addition to the promotion of anti-Japanese war, the country￾rescued fundraising, and the display of its left-wing political identity, it also encouraged the staging of dramas with a Nanyang regional vein and the artistic features. Therefore, based on its productions,
performances, the reviews of them, and various textual records, it can be found that the structure of the society is fledged and meticulous. It not only connected with left-wing groups via dramatic performances, aiming to kindle the local Chinese’s imagination of motherland and national identity by resorting to their crisis consciousness, but also produced and staged artistically rich dramatic works. Despite the fact that, due to their horizons of dramatic art, their abilities in both practices and organization, its members were regarded as the leaders and art indexes in the theatrical culture of that time, their activeness in politics and expansion in influences ultimately led to their dissolution.

This dissertation is a history of progressive amateur theatre in Calcutta, India from the 1940s to the 1970s. It analyses three canonical theatre productions during this period: Bijan Bhattacharya’s Nabanna (1944) by the Bengal unit of the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA), Rabindranath Tagore’s Raktakarabi (1954) by Bohurupee, Ajitesh Bandyopadhyay’s Bengali adaptation of Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard as Manjeri Amer Manjeri (1964) by Nandikar, Utpal Dutt’s Teer (1969) by the Little Theare Group (LTG), and Badal Sircar’s work with Satabdi in the Third Theatre movement. Apart from an analysis of the plays, the history of the productions and their reception, it also offers an overview of these theatre associations. By drawing on the work of political scientists and historians, it argues that each of these associations offers distinct models to understand concepts such as communist internationalism (IPTA), civil society (Bohurupee), and political society (Nandikar, LTG and Satabdi). These organisational forms are then linked to aesthetic concepts: socialist modernism (in plays by IPTA), liberal modernism (in plays by Bohurupee), and the avant-garde (in plays by Nandikar, LTG, and Satabdi). Conceptually, the dissertation traces a central contradiction in making theatre: staging anti-capitalist ideas within the institution of modern theatre that is a product of capitalist modernity. By drawing on recent studies on world literature understood to be a problem of representing the combined and uneven development of capital, it foregrounds theatre as a fruitful site to study the contradictions that result from capitalism in the modern world-system. IPTA’s disintegration, for instance, after successfully staging Nabanna, is read in this light. By tracing new archives of organizations that predated IPTA, such as the Youth Cultural Institute, it challenges existing historical account which ascribes the split in IPTA to the Communist Party of India’s interference in artistic autonomy, and instead, reasons that the split was due to two kinds of anti-capitalist artistic tendencies: romantic anti-capitalism of passionate amateurs and the need to work as professional revolutionaries. This contradiction is then traced through the next decades as the subcontinent enters a new phase of postcolonial democracy. The dissertation also proposes a concept of world theatre as the theatrical registration of modernity under combined and uneven development. It offers readings of how theatre workers responded to this challenge of representation by inventing new dramatic forms, by forming new associations of theatre workers to carry the task of making theatre, and by devising new pedagogies of acting in rehearsal rooms.

National theatre histories play a crucial role in consolidating the cultural identity of newly established countries and are pivotal in reshaping national narratives. This distinctive characteristic has led to the emergence of fresh perspectives within the field, particularly in the late twentieth century. Scholars like S. E. Wilmer, underscoring the significance of theatre historians’ viewpoints, shed light on the variables influencing these perspectives. Wilmer argues that historiography demands intentional decisions regarding inclusion and exclusion, urging scrutiny through the lenses of language, ethnicity, geography, and aesthetics. This study assesses examples from national theatre history books in Türkiye (1923–1980) within the categories proposed by Wilmer. Throughout the article, an effort will be made to identify how the various parameters mentioned by Wilmer manifest in the development of national theatre history studies in our country through examples. This study initiates a discussion on whether the cited examples shape the character of our national theatre history. In this context, the categories of geography, language, ethnicity, and aesthetics proposed by Wilmer prove crucial for the analysis of theatre histories. In doing so, this study seeks to unveil the perspectives of theatre historians and discern the ideological and cultural forces shaping their narratives.

_Il volto infinito_ offers a multifaceted investigation into the cultural, philosophical, and technological dimensions of the face in contemporary digital societies. The volume, rooted in the ERC-funded FACETS project, brings together interdisciplinary perspectives to interrogate the evolving aesthetics, ethics, and semiotics of the visage in an era marked by the pervasive mediation of artificial intelligence, virtual environments, and posthuman imaginaries. From the ritual repetition that unveils deeper layers of meaning, to the ethical quandaries surrounding the virtual face and its infinite mutations, the contributions reflect on the tensions between materiality and immateriality, presence and simulation, identity and its dissolution. The face emerges not merely as a biological or representational entity but as a site where cultural, technological, and ethical dynamics intersect—spanning from the human to the posthuman, from the analogue to the digital. This collection illuminates how the face persists as a central node in the construction of meaning, even as its contours blur within the endless recombinations of contemporary media ecologies.

In losing two pillars of the LMDA community, Lee Devin and Elinor Fuchs, this last year, it is time to pause and reflect on the legacies of members of the field that shaped the organization and the growth of the profession. Geoff Proehl writes a poignant memorial for Lee Devinteacher, dramaturg, performer. His essay addresses his leadership, impact on the field, their friendship, and his imprint on the legacy of dramaturgy. Amy Holzapfel invites us to reflect on the life and legacy of Elinor Fuchs in her essay Views from the Air: A Visit to the Dramaturgical Planet of Elinor Fuchs beginning with a nod to the immense popularity of "E.F.'s Visit to a Small Planet: Some Questions to Ask a Play," an essay considered required reading for aspiring dramaturgs, but as Holzapfel points out, has circulated continuously in professional settings since its debut in the early 1990s. Her essay also reminds us that Fuchs's contributions to the field of dramatic criticism are considerable. A generative writer, she published numerous articles and reviews that stimulated lively conversations and intellectual debate, and her books The Death of Character: Perspectives on Theater after Modernism and Land/Scape/Theater co-edited with Una Chaudhuri are widely cited by theorists and practitioners. Mark Bly recently sat down with dramaturg/playwright, and a former president of LMDA, David Copelin, to discuss some key moments from a career that has shaped the field and contributed to several historic productions in the United States and Canada. In reading Copelin's perspectives on the trajectory of his career, it is fascinating to consider how so many learnings within the profession are realized through participating and watching experimentation and risk-taking within rehearsal rooms. He and Bly offer seasoned advice for honing one's craft through keen observation and artistic collaboration. Sean F. Edgecomb's "Unformed Beings in Flight: Feminist/ Queer Hope in Dramaturgical Re-imaginings of The Salem Witch Trials" begins with family legacies and the profound impact of genealogical discoveries. Edgecomb recounts learning of his ancestral lineage to "Mary Eastey," sister of Rebecca Nurse, "executed by hanging as a witch, Salem, Mass." The personal revelation makes for a fascinating point of entry for reconsidering the legacy of Arthur Miller's The Crucible (1953) and the dramatic conceptualizations that have followed. Through a feminist/queer lens, Edgecomb analyzes the liberatory dramaturgy of Kimberly Belflower's John Proctor is the Villian and Talene Monahon's The Good John Proctor. This is an issue that reflects on the past, as well as the contributions and legacies of leaders who laid the groundwork for our contemporary field today.

While much has been written about movement and non-movement in Beckett’s theatre, relatively little attention has been paid to the kinesthetic, or experiential, dimension of these phenomena. Acknowledging this dimension enables a deeper understanding of the kinesthetic interactions of character, spectator, and actor in Beckett’s movement theatre, particularly the spectator who phenomenologically and cognitively engages the physical action (and non-action) of the Beckettian stage. By aligning its analysis with the insights of neuroscience, linguistics, and cognitive literary studies, this article explores language’s contribution as a kinesthetic medium to Beckett’s perceptually nuanced dramaturgy. As A Piece of Monologue demonstrated, the more limited actual movement became in Beckett’s increasingly spectral drama, the more intricately it manipulated the audience’s kinesthetic investment in what they see on stage. Understanding this dynamic clarifies the playwright’s increasingly spectral poetics.

This article is aimed at analyzing the transformation method applied by two selected monodrama actors, Sabera Shaik in monodrama theater "Lady Swettenham" and Shahrul Mizad Asyaari in the monodrama theater "Waiting for the Green Light". This study takes into account some of the transformation methods used for conveying appreciation and visually inspiring the audience. Through the survey method of secondary and premature data and directly involved in the spectacle, the illustration is clearly detailed through scientific analysis in the performance of monodrama acting. These two presentations can illustrate the success of the transformation method and are indirectly made between the basic recommendations to the solo acting method. Using the Imitation theory approach by Albert Bandura and method acting (Stanislavski) this approach can be used as a benchmark for non-realistic acting representation.

Kajian ini membincangkan aplikasi strategi lakonan yang digunakan oleh enam pelakon pentas Malaysia terpilih, bagi mencapai konsep “Percaya dan Merasai Kebenaran” dalam persembahan monodrama dan monolog mereka. This research investigates the strategy of acting applied by six selected Malaysian stage actors, in order to achieve the concept of "Believe and Inner Truth" in their monodrama and monologue performances

Tracing bodily knowledge in medical histories is a challenging task for researchers. Sensory, material and affective details are hard to find in archival sources and hard to put into words. Researchers have found different solutions to this challenge through techniques like re-enactment as well as visual methods such as photography and film, many of these being used in museum contexts. In this article we focus on film, as we believe it has more to offer for knowledge production than its current use in studies of history predominantly as an engagement tool in research communication, as a final research ‘output’ or ‘illustration’ for texts and objects. We suggest that film can be an important research method to: a) trace the research process; b) enhance collaboration especially in group projects; c) analytically help researchers to amplify sensorial details, through the possibility to rewind, freeze and focus on embodied action; and d) as a means of sharing research instead of text. Thus, extending from Lucien Taylor’s suggestion that ethnography could be conducted ‘filmically’, we argue that, like anthropologists, historians and museum specialists might also accommodate film as part of a serious research methodology, especially when it comes to respecting the integrity of embodied contributions to the history of science and medicine.

Any given portrait of la Deleuziana is a negative portrait entangled in the paradox of appearing when disappearing, under the banner of The Unknown Masterpiece: the painter Frenhofer attempts to give a pictorial consistence to a woman who flees in the ungraspable. Frenhofer found the impossible point, that which subtracts the representa tive expression. By making Alice one of the possible instances of la Deleuziana, in all her compossible becomings (becoming simultaneously larger and smaller, in the order of the event, evading the imperious line of Chronos), we stumble across one of the main conceptual batteries of Deleuze: the distinction between Chonos and Aion, between the actualised time of history and the suspended time of virtualities.

Contents include: Dramaturgical Debris, LMDA Conference 2004 Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, The Production Notebooks Edited by Mark Bly: A Conversation between Danielle Mages Amato and D.J. Hopkins, Interviews with Past LMDA Presidents Alexis Greene and David Copelin, and LMDA Regional Updates Issue editors: D.J. Hopkins, Shelley Orr, Megan Monaghan, Madeleine Oldhamhttps://soundideas.pugetsound.edu/lmdareview/1030/thumbnail.jp