Shakespeare and Indian Theatre : The Politics of Performance

Shakespeare and Indian Theatre: The Politics of Performance looks at the performance history of Shakespeare productions in India which date back to the mid-eighteenth century when the British officers in India staged Shakespeare's plays along with those of other English playwrights for entertainment. This became part of a larger imperialistic design that was evolving during the latter part of the nineteenth century to establish moral and cultural superiority over India through English education and literature. Shakespeare was used as a convenient ploy for achieving this aim. However, India's engagement with Shakespeare performance for over two hundred years has not been uniform throughout. From being 'imitative' during the first half of the nineteenth century to popular during the later nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to 'urban-folkish' in the post-Independence India, productions of Shakespeare's plays have undergone interesting transformations. The book looks at Shakespeare in Bengali and Parsi theatre at length. Other theatre traditions like Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi which are equally rich and have registered a considerable influence of Shakespeare have been included. This book looks at adaptations, translations and performance of Shakespeare's productions in India from the mid-18th century, when British officers in India staged Shakespeare's plays along with other English playwrights for entertainment, through various Indian adaptations of his plays during the colonial period to post-Independence period. It studies Shakespeare in Bengali and Parsi theatre at length. Other theatre traditions, such as Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi, have been included. The book dwells on the fascinating story of the languages of India that have absorbed Shakespeare's work and have transformed the original educated Indian's Shakespeare into the popular Shakespeare practice of the 19th and 20th centuries, and the unique urban-folkish tradition in postcolonial India. The Politics of Performance Half Page 4 Title Page 5 Copyright 6 Dedication 7 Contents 8 List of Images 9 Acknowledgements 11 Introduction 13 I The Beginnings: Shakespeare in Calcutta 26 II Shakespeare in Parsi Theatre 58 III Shakespeare in Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi Theatres 93 IV Performing Shakespeare in Post-Independence India 126 Conclusion 159 Appendix 163 Bibliography 198 Index 200 About the Author 226