Kattaikkuttu: A Rural Theatre Tradition in South India

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Hanne M. de Bruin (Independent theatre artist, India) Simon Shepherd (Royal Central School of Speech & Drama, University of London, UK)

Kattaikkuttu

A Rural Theatre Tradition in South India

Hanne M. de Bruin (Independent theatre artist, India), Simon Shepherd (Royal Central School of Speech & Drama, University of London, UK)

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English

Methuen Drama
14 December 2023

Theatre Studies; Dance; Other performing arts; Musicals; Social & cultural history

Series: Forms of Drama

This is the first book to offer a clear introduction to Kattaikkuttu (or Terukkuttu), a vibrant, vocal and physical outdoor Tamil theatre tradition from India. It describes the theatre’s characteristic heroic nature as expressed through its principal, male kattai characters, explores its history, social status and ritual context, and examines the production of all-night plays.

After placing Kattaikkuttu in the wider, competitive context of the performing arts in India, Hanne M. de Bruin introduces readers to some of the debates about the form and provides an overview of the different elements that make up a Kattaikkuttu performance. It considers its performance spaces and the way the form has changed, such as its transition towards an independent and more professional theatre genre, as well as the opening up of the form to different castes and to women. It covers the production and frameworks of all-night performances, uses the Mahabharata play Karna Moksam as a case study and examines recent changes in the Kattaikkuttu repertory.

In addition, the book looks in more detail at the role of the performer, including the training of a Kattaikkuttu novice, the performance score of actor-singers that underlie a specific role or vesam, and a seasoned performer’s agency in interpreting well-known roles. Finally, the study turns to recent innovations, in particular the creation of new work and the Kattaikkuttu Gurukulam.

By: Hanne M. de Bruin (Independent theatre artist India)
Series edited by: Simon Shepherd (Royal Central School of Speech & Drama University of London UK)
Imprint: Methuen Drama
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 129mm, Spine: 25mm
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9781350236608
ISBN 10: 1350236608
Series: Forms of Drama
Pages: 216
Publication Date: 14 December 2023
Audience: College/higher education , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

List of Illustrations Series Preface Acknowledgements Notes on Transliteration Introduction What’s in a Name? Tamil Theatre Histories Discourse of Contempt Alternative Views Personal Note Chapter 1. Kattaikkuttu: Aesthetic Characteristics and Historical and Socio-economic Contexts What is Kattaikkuttu? The Elements Performance Spaces Performances Performers Art as Labour Theatre Companies Emergence of Kattaikkuttu as a Distinct Genre Summary Chapter 2. Producing an All-night Performance Performance Texts Framework of a Performance Building Blocks and Modes of Production Performance Conventions and Recall Strategies The Play Karna Moksam Shifting Repertories Summary Chapter 3. Transmission, Interpretation and Innovation Kattaikkuttu’s Embodied Performance Knowledge Interpretation The Kattaikkuttu Gurukulam Pakatai Tukil Validation and Aesthetics Notes References Index

Hanne M. de Bruin is Programme Director and co-founder of Kattaikkuttu Sangam, a center for performing arts in Tamil Nadu, India, where Kattaikkuttu is performed and artists are trained in its traditions. From 2016-2018 she was a Fellow at the International Research Center for Interweaving of Performance Cultures, Berlin, and in 2019, 2020 and 2023 a guest-lecturer at Ashoka University, India. Her previous publications include Kattaikkuttu: Flexibility of a South Indian Theatre Tradition (1999), Karna Moksham or Karna’s Death (English translation of an Kattaikkuttu play, 1998) and the co-edited volume Between Fame and Shame (2011).

Reviews for Kattaikkuttu: A Rural Theatre Tradition in South India

This is an extraordinary introduction to an invisibilized theatre tradition. De Bruin skillfully highlights the complex social history, spectacular technique and cultural politics around the Tamil kuttu theatre. This book marks an immense contribution to the study of subaltern theatres from South Asia by one of the most significant scholars on the subject. Few studies of Indian theatre glide so seamlessly between theoretical propositions and the affective and material dimensions of practice. This book is bound to become a classic for the study of theatre in modern South Asia. * Davesh Soneji, University of Pennsylvania, USA *