| The theatre of roots is the most important post-independence theatrical movement in India. Everyone involved in Indian theatre since the 1960s has been part of it, worked against it, promoted it, criticized it, or felt sidelined because of it. The roots movement began shortly after India's independence in 1947 when playwrights and directors, to de-colonize their work, turned to their "indigenous" roots in religious ritual, classical dance, popular entertainment, martial arts, and Sanskrit aesthetic theory to see what they could use to create a modern Indian theatre. Thus, the theatre of roots is part of a larger process of de-colonization, and it has both shaped and been shaped by the long and complicated process of nation-building that followed independence. Because of this, and because it rapidly spread across India, operating in many regions and in many languages, the theatre of roots was hailed as a national theatre as well as a nationalist movement. For many, theatre of roots has come to define "modern Indian theatre" as a whole.; This dissertation puts the roots movement into historical perspective by focusing on those core exemplars who conceptualized and continue to practice it.; In the first chapter I define the roots movement and place it in the context of other contemporaneous political and aesthetic movements. In chapter two I outline the colonial forces that shaped the rise of modern theatre in India, against which the theatre of roots rebelled. In chapter three I trace the way the movement was directed by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, how the movement rehearsed under its auspices, and what the Akademi finally produced. In the fourth chapter I analyze B. V. Karanth's landmark production of Girish Karnad's play Hayavadana, paying special attention to its syncretic dramaturgy and acting style. Chapter five focuses on the intracultural work of Kavalam Narayana Panikkar, detailing his use of kuttiyattam, kathakali, theyyattam, and kalarippayattu to create thanathu vedi. Chapter six focuses on the intercultural work of Ratan Thiyam and on the response to his plays in the national and international arena. The concluding chapter deals with the future of the roots movement. |
