Contemporary Group Theatre in Kolkata, India

This book is the first of its kind offering a materialistic semiotic analysis of a non-Western theatre culture - the Bengali group theatre. The book shows a refreshing new perspective towards a theatre culture that frequently escapes the critical lens in spite of being one of the largest urban theatre cultures in the world.

Autorentext

Arnab Banerji is Assistant Professor of Theatre History and Dramatic Literature at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles. Arnab's essays and reviews have been published in Theatre Journal, Theatre Topics, Asian Theatre Journal, TDR, BOOM California, Ecumenica, Theatre Symposium, Sanglap, Cerebration, SERAS, and Virginia Review of Asian Studies. His current research is in performances by the Indian diaspora, translations of Indian vernacular plays, and contemporary Bengali theatre. Arnab is married and lives with his partner Sayantika in Los Angeles. When he is not doing academic stuff, Arnab enjoys drinking specialty coffee, looking up restaurants around town, binge-watching The Office, and browsing through graphic novels.

Inhalt

Setting the stage: an introduction

Part 1: The city and its theatre

1. The city of Kolkata

2. The evolution of Bengali group theatre

Part II: The material conditions of Bengali group theatre

3. Can you train to be a laborer: training in and for Bengali group theatre

4. No space to call home

5. In the corridors of Shastri Bhavan: funding theatre in Kolkata

6. From the page to the stage: organization and rehearsal in Bengali group theatre

Part III: Case studies

7. Rang-Roop: good ol' Bengali group theatre

8. Revolution through play: the theatre of Theatre Formation Paribartak

The materialist semiotics of Bengali group theatre: some concluding thoughts