THE THESPIAN'S VOICE: MAYA RAO AND HER ARTICULATE DISCOURSE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v5.i6.2024.3472Keywords:
Feminist Theatre, Performance, Social Critique, Cultural Introspection Kathakali, Brechtian Techniques Patriarchal Norms, Marginalized Voices Nuanced Storytelling Maya Rao, Experimental Forms, Gender-Based Violence, Equitable FuturesAbstract [English]
The intersection of articulate discourse and feminist theatre in India exemplifies the power of performance as a transformative medium for social critique and cultural introspection. Rooted in classical traditions like Kathakali and enriched by Brechtian techniques, feminist theatre challenges patriarchal norms, amplifies marginalized voices, and fosters critical engagement through nuanced storytelling. Practitioners like Maya Rao blend traditional aesthetics with experimental forms, creating performances that provoke thought, inspire action, and bridge local and universal feminist concerns. Using irony, participatory methods, and meta-theatrical commentary, these works interrogate societal structures, critique gender-based violence, and envision equitable futures. The fusion of cultural resonance and innovative storytelling ensures that feminist theatre remains a dynamic space for inclusive dialogue and social change, with articulate discourse at its core driving equity, collaboration, and activism.
References
Case, S. (2014). Feminism and theatre. Routledge.
Dalmia, V. (2008). Folk theatre and the search for an Indigenous idiom:. Poetics, Plays, and Performances, 153-233. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195695052.003.0005 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195695052.003.0005
Das, P. R. (2021). A theatre of their own: Indian women playwrights in perspective. Partridge Publishing.
Dutt, B. (2022). Maya Rao and Indian feminist theatre. Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009071987
Hooks, B. (2014). Teaching to transgress. Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203700280
Lehmann, H. (2018). Brecht translating / Translating brecht. The Brecht Yearbook / Das Brecht-Jahrbuch 42, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781787441903.002 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9781787441903-003
Mukherjee, T. (2005). Staging resistance: Plays by women in translation.
Roth, M. (1983). Notes toward a feminist performance aesthetic. Women & Performance: a journal of feminist theory, 1(1), 5-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/07407708308571047 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07407708308571047
S., S. K., & Chatterjee, S. (2023). Gendered violence in public spaces: Women’s narratives of travel in neoliberal India. Lexington Books.
Singh, A. (2021). Staging feminisms: Gender, violence and performance in contemporary India. Taylor & Francis. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003020226
Singh, A., & Mukherjee, T. T. (2013). Gender, space and resistance: Women and theatre in India.
Toward a theorization of gender in world theatre. (2017). World Theories of Theatre, 209-226. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315742496-7 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315742496-7
Zarrilli, P. (2003). Kathakali dance-drama: Where gods and demons come to play. Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203197660
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Dr. Vineetha Krishnan

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
With the licence CC-BY, authors retain the copyright, allowing anyone to download, reuse, re-print, modify, distribute, and/or copy their contribution. The work must be properly attributed to its author.
It is not necessary to ask for further permission from the author or journal board.
This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.












