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Acting Up: Gender and Theatre in India, 1979 Onwards by A. Mangai (review)

Acting Up: Gender and Theatre in India, 1979 Onwards by A. Mangai (review) India ACTING UP: GENDER AND THEATRE IN INDIA, 1979 ONWARDS. By A. Mangai. New Delhi: LeftWord Books, 2015. 271 pp. Hardcover, INR495. Indian drama is often represented as being primarily a male-dominated endeavor, and the contributions of women and other genders remain rela- tively underresearched. A. Mangai’s Acting Up, a study focused on women the- atre practitioners in India over the last three decades, is therefore a critical intervention. While the work is primarily about theatre by women and about women, it positions itself at “the intersection of gender and theatre” (p. 1) and extends to various sexual minorities, including hijraess (transsexuals), transgenders, lesbians, bisexuals, and sex workers. The book thus decenters the masculine focus of Indian theatre historiography by widening its scope. It unfolds as a series of case studies of individual practitioners and groups, organized thematically into chapters. The introductory section, “Staging Gen- der,” traces the coevolution of street theatre and the feminist movement in India during the period of state-imposed Emergency in the 1970s, examining the work of prominent theatre activists such as Jyoti Mhapsekar, Moloyashree Hashmi, Aditi Desai, Tripurari Sharma, and Malini Bhattacharya. Mythology, folklore, and history provide fertile sites for feminist inter- vention through http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Asian Theatre Journal University of Hawai'I Press

Acting Up: Gender and Theatre in India, 1979 Onwards by A. Mangai (review)

Sastry, Sharvari
Asian Theatre Journal , Volume 33 (2) – Aug 9, 2016
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Publisher
University of Hawai'I Press
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 The University of Hawai'i Press.
ISSN
1527-2109

Abstract

India ACTING UP: GENDER AND THEATRE IN INDIA, 1979 ONWARDS. By A. Mangai. New Delhi: LeftWord Books, 2015. 271 pp. Hardcover, INR495. Indian drama is often represented as being primarily a male-dominated endeavor, and the contributions of women and other genders remain rela- tively underresearched. A. Mangai’s Acting Up, a study focused on women the- atre practitioners in India over the last three decades, is therefore a critical intervention. While the work is primarily about theatre by women and about women, it positions itself at “the intersection of gender and theatre” (p. 1) and extends to various sexual minorities, including hijraess (transsexuals), transgenders, lesbians, bisexuals, and sex workers. The book thus decenters the masculine focus of Indian theatre historiography by widening its scope. It unfolds as a series of case studies of individual practitioners and groups, organized thematically into chapters. The introductory section, “Staging Gen- der,” traces the coevolution of street theatre and the feminist movement in India during the period of state-imposed Emergency in the 1970s, examining the work of prominent theatre activists such as Jyoti Mhapsekar, Moloyashree Hashmi, Aditi Desai, Tripurari Sharma, and Malini Bhattacharya. Mythology, folklore, and history provide fertile sites for feminist inter- vention through

Journal

Asian Theatre Journal – University of Hawai'I Press

Published: Aug 9, 2016

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