Early Asian Theater

From India, China, and Japan

Indian Theater

Sanskrit Drama
Written in Sanskrit, the language of the
noble classes and performed in court
circles
The Natyasastra as example of Indian
theatre
Set and scenery
Costumes
Dance and movement
Characteristics of Sanskrit Drama

They use stories drawn from the great

Indian epics
The Mahabharata
The Ramayana
The stages were elaborately decorated
no representational scenery was used
Movements of every part of the body, vocal
delivery, and song were all strictly codified
Chinese Theater
Religion, philosophy had
large influence on
Chinese theater
Confucianism
Stresses responsibility of
individual to others
Taoism
Stresses simplicity,
patience and nature’s
harmony
Shamanism
Rituals combined
costumes, song, dance
and gesture
Tang Period (618-906 C.E.)

Court Entertainments
Included skits, pantomimes, juggling,
singing and dancing
Pear Garden
Actor’s training institute
Variety plays
Traveling troupes, shadow puppets
Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368)
Literary intellectuals wrote essays and
poetry; snubbed plays and theater
Mongols took power and literari were
unemployed
Began writing plays called zaju
Composed texts to suit rhythms of popular
music
Protagonist sang all the music
Had only a few characters
Topics ranged from love and romance to
religion and history, and even bandit heroes
Yuan Dynasty
Mixture of high art and popular theatrical
traditions
Compared to Elizabethan England and 5th
century Greece
The Orphan of Chao
Deals with vengeance, sacrifice and loyalty
First Chinese plays known in the West
The Circle of Chalk
Lawsuit-and-trial genre
Bertolt Brecht saw a version and wrote The
Caucasian Chalk Circle
Japanese Theater
Japanese followed Shinto and
Buddhism
Three Types of Theater
Noh
Kyōgen is a comedic form of Noh
Bunraku
Puppets
Kabuki
Popular theater
Noh Theater

Developed in 14th century by Kan’ami

Son Zeami Motokiyo took over and
improved the form
Noh traditions are passed on from
teacher to disciple which continues to
this day
Characters based on literary or
historical figures familiar to audience
Characteristics of Noh

Major roles are masked

Actors move in a highly stylized
fashion
Based on dance and pantomime
Actors alternate between chanting
and heightened speech
Poetic, artistic and written to the
music
Bunraku

Puppet theater named after a famous

puppeteer
Started as a way to illustrate a
chanter’s music
Chanted texts called jōruri
Chanters perform all voices in a play,
narration and set mood
Puppets
Manipulated by 3
people
Legs
Left arm
Head and right arm
Puppets are 3 feet
tall
Kabuki Theater

Combined Noh and Bunraku

elements
Movement like puppets
Faces painted like masks
Became more popular than Bunraku
Kabuki and Bunraku less formal than
Noh
Noh remained theater of Samurai class
Characteristics of Kabuki
Actors trained from childhood
Vocal dexterity
Dancing
Acting
Physical versatility
Male actors only
Costumes and makeup elegant and
gorgeous
Movements larger than life and theatrical
Elaborate scenic effects
Quiz
1. What are the two epic poems that Sanskrit drama takes its
stories from?
2. What are the Bunraku chanted texts called?
3. What is the difference between Noh and Kabuki?
4. What is the name of the play Brecht saw performed?
5. What play did Brecht write after seeing the play mentioned
above?
6. What is the comedic form of Noh called?
7. Could women perform Kabuki?
8. What three religions influenced Chinese theater?
9. How many puppeteers control one puppet?
10. What is the name of the training institute in China?