Theater history in Asia

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

While the theater of the West is subject to the law of style change and new forms are quickly adopted, the Asian theater has held on to established forms for centuries. Even if the meaning of the dances gradually evaporated, they were strictly oriented towards traditional themes, characters and performance practice and allowed only minor variations. That only changed in the 20th century.

China

At the court of the Emperor of China at the time of the Tang Dynasty , a large group of actors was engaged as early as the 8th century . Here rituals and dance forms of the nomads from Central and North Asia merged with Buddhist influences from India and Southeast Asia and then spread over Korea to Japan. Individual examples of plays from this period are also known.

Peking Opera in Guandong (2011)

The plays of the 13th and 14th centuries form the first climax of dramatic poetry in China. B. The chalk circle of Li Xingdao (Li Hsing-tao), which became known in Europe through editing in the 19th and 20th centuries. Chinese plays were and are often under the influence of Confucius' moral teaching : heroes and their deeds are revered, betrayal or infidelity punished, the respect of parents and teachers is required. The Chinese puppet theater and, as a special form, the Chinese shadow theater ( píyǐngxì , 皮影戏), developed on a more popular level . Its capital is Lingyuan in Liaoning Province , where 250 pieces were played. At the beginning of the 19th century (initially in the provinces, not in Beijing), the richly costumed Peking opera , which illustrated myths of prehistoric times and the imperial era with a variety of artistic and fighting techniques, developed alongside other regional styles .

Since the May 4th Movement, 1919, the Chinese theater has seen fundamental innovations under European influence. In particular, modern forms of musicals ( geju , 歌剧 ) became popular in addition to traditional opera ( xiqu ). In addition, the western pure spoken theater or drama ( huaju , 话剧) was spread. In the political turmoil and upheaval of the 20th century, political leaders tried again and again to use the theater for their own purposes and to create a new culture. Therefore, the Chinese theater often has an interventionist character.

An important modern author is Lin Zhaohua (* 1936), whose numerous works (especially as a director at the Beijing People's Art Theater ) range between experimental avant-garde and realism. His works Signal Alarm (1982), Bus stop (1983) and Wild Men (1985) mark the beginning of Chinese experimental theater. The hero of his historical play "The Assassin" still stands for the consequences of blind loyalty to this day. Lin Zhaohua also staged musicals such as Amadeus .

Since 1989, a commercial mainstream theater has dominated, with some nationalistic plays. Diverse forms of spoken, dance and documentary theater assert themselves in the niches.

Japan

The origins of Japanese theater go back to magical rituals and cultic festivals of the pre-Buddhist period. In the 7th century decisive impulses came from courtly Chinese culture with Chinese, Manchurian and Korean immigrants and Buddhism to Japan. Komagaku was the name of the dance from Manchuria and Korea, which was orchestrated with wind and percussion instruments, Togaku was the name of the Chinese and Indian tradition, in which string instruments were also used. The Bugaku mask dance developed at the court of Kyoto , although it lost importance in the 13th century with the rise of the samurai , but was cultivated by the aristocracy apart from the public until after the Second World War.

Positions of the actors in the Nō game: main actor with mask and fan, second actor on the right in front, choir sits on the right, orchestra in the background

In the 15th century, Zeami Motokiyo and others developed a lyrical and melodramatic form of theater based on the Chinese model, the Buddhist Nō play, from the cult performances of pantomime and dance . The Nō theater is a strictly stylized art form that has been practiced with great seriousness for many generations. She made strict specifications for the mask, form of expression and orchestration of the performance as well as for the stage space, which still apply today. The main characters are a masked player and an unmasked opponent. In addition, there is the comical form of Kyōgen with made-up figures without a mask, which was originally performed during the breaks in the Nō game.

Since the early 17th century, the secular kabuki developed with partly erotically charged gestures and improvisation. Women were initially allowed, but later mostly played by men. The puppet theater Bunraku with life-size figures, which was supplanted by the kabuki in the 19th century, deals with similar topics . The turntable has been in use since 1758.

In the Meji period from 1868 and in the 20th century , European influences became increasingly noticeable. After the Second World War, a dance theater with brightly made-up dancers was created, which was based on German expressive dance , but can also be seen as a reaction against Western cultural imports. Experimental and amateur theater have developed since the 1980s.

Important authors were:

Korea

Korean talchum

The early Korean "theatrical" performances had no actual plot; it was mostly dances that still show shamanistic influences such as the mask dance Talchum , which also expressed criticism of Confucian scholarship, epic, sometimes improvised and satirical stories and chants ( pansori ) or circus-like performances that were performed outdoors. At the turn of the 20th century, European variety pieces came to Korea. The first modern theater, the Hyopyul-sa , opened in 1902. Singers and drummers performed pansori here. During the Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945, the newly created Korean theater approached the West and tried to free itself from the Japanese colonial influence. However, the discrepancy between what was happening on stage and the social reality was large.

Pansori performance at the Busan Cultural Center

Since the 1960s, the Madang Theater developed in what is now South Korea , a politicized form of theater in which the student protests against the authoritarian government also found expression. For political reasons, Brecht was received late. The most played western author is Shakespeare . Today the local theater tradition is increasingly used. In Seoul district Daehangno (Daehakro) a vibrant and innovative independent theater and musical scene has emerged since the 1980s.

Iran

The ancient Persian theater was a courtly ceremonial theater that served to glorify heroes and legends. Herodotus of Halicarnassus already reported about it.

One of the oldest forms of theater is the Naqqāli , in which men and women can perform at the same time. It was also performed in coffeehouses in front of mixed-sex audiences. Later, diverse forms of theater developed from epic singing or lecture to the religious martyr drama of the Shiites ( Ta'zieh ), which is performed in the open air for a whole day, to popular clowning ( Siah-Bazi ), to the improvisational theater Ru Howzi and the Shadow and puppet show.

"The Minister of Lankaran" is the first Iranian play written in the style of Western theater. It was written in Azerbaijani in the middle of the 19th century by Mirza Fathali Akhundzadeh , who grew up in the Russian part of Azerbaijan and was familiar with European literature, and translated it into Persian by Mirza Jafar Gharachehdaghi. The Islamic Revolution initially disrupted many cultural traditions. Today, European works are very popular in Iran and, like the modern performance movement, often attract more viewers than traditional Iranian performances. The censors ensure that women wear headscarves and do not touch men on stage, but they rarely intervene in terms of content.

India

The first approaches can already be found in Vedic literature ( 1500 BC - 500 BC ) in the form of puppet theater scenes from everyday life. Later performances took place mainly as shadow or puppet shows. The Kutiyattam , a form of temple theater in which a fool improvised commentary on the action, has been passed down largely unchanged from ancient Indian times .

The classic Sanskrit theater with actors originated around the beginning of the 2nd century. It worked on subjects from the Indian epic, which were expanded to include folk themes, and also influenced Goethe and German Romanticism. However, many pieces were not rediscovered until the 20th century. The Nataka (dance game) prefers epic fabrics, while the Prakarana represents non-traditional fabrics. Both are comedy ; there is no real drama or even tragedy in India - the hero of the play must not perish. Important forms of theatrical performances are the Ramlila Folk Theater and the South Indian Sanskrit Theater Kutiyattam .

Ras Lila dancers in the Manipuri style

During the colonial period, under English influence, a bourgeois theater developed, which is performed in theaters of European style. Until the 1960s, modern author theater was increasingly based on Western models. Since the 1970s, there has been an upswing in experimental and street theater with social and political topics, the roots of which can be traced back in part to the rebellion against the English. However, many forms of theater with a religious and ritual background that are performed on the street with mobile stages or curtains are still alive, such as Ras lila .

Well-known authors were:

  • Bhāsa , author of the first traditional play in Sanskrit (2nd / 3rd century?)
  • Kalidasa , court poet of the early 5th century, main exponent of classical Sanskrit theater, plays: Shakuntala based on texts from Mahabharata , Urvashi based on texts from the Veda
  • Bhavabhuti (7th or 8th century), pieces: Mahaviracarita (The life of the great hero), Malatimadhava (Malati and Madhava)
  • Rabindranath Thakur (1861–1941), pieces: Chitra , The Post Office , The King of the Dark Chamber
  • Badal Sakar (1925–2011), a pioneer of street theater who also worked as a city planner in Nigeria and England, wrote in Bengali and was best known through Ebong Indrajit (Also Indrajit, 1963).
  • Safdar Hashmi , a pioneer of political street theater, murdered in 1989

Pakistan

Theater in what is now Pakistan is influenced by both traditional Persian and Indian theater of the Mughal era . Romances like Heer Ranjha by Wariz Shah (1722–1798) are still very popular today. Modern play theater in Urdu developed during the British colonial period from the mid-19th century. Recently, improvisational theater has also been gaining followers. A center of the theater is Lahore , where even cinemas are being converted into theaters today.

Indonesia

Wayang dolls from Central Java: scene from Irawan's wedding , a figure from Mahabharata . Mid 20th century

As Wayang is defined as the combination of puppetry and acting improvisation, dance and music that originated in the early days of animistic local religions, but by the early Indonesian Hindu priests was used as an instrument of conversion.

In the 1960s and 70s, a modern Indonesian theater was created that combined with elements of traditional (traveling) theater. Umar Kayam (1932–2002) was one of the pioneers of theater and modern television in Indonesia . But there are still no modern venues. It is played in sports halls or in the open air. Due to the "Arabization" of Indonesian Islam, the use of traditional masks and costumes is now increasingly hostile.

Myanmar

While stick puppets and especially shadow puppets dominate in other Southeast Asian countries, string puppets (marionettes) can be found in Myanmar. The Burmese puppet theater Yoke thé differs from the puppet theaters in neighboring countries. Its origin goes back to the 15th century. As a traveling theater, it has always served to convey Buddhist ethics. The puppet theater reached its heyday during the Konbaung dynasty (1752–1885), after which it quickly lost its importance. Until the 20th century, only men were allowed as singers and puppeteers.

After Burma gained independence in 1948, it was used as a medium to strengthen national sentiment and, since the military coup in 1988, for political education. Today it only leads a shadowy existence in competition with cinema and video films, but is being cultivated again in tourist places.

Thailand

There are many main forms in traditional Thai theater: Khon is a mask dance in which scenes from the national epic Ramakian (originally only at the royal court) were performed. Lakhon Nok is the name of a more lively, secular and folk form of dance drama from the Ayutthaya kingdom that tells local stories. (Today the TV soap operas are also called that .) The dance interludes only serve to dramatically increase the action. The Lakhon Nok developed from the Lakhon Jatri, the oldest form of dance drama that revolves around the person of Buddha . Manohra is the name of a folk dance epic from southern Thailand that belongs to the Lakhon Jatri type. The Lakhon Bassak came from Cambodia in the 20th century and is also influenced by the Peking Opera. The Lakhon Lek is a traditional puppet theater, the Nang Talung a form of shadow play that the rural population in the south used for entertainment on festive days or at family celebrations. Nang Yai is a shadow play in the center.

Cambodia

Cambodia's theater dates from the time of the ancient Khmer Empire , but was heavily influenced by Thai models in the 19th century. At the royal court, the dance theater was cultivated in the form of the sophisticated Lakhon Preah Reach Trop . The mask dance Lakhon Khol is a bit simpler . The dramatic Lakhon Pol Srey is only danced by women. Lakhon Nang Sbek is similar to the ancient Khmer shadow theater Sbek thom , played with figure plates , which also influenced Thai shadow theater. Yike is a popular theater that portrays episodes from Buddha's life.

Vietnam

A traditional art form that has only existed in Vietnam for about 1000 years is water puppet theater , in which covert actors with long poles handle water puppets that act above the water surface. Newer forms of acting and musical theater are influenced by those of the neighboring countries China , Thailand and Cambodia .

literature

  • Beth Osnes, Sam Gill: Acting: An International Encyclopedia. ABC Clio 2001.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Fred Mayer, Thomas Immoos: Japanese Theater. Zurich 1975, p. 48.
  2. ↑ Bernd Eberstein: The Chinese Theater in the 20th Century. Wiesbaden 1983.
  3. ↑ Biographical information on www.german.china.org.cn (2006)
  4. ↑ Sabine Heymann, Christoph Lepschy, Kefei Cao (ed.): Contemporary theater in China. Berlin 2017.
  5. ↑ Fred Mayer, Thomas Immoos 1975, p. 49 ff.
  6. ↑ Fred Mayer, Thomas Immoos 1975, p. 193 ff.
  7. ↑ Miy Hey Kim: Acts and Scenes: Western drama in Korean theater. (Contemporary Korean Arts Series 8). Hollym: Seoul 2013.
  8. ↑ Naqquali UNESCO World Heritage Site (since 2011)
  9. ^ Puppet theater in Myanmar
  10. ↑ Burmese puppet theater in www.about-africa.de