Kutiyattam: The Heritage Theatre of India

Kutiyattam: The Heritage Theatre of India is the first comprehensive book on this vibrant theatre tradition, which has existed in India since the time of the Natya Sastra. It traces the history and evolution of Kutiyattam through various ages, its aesthetics and theatrical grammar, as well as the challenges in its transmission to a new generation of artists and viewers. Kutiyattam is widely acknowledged as the only living link to India’s ancient theatrical tradition. While its origins are hazy, it is said to have an unbroken history of around two thousand years, combining old Sanskrit theatre with the regional forms of Kerala. It has its distinctive theatrical conventions and improvisations, with highly sophisticated facial expressions and a fluent vocabulary of gestures. Kutiyattam elaborates action by extending the performance score to the heights of imaginative fancy. Ever since it ventured outside Kerala’s temple theatres in the 1950s, it has been appreciated by a wider circle of connoisseurs and challenged by shifting systems of patronage. This book explores the theory and practice of the art form, aiming to introduce Kutiyattam to a broader readership. It includes the translation of the performance manual of ‘Asokavanikanakam’, from Saktibhadra’s play Ascharyachudamani, as an illustrative example.