ABSTRACT
In this essay, I examine the phenomenon of interculturalism in the theatre by focusing on some western interpretations and uses of the Indian theatre. More specifically, I analyse exemplary attitudes to the Indian theatre demonstrated by artists as varied as Gordon Craig, Jerzy Grotowski and Richard Schechner. I should emphasize that I have not attempted to provide a comprehensive history of western perspectives on the Indian theatre. Nor do I offer any synoptic view of how the Indian theatre has been interpreted (and misinterpreted), used (and misused), mythologized (and demystified) in the West. I do not believe that there is an overriding western view of the Indian theatre that can be summarily categorized. Certainly, I do not discern any pervasive ‘orientalism’ in the attitudes of western theatre practitioners and theorists towards the Indian theatre, no systematized cultural imperialism that undermines the realities of Indian culture and life.
