ABSTRACT

In this chapter, the author offers notes from the early stages of a project that investigates traditional forms, contemporary political struggle and hybrid artistic collaborative practice through embodied research and which speaks to the decolonisation of epistemes, pedagogies and art making. It is worthwhile to start these notes on the discourse and practice of Performance as Research (PAR) and decolonisation with a reflection around the politics of naming and ownership, the 'unsettled' nature of practice – be it that of PAR or decolonisation – and the political potency of this unsettledness. The author provides an interlocution between performance-as-research and the practice and discourse of decolonisation through her research in India and South Africa in the context of the work of two contemporary Indian theatre practitioners: the late Heisnam Kanhailal and the late Veenapani Chawla. She proposes live performance archive through her own practice-based research.