The Evolution of Modern Indian Theatre. The Indian People¿s Theatre Association and the Aura of the Colonial Wound: A Post-Colonial and Decolonial Discourse

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2020 in the subject Theater Studies, Dance, grade: 8.0 = 1,7, University of Groningen (Arts), course: Arts, Culture and Media, language: English, abstract: This thesis aims to answer the following questions: To what extent were the Indian People¿s Theatre Association (IPTA) successful in diminishing the effect of the British colonial shadow in their post-colonial theatre explorations from 1943 to 1948 and how did this lead to the development of modern Indian theatre as an amalgamation of traditional and Western performance forms? In what ways did British colonialism influence the theatre of the IPTA? How did Western forms of theatre merge with pre-existing theatrical traditions in India to create new forms of theatre? With the achievement of political independence in 1947 and the end of British rule, India stepped on to a phase of massive reconstruction of the nation¿. Despite IPTA¿s mission to decolonize the stage and revive traditional forms of Indian theatre, the effect of the colonial shadow/ coloniality cannot be completely erased. This thesis intertwines post- colonial and decolonial perspectives to decipher the amalgamation of Indian and Western theatre traditions that resulted in the creation of new, more contemporary forms of theatre, evident in the work of The Indian People¿s Theatre Association.