We discussed this term in the light of cultural borrowing, for example Peter Brook’s ‘borrowing’ of the Indian epic, the Mahabharata, which was done with an essentially ethnographic perspective on the narrative, thus, the play lost its ‘essence’ as the epic was diluted of its historical context.
The idea of intercultural theatre aims to source ‘material’ (this being used in a broad sense) from different locations to create work that is representative of these multi source cultures. This underscores a sense of collective identity in a syncretic expression where multiple histories are portrayed.
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ReplyDeleteThis clip shows the opening scene of Peter Brook's Mahabharata, displaying the 'exoticism' of India and spectacular facets of the epic. Also note the 'heroic acting' which Rustom Bharucha critiques as diluting the character's of their 'essence' (the traditional depiction of the various characters of the epic were portrayed by a corporeal narrative, through dance and gesture...not simply through text):
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpaT14XddKk&feature=related