magazinelogo

Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science

ISSN Online: 2576-0548 Downloads: 1281766 Total View: 8576626
Frequency: monthly ISSN Print: 2576-0556 CODEN: JHASAY
Email: jhass@hillpublisher.com
ArticleOpen Access http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2024.08.001

Ibsen’s Lost Body

Kamaluddin Nilu

Centre for Ibsen Studies, University of Oslo, 0313 Oslo, Norway.

*Corresponding author: Kamaluddin Nilu

Published: August 30,2024

Abstract

This paper investigates what is happening with Henrik Ibsen’s plays when they are blended with the Sanskrit theatre tradition. The main finding is that the form-dominance of the performances implies that Ibsen’s textual body is reduced to the extent that it can be termed ‘Ibsen’s lost body’. However, the transcreated texts make up merely a small portion of the performance bodies, and the storylines of the selected excerpts of Ibsen’s texts are largely maintained through various types of non-verbal communication techniques characterizing the theatrical forms. Based on an ‘open door’ notion, macrocosm theatricality is transformed into microcosm artistic expressions through transcultural negotiation processes aiming at removing the tension between ‘self ’and ‘other’. The ‘intentio’ of the theatre productions is thus to resound Ibsen’s plays in ways that communicate with the local audience, not to reproduce them. Two-way communication between performers and the audience contributes to the strength and dynamics of the performances. The essay is based on the author’s understanding developed through his experience as a theatre director, a researcher on intercultural theatre, and adviser to several international Ibsen conferences and theatre festivals in South Asia since 1996. The empirical examples presented facilitate understanding of the nerve of the performativity within the translation parameter of Ibsen’s ‘lost body’.

Keywords

Intentio; Lokadharmi; Natyadharmi; Open door; Politics in aesthetics; Transcultural negotiation; Theatre of roots; Transcreation

References

Ahmed, S. J. (2000). Achinpakhi Infinity: Indigenous Theatre of Bengal. Dhaka: The University Press Limited.

Arun, I (2016). The Task and Temptation of Adapting Ibsen (pp. 63-64). In Proceedings of the Conference & Festival, Ibsen Between Tradition and Contemporaneity: Peer Gynt Cycle. Hyderabad, India: The Department of Theatre Arts, S. N. School of Arts & Communication, University of Hyderabad.

Awasthi, S. (2009). In Defence of the “Theatre of Roots”. In N. Bhatia (Ed.), Modern Indian Theatre A Reader (pp. 295-311). New Delhi: Oxford University Press.

Basheer, S. J. (2016). Interface between the Sacred and the Secular: An Indian Experiment with Ibsen’s Peer Gynt (pp. 76-79). In Proceedings of the Conference & Festival, Ibsen Between Tradition and Contemporaneity: Peer Gynt Cycle. Hyderabad, India: The Department of Theatre Arts, S. N. School of Arts & Communication, University of Hyderabad.

Benjamin, W. (2021). The Translator’s Task (pp.89-97). In L. Venuti (Ed.), The Translation Studies Reader. London: Routledge.

Bhabha, H. K. (2014). Epilogue: Global Pathways’ (pp. 261-275). In E. Fischer-Lichte, T. Jost and S. I. Jain (Eds.), The Politics of Interweaving Performance Cultures: Beyond Postcolonialism. London: Routledge.  

Bhikshu, A. (2017). Peer Gynt in Chindu Bhagavatham: A Performance Travelogue (pp. 20-44). In M. Ramakrishnan & V. N. Burla (Eds.), Essays on Performing Arts. Tamilur: Centre for Integrated Social Development and Research.

Bradley, J. R. (2012). After the Arabic Spring: How Islamists hijacked the Middle East Revolts. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.  

Carlson, M. (1996). Brook and Mnouchkine: Passages to India? (pp. 79-92). In P. Pavis (Ed.), The Intercultural Perfor-mance Reader. London: Routledge. 

Clarke, S., Manchala, D. & Peacock, P. V., Eds. (2010). Dalit Theology in the Twenty-First Century: Discordant Voices, Discerning Pathways. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. 

Derrida, J. (2021). What is a “Relevant” Translation? (pp. 373-396).  In L. Venuti (Ed.), The Translation Studies Reader. London: Routledge. 

Dola, J. (2005). Utopia in Performance – Finding Hope at the Theater. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.

Fischer-Lichte, E. (2008). The Transformative Power of Performance – A new aesthetics. Translated by S. I. Jain. London and New York: Routledge.

Fischer-Lichte, E. (2014). Introduction (pp.1-18). In E. Fischer-Lichte, T. Jost and S. I. Jain (Eds.), The Politics of Inter-weaving Performance Cultures: Beyond Postcolonialism. London: Routledge. 

Fisher-Lichte, E. (1996). Interculturalism in Contemporary Theatre (pp. 27-38). In P. Pavis (Ed.), The Intercultural Performance Reader. London: Routledge.

Fjelde, R. (1978). Henrik Ibsen Peer Gynt. Translation. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Helland, F. (2009). Empire and Culture in Ibsen: Some Notes on the Dangers and Ambiguities of Interculturalism. Ibsen Studies, 9, No. 2, 136-159.

Helland, F. (2015). Ibsen in Practice: Relational Readings of Performance, Cultural Encounters and Power. London: Bloomsbury.

Khumallambam, S. (2016). Indian Woman as Traditional Wife and Mother. International Journal of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences (IJAHSS), Vol. 1- Issue 3 (October 2016), 26-29. Available at www.ijahss.com. 

Metha, T. (1999). Sanskrit Play Production in Ancient India. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers.

How to cite this paper

Ibsen’s Lost Body

How to cite this paper: Kamaluddin Nilu. (2024) Ibsen’s Lost Body. Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science8(8), 1807-1820.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2024.08.001