Abstract

Dramas reflecting disillusionment characterize Nepal's theatre in the postdemocratic period of 1990–2006. The despair portrayed in the plays of this period suggests a shift in sensibility from the previous decade, when hope and optimism were prevailing characteristics. Street theatre had played an important role in the prodemocracy movement of 1980–1990 by raising awareness about issues that needed to be addressed, and emerging theatre artists were also prodemocracy activists. Nepal's burgeoning contemporary theatre spoke of the hope brought by democracy's promise. The optimism reflected in the plays of the prodemocracy movement, however, was eventually replaced by disillusionment in postdemocracy dramas, revealing a sense of despair at the corruption and violence. This paper discusses the dynamics of that despair in the work of the two most prominent playwrights of Nepal's theatre at the time, Asesh Malla and Abhi Subedi.

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