Eyescape: Aesthetics of “Seeing” in Kudiyattam

This essay enquires the link between the actor’s eyes, imagination, and the temporal experience of perception in performance. This enquiry is strongly grounded within the aesthetics and praxis of kudiyattam, which is the oldest of the Indian (Sanskrit) theatre forms. Here, the actor’s eyes are treated as a significant category in performance that mediates the generation and perception of images, within both the actor and the spectator.