Theatre Histories: An Introduction (review)

Theatre Histories is an ambitious attempt to decolonize theatre history and the teaching of theatre history in English speaking higher education. The authors' opening proclamation: "Theatre Histories attempts to take a fresh approach to the historical study of world performance. It is designed to provide a global perspective that allows the performances of many cultures to be considered, not in the margins of western theatre but in and of themselves, and as they illuminate each other and our understanding of human expressiveness at large. To do this, our narrative is organized unlike that of any other theatre history text. We relate the histories of performance and theatre throughout the world to the key developments in modes of human communication that have reshaped human perception" (xvii).

This is worth quoting at length because Theatre Histories both accomplishes and falls short of its announced goals. The book shuttles between brief descriptions of "cultural performances" plus more standard (for theatre histories) accounts of particular theatres and historical periods—the French neoclassic stage with an emphasis on Moliere, the rise of naturalism and avantgarde countermovements, etc.—and a brave attempt to integrate much broader perspectives by writing about a significant number of non-Western performance genres. There are sections comparing ritual dramas in ancient Egypt with medieval Christian liturgical performances and the ta'ziyeh of Iran; discussing the parallels among Roman, early Japanese, early Chinese, and Sanskrit kutiyattam theatres. There is a section dealing with orature—especially African ritual performance—alongside "late neolithic ritual landscapes and pilgrimage in England" and Korean shamanism. Theatre Histories is ecstatically hybrid. This is its strong point and its weakness. It is written by four authors with a number of chapters noted as "edited by" one or the other author. Theatre Histories is not an anthology; nor does it satisfactorily accomplish a unified overall approach. Its reach far exceeds its grasp. Yet the book points in a crucial direction: toward the need for courses teaching many more traditions of theatre and genres of performance than can be addressed in any "From the Greeks to the Moderns" approach. What finally will be needed is a thorough revamping of curriculums—with many courses, each dealing with specific genres, historical periods, and geocultural areas. As an introduction, Theatre Histories takes a big step in the right direction.