Maya Rao and Indian Feminist Theatre

Feminist performances and protests in India (Delhi), through the works of Maya Rao, her solo performances on stage and streets.

Bishnupriya Dutt (Author)

9781009073172, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 8 September 2022

75 pages
22.8 x 15.1 x 0.5 cm, 0.12 kg

Maya Rao, performer, performance maker and feminist, has not only contributed to Indian feminist theatre, but is a trailblazer, who set new standards in solo performances, mapped an alternate career trajectory for women in theatre and, in the face of right-wing state repression in India, has engaged significantly in performance activism. This Element looks back at her early career in the 1980s when she was creating agit prop theatre for the feminist movement and forward to her performance activism in the twenty-first century, with detailed attention to Rao's acclaimed protest Walk, and her participation in the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. The study also encompasses her parallel work in the theatre, from early collaborations with feminist directors to her solo projects. The author traces her creative-political journey towards an egalitarian feminist future.

1. Introduction
2. Women on the Streets: The Feminist Movement and Agitprop Theatre
3. Walk and its Multiple Trajectories
4. Performing Dissent as Citizens of Democracy
5. Feminist Theatre Practice and Maya Rao's Solo Performances
6. Conclusion
References.

Subject Areas: Feminism & feminist theory [JFFK], Theatre direction & production [ANF], Theatre: individual actors & directors [ANB]