Acts of Resistance

This is the first major anthology of plays written by women in translation. It represents a very significant intervention of gender in the discourse of Indian theatre, it draws attention to the possibilities of renewal and re-invigoration of the theatre environment through the work of women playwrights. It includes 12 hitherto unpublished plays from major Indian languages including Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu and Bengali translated into English, making them available to a wider readership. It focuses on formulating a womanist dramaturgy that seeks new "perspectivism" and a return to ritual and celebration to articulate women's experiences. Each text is accompanied by an outline of the scenario of the regional drama activity, a brief biographical sketch of the playwright, a glossary and an index. No anthology of women's plays has been published to date. Also this is the first time that a book length theoretical exposition of women's dramaturgy is being attempted.