Theatre History on the Web: Asia

Non-Western Theatre Resources

Myanmar (Burma)

Asian American Theatre Review. Little history here, but an excellent resource for those interested in contemporary Asian-American theatre activity. Back on-line after a lengthy hiatus.
Asian Theatre Journal, University of Hawai'i Press.
Theatrehistory.com. Pretty lightweight; of about the same value as Cliff Notes.
'Asian Performance Web Links. The site is maintained by the University of Sydney (Australia) Library. Good resource. Additionally, visit the library's main performance site.
The East Asian Collections at the University of Pennsylvania Library, a rich resource for the historian interested in this part of the world.
The National Library of AustraliaPuppetry in Asia, A Selected Bibliography.
Links to Indian art and artifacts.

Conduct a Cambodian Ensemble, a PBS "P.O.V." presentation. Both court and folk music examples are played. Individual instruments may be selected for close listening. A very interesting site.
"The ancient art of Cambodian ballet - the purist form of South East Asian dance - was almost wiped out by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. Most of the practitioners were murdered in the killing Fields. Now, with a concerted effort by the few surviving dancers and teachers in conjunction with scholars and the Cambodian Ministry of Culture, this exquisite art form is being revived and taught again to young students at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Phnom Penh." Photos by Dan White, photojournalist.

History of Chinese Theatre A series of short essays pertaining to the evolution of this theatre tradition.

Digital South Asia Library, American Institute of Indian Studies. From the Excellent slides of Indian dress, architecture, etc.
Kamat's Potpourri, a "Hodge-podge of History, Mystery, and Diversity of India (and lots of pictures)." Just what it says, with links to an overview of Indian Theatre genre. A populist starting point for an exploration of the various Indian theatre forms

Japanese Arts Council, with links to the several National Theatres of Japan and short histories of the various performance arts of Japan.
JIN Virtual Museum of Traditional Japanese Arts. A wonderful site, made especially delightful by the hypertext interface.
Japanese Noh Theatre. Good references and links. "Paul Binnie, an artist from Scotland and the author of this article, lived in Tokyo for more than 5 years. Kabuki and the Japanese Noh Theater became his great passion."
Noh Theatre, an unattributed article, with numerous links.
Noh Dancing; several links to this topic.
Schauwecker's Guide to Japan, Japanese Theatre Links for Kabuki, Noh and Bunraku. Commercial, but a good resource none-the-less.
Japanese Traditional Theatre Timeline. Commercial site; good information and illustrations.
From Questia, "the world's largest online library" -- research topic: Kabuki Theatre. Good bibliography of books and articles related to the Kabuki theatre.

Traditional Turkish Shadow Theatre, Karagoz Hacivat. Complete history of Karagoz, its traditions, characters and dramas.
Turkish Culture Foundation web site. With links to all things Turkish, including theatre, music and the visual arts.