Indonesian Postcolonial Theatre explores modern theatrical practices in Indonesia from a performance of Hamlet in the warehouses of Dutch Batavia to Ratna Sarumpaet's feminist Muslim Antigones. The book reveals patterns linking the colonial to the postcolonial eras that often conflict with the historical narratives of Indonesian nationalism.

'Winet's work has much strength in the detail and analysis of plays and productions, and he has to be commended on making the theatrical productions and movements of postcolonial Jakarta easily accessible to a readsership from various backgrounds and with different levels of familiarity with Indonesia's political and theatrical history.' - Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism

'Meticulously researched...the book offers fascinating insights into each historical period...Indonesian Postcolonial Theatre is an important addition to the field of Asian performance, and is among the few works to argue for and map out an original analytical framework, making the book accessible to the reader unfamiliar with contemporary Indonesian theatre.' - Theatre Research International

Autorentext
EVAN DARWIN WINET researches Indonesian and other Asian theatres. He contributed a translation of Roestam Effendi's Bebasari (Sweet Liberty) to the forthcoming Lontar Anthology of Indonesian Drama (2009). He is also a contributing editor to the Norton Anthology of Drama (2009) and a major contributor to the Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre (2007).

Inhalt
List of Illustrations Series Editor's Preface Preface Introduction: colonial foundations and precessions of postcoloniality Unimaginable Communities: theatres of Eurasian and Chinese Batavia Sites of Disappearance: expatriate ghosts on ephemeral stages Despite Their Failings: spectres of foreign professionalism Hamlet and Caligula : echoes of a voice, unclear in origin Umat as Rakyat : performing Islam through veils of nationalism Teater Reformasi : the lingering smile of the absent father Conclusion: forgetting the monotonous nation Appendix. a timeline of 'Indonesian' and 'Batavian' histories Notes Works Cited Index