Ibsen’s Lost Body

This paper investigates what is happening with Henrik Ibsen’s plays when they are blended with the Sanskrit theatre tradition. The main finding is that the form-dominance of the performances implies that Ibsen’s textual body is reduced to the extent that it can be termed ‘Ibsen’s lost body’. However, the transcreated texts make up merely a small portion of the performance bodies, and the storylines of the selected excerpts of Ibsen’s texts are largely maintained through various types of non-verbal communication techniques characterizing the theatrical forms. Based on an ‘open door’ notion, macrocosm theatricality is transformed into microcosm artistic expressions through transcultural negotiation processes aiming at removing the tension between ‘self ’and ‘other’. The ‘intentio’ of the theatre productions is thus to resound Ibsen’s plays in ways that communicate with the local audience, not to reproduce them. Two-way communication between performers and the audience contributes to the strength and dynamics of the performances. The essay is based on the author’s understanding developed through his experience as a theatre director, a researcher on intercultural theatre, and adviser to several international Ibsen conferences and theatre festivals in South Asia since 1996. The empirical examples presented facilitate understanding of the nerve of the performativity within the translation parameter of Ibsen’s ‘lost body’.