Abstract:

This article demonstrates how Covid-19 transformed the performance aesthetics of ancient theatre traditions in India. I draw primarily on the October 17, 2020 performance of the Ramlila, the folk staging of Ramayana, produced by the Shri Ram Dharmik Leela Committee, Tri Nagar, one of the most popular theatre troupes in North Delhi. In the first part of the article, I explore the metatheatricality of the production by analyzing its camera-centric aesthetic while demonstrating how the performance divested gods of their power. In the second part, I investigate how the performance’s paratextual thematic bestowed power on humans. Broadly, I show that the Covid-era performance of Ramlila marks a break from some of the traditional conventions of performance aesthetics in India.

摘要：

本文展示了 Covid-19 如何改变印度古代戏剧传统的表演美学。我主要借鉴了 2020 年 10 月 17 日 Ramlila 的表演，这是罗摩衍那的民间演出，由北德里最受欢迎的剧团之一 Tri Nagar 的 Shri Ram Dharmik Leela 委员会制作。在文章的第一部分，我通过分析其以摄像机为中心的美学来探索该作品的超戏剧性，同时展示表演如何剥夺了神灵的力量。在第二部分，我研究了表演的副文本主题如何赋予人类力量。从广义上讲，我表明 Ramlila 的 Covid 时代表演标志着对印度表演美学的一些传统惯例的突破。