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The classical form of Noh theatre has been performed for over 600 years within Japan. The high refined theatrics and movements of Noh theatre have influenced different arts and it was registered as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2008 by UNESCO (Shinkōkai, 2003). The National Noh theatre has been producing traditional and elaborate performances for its audiences around the world. Noh theatre has gathered a wide range of audiences all over the world (Fenollosa, 2011). Despite resisting westernization and modernization, Noh theatre has made its way to the diaspora and many people enjoy its performances.

Thertukoothu theatre is an example of South Asian dramatic theatres which has made its way to the diaspora. This paper tries to show how South Asian American theatre such as Thertukoothu theatre and how it deals with a broad range of South Asian experience and this has established a new aesthetic within the American theatre (Vivanantharasa, 2015). The South Asian American experience is actually a diasporic experience. Thertukoothu theatre is increasingly gaining fame among the American audience especially those who love Indian theatre.

Americans perceive Japanese Noh theatre as a beautiful and quiet artwork in kimono, masks and tabi socks. The traditional Noh theatre is a well-known all-male production that involves folk-tales which are known in Japan and spreading widely in America. Productions of Noh theatre are silent except for stories and music which are narrated using the physical expression (Fenollosa, 2011). The main challenge of Noh theatre in the United States of America is that it is difficult to translate the drama well for Americanized audiences as the drama does not embrace any form of westernization and modernization. It is good to note that this does not necessarily mean that the drama cannot be performed in the diaspora. The basic idea is just to avoid interfering with its nature and performances. Despite the urge to preserve its meaning and visual tradition, American audiences feel that they encounter a hard time to understand Noh drama as it is totally different from the American theatric style (Shinkōkai, 2003). Theatre specialists in the United States of America proposed that Noh performers should take off the masks and allow actors to incorporate women into the performance and storytelling. They also proposed an adjustment of various aspects of Noh style of drama to translate it into a more western drama to ensure that American audience totally understands the drama and apply the concepts learned from it.

Theatre in the United Kingdom plays a significant part in the British culture. It has also helped to improve community ties between various cultures. That is the reason why British theatre has embraced Indian theatre. Thertukoothu theatre is spreading in the United Kingdom (Paniker, 2008). British audience recognizes the performances of Thertukoothu theatre as it is either performed in the streets or an overnight and narrative performances at some fixed performance space. The performance provides a rich Indian culture. Even though there are other popular Indian dramas in Britain, Thertukoothu theatre is increasingly becoming popular both in India and the rest parts of the world.

Britain has also embraced Noh theatre. In fact, a non-profit organization in the United Kingdom has already been set up. The organization is dedicated to providing accessible practical sessions in training the classical Japanese Noh theatre. The main focus of this organization is to provide an annual summer workshop for teachers, students, performers, musicians and anyone with a desire to learn and know more about Noh drama (Fenollosa, 2011). The Noh Training Project was established in 2011 to provide people in Europe with an opportunity to have access to the unique traditions and rich training practices of the Noh theatre. The perception of the Europeans about Noh is that it as a multi-disciplinary theatre form of art that conveys its message to the audience using ancient stories, music, dance, costumes, chant in a stately and powerful performance. Europeans with interest in Asian theatre understand the contributions that Noh theatre has had to other drama forms in the same region such as Kabuki theatre (Shinkōkai, 2003). Noh theatre remains the most regularly performed of traditional theatre both in Japan and across the world.

Japanese and Indian people living in diaspora especially the United States of America and the United Kingdom. People from this two culture has promoted their cultures abroad and audience from diaspora has appreciated the Asian drama forms (Huat, 2014). For instance, in the United Kingdom, the theatre departments have already established British Asian live arts and theatre which integrates Asian theatre into British theatre. This has promoted community ties between the United Kingdom and Asia. For instance, commercial Indian films play a significant role in negotiating national identity and promoting normative behavior. The rise of Indian nationalism has grown in Britain and America. In Britain, Indian theatre has already been incorporated in British curriculum right from primary to university education (Takhar, 2012). For Thertukoothu theatre, Bollywood has played an integral role in spreading it. Through Bollywood, Thertukoothu theatre has been able to portray the Indian society in the diaspora. Bollywood has enabled Thertukoothu theatre as well as other Indian drama styles to reconnect with their Hinduism or Indianness (Takhar, 2012).

Among various cultural forms of the Indian diaspora in the West, the absolute obscurity of theatre and drama as compared to poetry, fiction and non-fiction depicts a complex interconnection between language, genre, experience, and location. It is good to note that collaborative public medium theatre relies on institutional networks, material resources and particular cultural contexts which puts it on relieve from relative and privacy self-sufficiency on the print genre (Takhar, 2012). Performers of Thertukoothu theatre usually mingle with Indian audiences in the diaspora and other diasporic audience who appreciates their major roles in the drama.

While still on Thertukoothu theatre, the rapid increase of Indian Bollywood films among Indians in diaspora places themes films in a crucial position of influencing identities of diasporic demographics. Using these films, we are in a position to realize some sense of Indianness and this allows us to relate these films and other Indian drama and identify with them. In this regard, diasporic Indians with second-generation India-Americans use them to develop a sense of commonality that helps in uniting them together as ‘strangers’ in another country (Takhar, 2012). This is literally achieved by giving the diaspora a glimpse back into their motherland. This enables them to cope with loss due to dislocation from their tradition and culture. Bollywood has also increased the representation of the West and stories of diasporic Indians. This helps in creating a way of navigating the hyphenated identities through this theatre. Noh theatre, on the other hand, has been partially spread by Japanese in diaspora (Huat, 2014). The theatre has enabled them to be proud of their culture. Noh has also achieved a lot as it won a UNESCO award a decade ago.

In conclusion, Britain and America are the common diasporic countries which have largely embraced Japanese and Indian theatre. Noh and Thertukoothu theatre have spread their roots to these two countries. The establishment of drama forms of these two Asians countries in the diaspora has enabled their citizens in the diaspora to have a sense of national identity and normative behavior. In a place like the United Kingdom, the South Asian theatre has already been included in their curriculum and is part of the South Asian British theatre. Bollywood has also played a major role in the spread of Indian theatre to diasporic countries. Diasporic audiences of Noh and Thertukoothu theatre have liked the idea of the performances of these drama forms to take place in areas that they can access with ease. Again, the fact that Noh was registered as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2008 by UNESCO also takes Japanese theatre to a greater level. What impresses the diasporic audience in South and East Asian theatre, in general, is their clam mood of performance and great cultural and traditional practices portrayed in those theatre forms.

References

Fenollosa, E. &. (2011). The Classic Noh Theatre of Japan. New Directions Publishing. Huat, C. B. (2014). Conceptualizing an East Asian popular culture. Inter-Asia Cultural Studies. Paniker, N. (2008). Nangiar Koothu: the classical theatre of the Nangiar-s. Springer. Shinkōkai, K. B. (2003). The Noh Drama. Teaching and learning in Japan. Takhar, A. M. (2012). Bollywood cinema’s global reach: consuming the “Diasporic Consciousness”. Journal of Macromarketing. Vivanantharasa, T. (2015). Role of Koothu performance in the process of community building. Springer.