1.0 I N T R O D U C T I O N

1.1.1 The Evolution of Modern Malayalam Theatre

A proper evolutionary history of modern Malayalam Theatre

begins with the publication of the translation of Sakuntalam by

Valiyakoi Thampuran in 1893. Its further development has been

independent of the indigenous tradition and culture, as seenin

its susceptibility to different theatre strains, native as

well as foreign. But most of the ritual performing arts of

Kerala, like Theyyam, Mudiyettu, Padayani, Koodiyattom etc.

with their own performing texts, audience and literature, have

a developmental history rooted in the indigenous traditions.

The first social play in Malayalam may be said to be

Mariamma (1903) by Kocheeppan Tharakan. Then there was the

beginning of Tamil Theatre- tradition which owes its origin to

the revival of Karnatic Music, by the then King of Travancore,

Swathy Thirunal. During this time the decorative elements of

Parsi Theatre also had been fairly pronounced on the Theatre of

Malayalam. Struck by the feeling that this imitative trend was

inferior to the native culture,some outstanding playwrights of

the time wrote some notable plays of the early period. Some of

the important plays are Sangeethanaishatham by T.C. Achutha-

menon, Sadarma by K.C. Kesava Pillai, Pakkanarcharitham by

Vidwan Kelunayar. It was at this time that the 'Chavuttunatakam'

(N-1) and 'Kalaripayattu' (N-2) elements found their way into

the theatre of Malayalarn. While opposing that the

origin of Malayalam Theatre can be traced in

Kathakali , 'Koothu or 'Sankakkali' , C.J. Thomas tries to

trace it in Sanskrit,Tamil and English traditions (1950:17-27).

He claims that a successful theatre form came into existence

only with the coming of the Portughese, in 'Jenova Natakam'

('Chavittunatakam'). A study of the plays of this period does

not reveal the theatrical functions of rituals being utilised.

Plays with Sanskrit or Tamil influence introduced 'Nandi',

'Rangapooja' and 'Vidushaka'. But in them the introduction of

rituals was only on the peripheral level. In Mariamma which is

considered to be one of the first accomplished play in Malayalam-

an exorcist ritual was introduced with the aim of giving an

insight in to the social vagaries of the time.(^-3) But the

theatre of the time did not expose any awareness of the ritual

functions in their deeper levels of actor, audience or other

elements.

The history of Malayalam Theatre from 1900 to 1930 shows

the new flourishing of '~an~eethanatakas' with the influence of

Sanskrit tradition that continued for sometime.(^-4) But

disgusted with this, playwrights like C.V. Raman Pillai and

E.V.Krishna Pillai began to write farces. No ritual influence on

the theatre of Malayalam is perceived here. The period from

1930-40 clearly shows a Western influence especially through the

translation of Shakesperean plays. Here also the importance of

the theatrical functions of rituals was unknown to it. It was in

this period that social reformative plays began to appear. Plays

like Adukkalayil Ninnu Arangathekku (1930) by V.T.Bhattathiripad,

Pattabakki (1937) by K. Damodharan, Rithumathi (1940) by

M.P.Bhattathirippadu belong to this period. In Rithumathi there

is an exorcist ritual scene introduced as part of the play. But

it is not for any theatre functions of the ritual, but only to

show the social relevance of it. In this realastic period,

rituals were perceived as primitive, defunct, pre-dramatic

performance that had no theatrical functions. No indigenous

traditions are visible either in the actor's or audience's

concept. But it should be commented that in this period, the

power of the theatre medium was seen in the involvement of the

audience.

The period from 1940-50 in Malayalam Theatreshows a revival.

The emergence of a new phase in Malayalam Theatre with a direct

influence of the Western tradition came in to existence. It was

then that N.Krishna Pillai with his visible influence of Ibsen

began to write plays,. centred on the psychological problems

of man and society, like Kanyaka (1944) Bhagnabhavanam (19491,

Balabalam (1946) etc. But no application of rituals or

theatrical functions of rituals is seen in his theatre-concept.

It was in this period that another land-mark in Malayalam

Theatre, Samatwavadi (1944) by Pulimana Parameswaran Pillai

appeared (N-5 ) During this time the theatre saw the emergence

of C.J. Thomas as one of its strongest exponents. He was also

influenced by the European traditions, especially of the Greek

Theatre. Ayyappappanikkar points out that (1978-79:25) in C.J.'s

play Avan-Veendum Varunnu (1948) the introduction of 'Upadesi'

(Preacher) marks a new beginning of the ritual influence in

Malayalam Theatre. The entrances and exists of this character,

his choric function in the theatre, revives ritual memories.

They provide the whole play with.a metaphysical atmosphere. His

Crime No:27, Amanukshan - Nee Thanne etc. are landmarks in

Malayalam Theatre.

The period of Malayalam Theatre from 1950-60 is very rich

in its output. The stress on the socio-political aspect by the

theatre, is the particular trend in this period. The emergence

of Thoppil Bhasi with the famous theatre t.roupe of K.P.A.C. is

the most important event of this period. But the uses and

functions of rituals as a theatre-device was not seen here. It

was in this period some notable dramatists like P.J. Antony,

S.L. Puram Sadanandan, N.N. Pillai, K.T. Muhammed etc. made

their debut in Malayalam Theatre. But no awareness of

indigenous culture is traceable in their Theatres. All of them

stressed on the realistic and commercial aspects of theatre.

But it is to be noted here that it was in the latter half of

this period serious discussions and symposiums were conducted on

Malayalam Theatre and the awareness was visible that Malayalam

Theatre was lacking something new and the spectators were fed up

with the prevailing trends. Consequently, a few dramatists like

C.N. Sreekantan Nair, G. Sankara Pillai, Kavalam Narayana

Panikkar etc. tried some innovate techniques in theatre. Thus

the experimental phase of Malayalam Theatre began.

It is seen in this period that a new approach to Malayalam

Theatre was taken. It was also as a part of the revival of the

indigenous tradition of the Country in all spheres including art

and literature. There arose also the feeling that the Western

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form was not sufficient to give full dramatic expression of the

indigenous themes. Theatre men like Mohan Rakesh of the Hindi

Theatre, Vijay Tendulkar of Marathi Theatre, Girish Karnad of

Kannada Theatre, C.N.Sreekantan Nair and G.Sankara Pillai of

Malayalam Theatre aspired for an indigenous form. Thus they

began to dream of a meaningful theatre with a new indigenous

culture. They began to be acquainted with the basic

changes of the theatre-concepts in the West especially of

Antonin Artaud of France, Perzy Grotowski of Poland and others.

Especially Artaud tried to go back to the ritual tradition of

man in Myths, exorcisms, 'mantravadas' etc. and to absorb their

inner spirit to reintroduce them in to theatre. "The call also

contained an urge for a more sacred performer- audience

relationship reminding one,of the spirit of participation of the

whole clan of very ancient rituals". (Nair, PKV, 1992:15). As

Malayalam Theatre has a great theatre-tradition based on

rituals arts, the ritual concepts of the actor and audience

began to tell upon it. During this time theatre workshops by

important theatre personalities like M.Govindan, G.Sankara

Pillai, C.N. Sreekantan Nair, Kavalam NarayanaPanikkaretc. were

conducted in different parts of Kerala, and this new aspect of

theatre was discussed in detail. The result was the call for an

indigenous theatre in Kerala which is being called 'Thanathu

Nataka Vedi'. Thus the theatre workers began to look to the

rich traditions of the ritual arts of Kerala for developing a

new trend in the Modern Malayalam Theatre, a new concept based

on the actor-audience relationship. The aesthetic concept of

the actor preparation, building up of an actor-audience

relationship and the stress on the cxternal bcoutics 01 thcsc

ritual arts fired their imagination, qiving inspiration for the

evolution of a new theatre-form. The first theatre genius who was

thrilled by this innovative idea was C.N. Sreekantan Nair (C.N)

who decided to orient his plays according to this new concept and

his Kali is considered to be the landmark in this direction. The - other two who responded to the urge was Kavalam Narayana Panikkar

(Kavalam) and G. Sankara Pillai (G.S),the ritual concepts in them

being discussed in the Thesis (Ch. V) .The culture was passed on

to some of the outstanding playwrights of the period,

R.Narendraprasad, Vayala ~asudevanPillai, P. Balachandran, K.J.

Baby, N.Pra@hakaran and others.

1.1.2 The Investigation-points.

The central point of investigation is the extent to which, and

the elements -bywhich the ritual arts influence Modern Malayalam

Theatre. The period selected is from 1967 to 1990 as the change

in this direction in the theatre of Malayalam is strongly visible

in this period. Two ritual performing arts Theyyam and Mudiyettu

are selected for detailed study to trace the theatrical elements

in them,like the actor-concepts, the audience-actor relationship

and the ideas behind the stress on the theatre-externals like

costume, stageprops and the use of music and light. Other ritual

performing arts like Padayani, Koodiyattom and Kathakali are

observed and studied, but only the references to them are made as

they are very vast to be included. The relevance of the study is

related to the innovative theories and experiments of Antonin

Artaud and Perzy Grotowsky the great theatre-exponents of the /

West, whose theatre-ideas, when analysed, are found to be on

ritual concepts.

How the actor-concept in its manifold dimension works in

the selected ritual performing arts, is a point of investigation.

In the preparing of the performer, physical as well as spiritual

training is vital. How this idea influences the indigenous

theatre and the theatres of Artaud and Grotowski is taken for

study. The experience of the performer in ritual arts during

performance and its connection to the actor in a theatre is a

resourceful area of study. The transformation occurring in the

performer of the ritual arts during performance is comparable to

the transformation of the actor in the theatre. What and how is

the limit is to be traced. The responsive degree of the audience

to the performance while witnessing a ritual art is to be

comparatively assessed with that of the audience in a theatre.

The open-air performance of the ritual arts impart into the

audience a different experience with that of the audience who

witness a play in a proscenium stage. Modern Malayalam Theatre

shows a direct influence of the ritual arts in the peripheral

level of costume adaptation, use of stage- props, lighting etc.

The extent to which this influence is working is also a subject

of enquiry. In order to trace this, the theatical functions

of these elements in the ritual arts are to be analysed.

The two ritual arts selected, Theyyam and Mudiyettu

are to be subjected t o detailed investigation

with the above perspective. To trace their influence on the

Modern Malayalam Theatre, seven representative plays of seven

.representative playwrights of the period are analysed in detail.

The scrutiny focuses on the extent to which the elements of the

theatre are influenced by the ritual arts. Myths and rituals are

invariably connected. The eternal force of the performance of

most of the ritual arts like Theyyam, Mudiyettu or Padayani is

the Myths upon which they are built. The inevitable connection

of myth andritual from the point of view of theatre is alsoan

area of study.

The main area of investigation, thus, is mainly the

internal levels of actor, audience and theatre external concepts

in the ritual arts and the extent to which they have their

telling upon the Modern Malayalarn Theatre. The relevance of

these to the Western Theatre concepts of Artaud and Grotowski

are also analysed in the broad frame work of the study. Their

theatres are to be studied deeply to draw the comparison with

the above purpose. It is pertinent because the essence of their

theories about the actor, actor-audience relationship and the

significance of the other theatre - externals have been

anticipated in the ritual arts of Kerala. The ways in which the

ritual artsoperate in the light of these theories have also to

be explored.

1.1.3:.~ustification ~. of the investigation.

There are several articles and speeches about the influence

of ritual arts on tho Modorn Malnynlaln ThcaLro. J.rl arl orLiclo

'Orunatakavedijanikkunnu' ( A new theatre is born') C.N.

Srookantan Nair, (1968r343-35G) drcallle oT an l~~dl~cr~ous LllcnLrc

of Kerala. In his famous article, 'Thanathunataka Vedi' hi983

(72) : 137-423 he tells about his ambition of building up a

theatre-tradition based on the indigenous ritual performing arts

of Kerala like Theyyam, Thira, Padayani, Kathakali etc. "I feel

that our theatre should as far as possible absorb in to it,

elements of Kathakali and Thirayattom. Let those who want to get

rid of the Keralite elements from Kathakali, take the

audiovisual elements from Padayani and Thira and create a new

theatre". (1972:49).

In the article 'Natankalayude Vyaptiyum Praptiyum' (The

range and reach of indigenous arts) Kavalam Narayana Panikkar

(1975 July : 3-12) deals in detail with the theatrical elements

of ritual arts like Theyyam, Mudiyettu and Padayani and points

out that for the powerful development of Malayalam Theatre, it

should have its roots in the indigenous art-forms. Panikkar in

another article ('1978 May: 15-19) 'Thanathunadaka Vedi'

(Indigenous theatre) describes the background in which the new

trend in Malayalam Theatre developed. He compares it with the

influence in Artaud, of the ritual theatre of the East like the

Japanese Kabuki, Balinese dance-forms etc. "It is in ritual artsJ

in their performance power connected with 'geetha', 'nritya, 'vadya'

and other adaptable elements of theatre that we have to discover

our workshop of 'Thanathunadaka Vedi'. (1978 May:17). In an

article 'Anustanakalayum Malayala Nadakavediyuq' (Ritual arts

and the theatre of Malayalam) (1978 - 79 : 24 - 27) Ayyappa

Panikkar underlines the need for studying the influence of

ritual performing arts on Modern Malayalam Theatre. He

comments that only a detailed investigation would reveal the

extent to which the ritual arts have influenced it.

G. Sankara Pillai also visualised the realisation of an

indigenous theatre based on the ritual performing arts of

Kerala. In his innumerable articles like 'Adhunika Nadakathile

Reethikaranam' (Stylisation in Modern Theatre) (1990 : 144),

'Nadodi Samskaravum Nadakavum' (Indigenous culture and theatre)

(1990 : 2021, 'Arthapoornamaya Nadakavedi' (Meaningful theatre)

(1990 : 419),'KaEiyumKooliyum Adhunikanatakavum' (Kali, ~ooli

and the modern theatre) (1990:384) he airs his views about the

new theatre-culture of Kerala. In an article "The dramatic

elements in Theyyam" A.K. Nambiar (1979 : 17-20) describes the

theatre elements in Theyyam in different aspects of actor,

audience and spectacle and points towards a theatre-culture

based on this. Krishna Kaimal, Aiymanom (1989 : 188 - 9) also comments on the sustainment of ritual tradition in the Modern

Theatre of Kerala. Inspite of these, no concerted attempt has

been made to study, the extent to which the ritual concepts of

actor preparation, actor - audience relationship and the

functional levels of theatre externals like the costume, stage-

props, music and lighting, influence the Modern Malayalam

Theatre.

Here, the study concentrates first of all, on rituals and

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the connection of rituals with theatre, with special'"f~cus on

their theatrical functions. The concepts and culture behind the

actor- formation in ritual arts have their influence on the

theatre of the modern phase of Malayalam. There are comparisons

during performances of the performer's psyche in ritual arts and

that of the actor in the theatre. Also there are parallels in

the psychic transformations of the audience in ritual arts and

that in the Nodern Theatre. These are to be compared and

contrasted. Such an attempt is made.

The function of rituals in its original settings has been

lost in the modern context. They had their own theatrical roles.

But in the value-eroded life of today, they do not fulfil the

original function. The devotional or the sacrificial aspects in

the ritual arts of Theyyam, Mudiyettu, or Padayani are. lost

today, the economic or political aspects gained upperhand. The

essential values of the theatredits actor, audience and external

elements are affected. Our approach to the study is to

understand the variations affected in the value-system found in

the actor-concept, audience building up and in the designing of

the external and sensuous aspects. Drawing inspiration from

ritual arts, a new culture in the formulation of the actor,

actor-audience relationship and other aspects of theatre are

being evolved today. The experiments have proved that the

theatrical elements of ritual arts have decisive roles in

creating a new and powerful trend in Modern Malayalam Theatre.

It is also, therefore, important to know how far these

experiments have been successful.

The revival of theatre by returning to the past tradition

of performance culture, is not only a phenomena of Malayalam

Theatre. In its wider perspective, it is one of the strongest

Eastern and Western theatrical experiments today. Antonin Artaud

attempted to revive the French theatre by his innovative ideas

of returning to oriental culture, rejecting the cxistiny

Occidental forms in art and literature. His main inspiration was

the ritual ~erforming art-form of the Balinese. One of the most

influential theatre-figures of the 20th century is Jerzy

Grotowski, the polish director. His poor theatre-concepts of

the actor and the actor-audience relationship come very near to

those in ritual arts. The vital parallels in the ideas of Artaud

and Grotowski on the actor, audience and other theatre-concepts

with those in the ritual arts of Kerala open up new avenues for

research. The modern theatre man of Malayalam;.irrespective Of

the play-wright, director or the actor is aware of these

parallels in the above modern Western Theatre ideas and their

own indigenous art-forms. Therefore, there is justification for

the investigation of how these parallels form the basis of the

formulation of their theatre-concepts.

1.2.0. Methodology.

1.2.1 Structural analysis.

A structural as well as comparative study is made by the

analysis of the various theatrical experiments . of Artaud

and Grotowski to facilitate their relevance to the modern

Malayalam Theatre. The analysis concentrates on Artaud's

inspiration of the Eastern Theatre in the concept of the actor

preparation, actor-auddience relation and other external theatre-

elements. Grotowski's world famous experiments on actor

formation, forging of a new dimension in actor-audience

relationship,are analysed to trace the ritual concepts in them.

The applications of these elements in some of his practical

works. like the presentation of the plays, are studied. In the

same perspective the two ritual arts Theyyam and Mudiyettu are

analysed. Then their common ground is searched out.

The critical studies of seven representative plays in the

above angle, are made. The production as well as the publication

of these plays fall under the period selected. The plays

selected are - Kali by C.N.Sreekantan Nair, Avanavankadampa by

Kavalam Narayanan Panikkar, Mudevi Theyyam by G.Sankara Pillai,

Agni by Vayala Vasudevan Pillai, Sauparnika by R.Narendra Prasad,

Nadugaddhika by K.J.Baby and Pulijanmam by N.PRabhakaran. The

plays are closely analysed to trace the ritual influence on

three levels, actor, spectator and theatre-externals. Some times

suggestions in this respect are made by the playwriyht himself

of the ritual influence,on the movements of the characters,

dialogue presentation, use of costumes, stage props, music and

lighting. The ritual concepts of Artaud and Grotowski are

studied likewise by going through the new trends in Western

Theatre in general and their theatres in particular. The

playwrights' or directors' ritual influence may be available

from other sourcec of their writings, books and articles which

are made extensive use for gathering the data.

All the playwrights selected are trend-setters in their

own ways in the modern Malayalam Theatre with their new

innovative works inspired by the indigenous theatre-culture.

The plays selected are widely recognized. Being an indirect

exprimental attempt in reviving the indigenous culture of

Kerala, Kali is regarded as a land-mark in the Modern Malayalam Theatre. In its deep as well as peripheral structures,

Avanavankadampa shows a direct influence of the ritual arts of

Padayani, and Theyyam. How a playwright can create play with

ritual influence is illustrated in Mudevi Theyyam. Agni which

won the Kerala Sangeetha Natak Akademy Award in 1983 is an

example of a play with ritual qualities in its deeper layers

than in the peripheral. The whole atmosphere of Sauparnika is

ritualistic as the very theme of it demands it. It won the

Kerala Sangeetha Natak Akademy Award in 1985. Nadugaddhika is '

taken for analysis, as it is an epoch-making play in the

whole history of Malayalam Theatre. Making use of the

Gaddhika tribal- ritual of Adivasis in Vayanad, the play

becomes a perfect model of how the modern life of man can be

interpreted through the theatre-medium, making use of rituals.

The last play selected is Pulijanmam. It is a theatrical

recreation of a well-known Theyyam-performance 'Pulimaranja

Thondachan'. It is an example of how ritual arts like-t hey yam

can be directly taken to theatre demolishing the outerstructure,

and preserving the theatre-elements in it. The play also won the

Sangeetha Nataka A,kademy Award in 1988. After analysing these

plays structurally, a generalisation is made. A comparative

study is made in the sense that, after finding out the ritual

elements in the plays, they are compared to the ritual concepts

in the theatres of Artaud and Grotowski to draw their relevance.

1.2.2. Observation.

A basic explanatoryand comparativeenquiryrcquirasin depth , treatment of the variables, and accordingly observation is

chosen as one of the methods of data collection. The

observations of Theyyam, Mudiyettu and Padayani are made

closely. Every year,the festival season' of these ritual arts

generally starts from January to April. What is observed mainly

is the celebration of important Theyyam3 in Northern Kerala,

Kannur District. The Kolam Thullal of '~allikkodu ~ha~avathi'

temple and Padayani performance in '~adamrnanitta Bhadrakali

temple were closely observed and studied from the theatrical and

performance-point of view. Mudiyettu which is usually performed

in 'Bhadrakali temples of central Kerala has been subjected to

constant observation. The resplendent theatrical elements in it

are made in to close scrutiny to draw their parallels in the

modern Malayalam Theatre. By and large, the author used

ethnographic field strategies especially participat-observation

of these ritual arts. At varied intervals of time in the past,

the presentations of the plays selected were witnessed by the

author. The observer also had the opportunity of participating

in a Drama Workshop in the school of Drama Thrissur in the early

eighties, for about two months organised under the auspices of

U G C for college teachers. This enabled him to have a direct

experience of the presentation of many plays with ritual

influence. This also provided him the opportunity of associating

with renowned theatre personalities like G. Sankara Pillai,

S.Ramanujam, P.K.Venukuttan Nair, M.Govindan etc. The researcher

also attended a Koodiyattom festival for five days in the

Grurukulam, Iringalakkuda during the second year of the

research, to have a close observation of the theatre-elements in

this ritual art-form. Frequent witnessing of the performing

ritual art Kathakali enabled the reseacher to collect the ritual

elements in their varied theatrical aspects.

During December '92, the researcher participated ina national

workshop in Theatre sponsored by the UGC in Dwanyalok, Mysore

where he presented a paper on the ritual theatre of Kerala.

During December '93 he spent a week with the famous South India

Director, S. Ramanujam, in the school of Drama, Thrissur and

directly experienced the creation of ritual sequences during

rehearsals. He spent so many days in the rehearsal camps of the

'Sopanam' theatre of Kavalam, the outstanding indigenous theatre

of Kerala and closely observed how rituals are recreated during

rehearsals. Also, he was a participant in the ten-day workshop

conducted by 'Bhasaberi', Tripunithura (a prominent amateur

theatre-troupe of Kerala) where a play with the influences of

Theyyam, Theyya Theyyam was produced through improvisation by

Kavalam. He also spent about a week with the tribals of Vayanadu

to study the tribal ritual Gaddhika so as to study the theatre

in it. Also, the observer witnessed the final drama competitions

conducted by Kerala Sangeetha Nataka ~kademy for the last three

years to study the cross section of the present day Malayalam

Theatre. The majority of the plays showed a trend . to go back

to the indigenous theatre-culture of Kerala.

1.2.3 Interview

The researcher depended very much on interviews for data

collectio~. The outstanding authorities of the ritual arts of

Theyyam (A.K. Narnbiar), Padayani (Kadammanitta Vasudevan Pillai)

Mudiyettu (Pazhoor Damodhara Marar) are interviewed at length

and data on authority are collected. Many performers in these

ritual arts are interviewed to get primary information . Living authors and directors of the plays selected, are interviewed

exhaustively to collect data, about their concepts of ritual

arts from the theatrical point of view, and their bearings on

them. (Appendix I) All the information was recorded then and

there. Similarly many of the outstanding amateur theatres of

Kerala which are actively engaged in to discover an in digenous

theatre culture, like 'Sopanam', 'Rasika', Abhinaya',

'Natakayogam', 'Bhasaberi', lvaikom Thirunal', 'Thrissur Roots'

etc. are contacted and interviewed. All of the informants

selected are directly associated with the ritual arts and modern

Malayalam Theatre. They are very prominent in their .respective

fields and most of them are award winners in the Kerala

Sangeetha Nataka Akademy level. Also, the young< and the.old

generations of the artists are selected for interview with the

purpose of comparative study in the changing circumstances of

ritual arts and theatre.

1.3>0 Analysis of data

The data are analysed under three aspects actor, audience

and external aspects of performance in ritual arts and in

theatre. Each of these elements are subjected to three different

types of critical treatments keeping ritual elements that

thread them allc together. The ritual is analysed, through

authoritive definitions given by and also its connection with

theatre is studied exhaustively with the support of great

masters like Artaud, Grotowskg, Peter Brook and Richard

Schechner. Artaudian and Grotowskian ritual concepts of theatre

are analysed on three levels, the actor-preparation, audience

concept and their ideas on theatre -externals. This is done

through data collected from authentic books written by them and

written on them. The data collected by witnessing the

performance of Theyyam, Padayani and Mudiyettu are analysed to I trace the theatrical elements in them. Similarly, data

collected from witnessing the performance of the selected plays

and also through interviews of actors, directors and playwrights I

are analysed in the above perspective. I

1.3.1 Reporting.

The ritual arts selected for study are very ancient with

well-established sub-culture and local specialised art-forms.

There was one difficulty in reporting, ie to find English

equivalent for many of the vernacular terms. The Malayalam

terms are so numerous in the reporting that a glossary at the

end of the Thesis is added. As the study tends to be very vast,

the volume of materials is to be condensed in the Thesis. For

the sake of brevity, many details have to be deleted. Lengthy

interviews given by the authorities on ritual arts, by the

playwrights on the concepts of rituals and their application in

their plays, by performers and actors about their experiences,

are to be edited to the point.

1.4 Organisation of the Thesis.

Chapter - I This introductory chapter mainly consists of four

parts, a very brief history of the Malayalam Theatre up to the

period of study, the formulation and justification of the

investigation, the Methodology adopted for the research and an

epitome of the organisation of the Thesis.

Chapter - I1 It is a study of rituals, their definitions, origin and functions. The connection of rituals with theatre, how

theatre originates from ritual and rituals originatefrom theatre

are studied. The actor, audience and other theatre- concepts in

the ritual performing arts and theatre are analysed.

Chapter 111- It is a study on the ritual concepts in the

theatres of Artaud and Grotowski. It is to trace how these

concepts originate from their theatres. This analysis is done

on three levels, on the actor., audience relationship and other

theatre -externals.

Chapter IV- The ritual arts Theyyam and Mudiyettu are

selected and studied in detail to trace the theatre-elements in

them. This is to show the tendency of ritual arts to move

towards theatre and how their theatre-culture influencesmodern

Malayalam Theatre.

Chapter V- The first phase of the modern Malayalam Theatre with

ritual influence is taken for study. For this, representative

three plays, C.N.'s - Kali, G.S. 's Mudevi Theyyam, Kavalam's

Avanavan Kadampa are selected. Their different ritual concepts

on actor, audience and other theatre-externals are evaluated.

ChapterVF The second phase of the modern Malayalam Theatre

with ritual influence is studied. For this, four younger

playwrights' viz, Vayala Vasudevan Pillai's Agni, Narendra

Prasad ' s Sauparnika, K.J. Baby ' s Naduqaddhika and

N.Prabhakaranls Pulijanmam are selected. An attempt to trace

the extent to which the ritual concepts of the actor, audience

and other theatre externals like costume, stage - props, application of music and light influence them is made here.

Chapter VII

It is the concluding Chapter. Assessment of the

research and its findings are summarised here. It is traced

that in so many respects, the modern Malayalam Theatre draws

its sustenance from the indigenous performing ritual arts of

Kerala.

Appendix- -- I

Excerpts from the interviews with authorities on ritual

arts, ritual performers, select playwrights, directors and

actors.

Appendix - I1 - -

A Chart showing select plays with ritual influence in

the modern Malayalam Theatre of the period of study.

Appendix - I11 - -- An edited list of authorities/performers/playwrights/

directors/actors contacted and interviewed.

Appendix- - -- IV

A Glossary of Malayalam Terms

Foot Notes.

Books cited and References