Theatre and religion on Krishna's stage
Subtitle: playing in Vrindavan
By: David V. Mason.
Series: Palgrave studies in theatre and performance history
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Published: 2009
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 195
Subjects: Rāsalīlā -- Social aspects -- India -- Vrindāvan; Theater -- Religious aspects -- Hinduism; Krishna (Hindu deity) in the performing arts -- India -- Vrindāvan; Hinduism and culture -- India -- Vrindāvan
Description: Theatre and Religion on Krishna's Stage examines the history and form of India's râs lila folk theatre, and discusses how this theatre functions as a mechanism of worship and spirituality among Krishna devotees in India. From analyses of performances and conversations with performers, audience, and local scholars, Mason argues that ŕs lila actors and audience alike actively assume roles that locate them together in the spiritual reality that the play represents. Correlating Krishna devotion and theories of religious experience, this book suggests that the emotional experience of theatrical fiction may arise from the propensity of audiences to play out roles of their own through which they share a performance's reality.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.