Kathakali seems like a very sophisticated style of theatre. The audience is required to pay full attention in order to understand the story through the hand gestures which i’m sure has taken years and years of practice, communicating through motion is no easy task. This style also seems very cultivated, from the costumes being different colors with multiple layers to the facial expressions/make-up it is clear this is an ancient style of story telling.

Also interesting how the hand gestures are still present in todays indian dance styles, growing up with sisters that enjoyed Bollywood I wondered why they were so active with hand gestures. At a multi-cultural concert at a young age I was told by an indian friend that they communicate through hand gestures. Perhaps this is where the style was adopted from.

Watching  Kathakali was very interesting and something that I have never seen before. To practice this form of theatre must take years to master. I cannot even imagine the effort someone has to put in order to be an expert on detailed facial expressions and intricate body movements. The costumes and makeup in both videos are also gorgeous! I love how elaborate the makeup and costumes are. Detail seems to matter for this form of theatre in terms of decorative costume, heavy colorful makeup, and even the exaggerated performing.

I can find it is very colorful play as well. The similarities between Greek that it has stage, chorus and orchestra and actor. It has also stoy which looks like ceremony to God. The differences between Greek that Kathakali is a mime. There is no voice. The actor only expresses story and feeling by face, hand gesture and body language instead of script.

In the first video the makeup is very bold and colorful which I think is done to enhance facial expressions. Where as, in the second video the face makeup is still bold however, not as colorful. In the second video there is more movement done around the stage which I think makes up for the face paint in video 1. I found it interesting how the facial expressions in video 1 are strong enough to show emotions and how powerful the eyes were as well.

I enjoyed watching both films of kathakali although it was difficult to understand the detailed gestures and the well defined body movement that presented the tune. I also liked the mask and makeup and was wondering how did this type of mask and make up start in india?

these were certainly some of the most colorful and fully expressive performances we’ve seen thus far.

The first video had very thick severe make-up, costume and chair and even though I really had no idea what was really going on and there was no movement in the dancers feet I got a general feeling of sadness or struggle from the performer who really had amazing control of their facial muscles. In the second video with the backstory and subtitles I had an easier time following along which made watching more enjoyable and it didn’t seem as long as it had been.

I do wonder how much of the regular target audience watching this is familiar with all the hand signs though, it was like more elaborate performative sign-language. It was really enchanting to watch though.

After learning about Ancient Greek and Roman theatre, and having knowledge and experiencing more modern Western kinds of theatre, it was quite interesting to view the Indian theatre known as “Kathakali.” One major difference between Kathakali and Western theatre is the use of makeup vs masks. Ancient Greeks wore masks during plays in front of large audiences whom most cannot see the reactions of the actors. Indian actors wore full-face makeup like the Japanese, but with much more color. Singing & dancing was definitely more used in Kathakali than used in modern Western theatre.

The actors in the videos were clearly extremely facially expressive. My facial muscles felt exhausted watching the first video mostly. In the second Kathakali video it was interesting to see the actor live a story through his expressions, costume, and movement. The costume seemed super heavy looking.

Watching the videos, it is clear that the primary method of storytelling is through hand gestures and facial expressions. Are the meanings behind each of these gestures clear to the target audience? I found it impossible to follow even with the second video providing explanations and a brief overview.

So, this form of a theatre is very different from Western styles, with one elaborate performance taking center stage with minimalistic background aspects (the percussion, singing, etc). I wonder how Western audiences might react to something like this – stories like these often require quite a bit of audience foreknowledge. Could there be a similar type of story/theatre in Western lore?