How Much Land Does a Man Need?: Indian theatre as inspiration and Kathakali in performing Lev Tolstoy

Indian theatre is currently studied at a theoretical level in Romanian academic theatre institutes, including both state and private universities. Particularly, one of the Indian theatre forms, Kathakali, is studied with an emphasis on the actor’s physicality in the play; however, the use of specific acting techniques from Kathakali is highly encouraged in the construction of new performances that the students create. Even if it is a highly coded form of theatre and difficult to understand if one does not have the required training, there are students who opt to use several performative elements of the theatre form in their productions to create a valuable intercultural dialogue with diverse cultural and artistic references. Throughout this article, I propose a concise analysis of how I elected to use some elements of the theatre form in the composition of a role within the university. The understanding of these cultural choices and how studying even theoretical forms of theatre or dance-theatre, even if they are conceptually distanced from us, can help us expand our creative area – an important matter for many European creators.