Devendra Sharmas volume presents a rare combination of intimate insider and academic outsider approaches to one of the most important living theatrical traditions of India. Sharma has the unique privilege of being able to start his fieldwork at home, within the internalized tradition of an outstanding nautanki performer lineage. His lifelong cultivation of Nautanki is balanced with decades of engagement with western academia. This monograph not only presents invaluable insights into the history and working of Nautanki with close attention to its practicalities but is also a highly readable volume with evocative descriptions of Nautanki performances and of the complex emotions it raises both in the artists and the audience. * Imre Bangha, University of Oxford, UK * Nautanki: The Musical Theatre of North India is that rare thing: an account of a once wildly popular theatre form by a contemporary performer-scholar steeped in the tradition. Devendra Sharma combines history, aesthetics, and technical exposition with a robust critique of the marginalization of popular performance as "folk". As his own work shows, nautanki is a richly expressive and pliable language that continues to speak to contemporary anxieties and desires. * Francesca Orsini, Professor Emerita, SOAS, University of London, UK * Devendra Sharma approaches performance for social change as a scholar, a performer, and a director. He is a leading expert in Nautanki and his inquiry into its past, present, and future provides valuable insights. * Douglas Fraleigh, California State University-Fresno, USA * Devendra Sharma has given us the first comprehensive account of Nautanki, a theatrical form that became hugely popular in northern India from the early 20th century. Himself a distinguished Nautanki performer, Sharma dispels the notion that Nautanki is a folk genre and shows in meticulous detail how an operatic form developed bridging urban and rural audiences to tackle mythological, social and political themes, employing sophisticated modes of lyrical composition, virtuoso singing and instrumental accompaniment. This is a major contribution to theatre studies in India. * Partha Chatterjee, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, Columbia University, USA *
