Fritz Bennewitz in India

Book excerpt: This volume offers the first comprehensive analysis of the work of East German theatre director Fritz Bennewitz in India between 1970 and 1994. Joerg Esleben has gathered together many of Bennewitz’ own writings, most published for the first time, in which he reflects on his production of plays by Bertolt Brecht, Shakespeare, Goethe, Chekhov, and Volker Braun. By translating these writings into English, the editors have provided unprecedented access to Bennewitz’ thinking about intercultural work in India. This material is illuminated by explanatory annotations, contextualized commentary, and critical perspectives from Bennewitz’s former colleagues in India and other leading scholars. Through its kaleidoscope of perspectives, Fritz Bennewitz in India offers a significant counter to dominant models of Western theatrical interculturalism.