Migrations of Actors Between East and West The Theatre and Cultural Exchange

Abstract

Not until the middle of the eighteenth century did Europe learn of Oriental theatre, through translation and performance. This contact came much later than other cultural contacts and it was only in the eighteenth century that documents about this contact became available. Scholars find it difficult to understand the lateness of this contact because Western understanding of East-West cultural exchanges has been dependent on ambiguous and inaccurate information. Accounts of theatre in particular depend on word of mouth and mental processes rather than written histories. Before the eighteenth century, the East had a highly developed theatre. East‐West cultural links could depend on two ethnological theories: spontaneous generation and diffusionism. Diffusionism seems the best theory for explaining the exchange of theatrical links between East and West, though we have few literary accounts to fill in the details of migration, influence and assimilation. Kroeber's “diffusion of stimuli” theory is also an important factor. Documents for the times prior to the eighteenth century are scarce for two reasons: the halo of fable and the cultivation of mystery; and the low standing of actors and the theatre. Actors were often illiterate. Their techniques are not verbal and therefore not described in writing. It is likely that relations did exist before the eighteenth century, but more research into practical theatre (body techniques, musical practices, organization and production of spectacular activities, dramatic literature) is needed.