Abstract: This essay analyzes the performance Selamatan Anak Cucu Sumilah ( SACS, or Selamatan for the Descendants of Sumilah), staged on 30 November 2018 at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Directed by Irfanuddien Ghozali and collaboratively created with women survivors of the 1965–1966 genocide in Indonesia, the performance honors the late survivor Sumilah. The story of her life forms the thematic core of the production and is interwoven with themes from Pramoedya Ananta Toer's Buru Quartet, enriching the performance with additional layers of cultural and historical significance. This analysis explores and contextualizes the performance as a medium through which memory activists shape and negotiate Indonesia's collective memory landscape .

Abstract: This article examines preservation strategies for ensuring the continuity of Malay gamelan in Malaysia. The authors observe two key areas in the preservation efforts: documentation and performance innovation. The article focuses on three documentation efforts: dance notation, sheet music, and audiovisual recording, along with two cases of performance innovations through dramatari (dance-drama) and singing. Our discussion starts with manuscripts of Tengku Ampuan Mariam, a daughter of a Malay gamelan patron and dancer of joget gamelan, a court dance, followed by key audio and video performances and musical notation. The focus then shifts to two forms of performance innovation: one that enhances storytelling through dance in the "dance-drama" format and the other that incorporates singing for greater popular appeal. Together, these strategies form a movement to safeguard and revitalize the Malay gamelan as an intangible cultural heritage as defined in the 2003 Convention developed by UNESCO .

Abstract: The myth of Japanese ethnic homogeneity is challenged by the texts and performances of these two plays by Kamisato Yudai: +51 Aviación, San Borja (2015) and The Story of Descending the Long Slopes of Valparaiso (2017). The autobiographical yet also playfully surrealistic Aviación stages national borders as constitutive of a variety of Latin American-Japanese and Japanese-Latin American identities. By contrast, Valparaiso both wonders at the existing blurriness of some borders and deconstructs others, not just among countries or regions or national identities, but also among stylistic and even metaphysical borders. This blurring of borders transcends a hybrid-like fusion of Japanese with Latin American identities to create a kaleidoscopic universe in which identities and borders are multiple and constantly shifting rather than stable and homogeneous. While Aviación expands Japanese identity to include people who were exiled from Japan, Okinawans who emigrated from their homeland, and Japanese citizens who were born outside of its national boundaries, Valparaiso depicts many kinds of borders and identities as difficult, if not impossible, to delineate clearly. Chris Rumford's concept of "borderwork," conducted by ordinary citizens rather than nation-states, illuminates how these plays, and theatre more broadly, can redraw, blur, or erase borders, thus complicating notions of national identities.

Abstract: Born in 1982 in Peru and based in Japan, Yudai Kamisato creates works with the theme of migration and crossing borders based on the episodes he collects while visiting various places. In 2006, he won the first prize in the TOGA Directors Competition for his staging of Desire Caught by the Tail by Pablo Picasso. He is the winner of the Kishida Kunio Prize for Drama in 2018 with The Story of Descending the Long Slopes of Valparaíso , which premiered at the Kyoto Experiment festival in 2017. His works have been presented at some of the major theatre festivals in Japan and abroad. He stayed in Argentina from October 2016 to August 2017 on an overseas research grant from the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs.

Abstract: This study examines the peculiarity and novelty of the creative method used in North Korean Seonghwangdang (Village Shrine)-style revolutionary theatre, which has been strongly emphasized as a new form of theatre. This method is defined as a multi-scene composition, a fundamental aspect of the theatre revolution that overcomes the limitations of classical unities in Western plays. The multi-scene composition presents various living places on the stage to portray the development of an ordinary person's revolutionary worldview. It focuses on characters rather than the plot, reflecting the human-centered idea of juche (self-reliance). This concept emerged from Kim Jong-il's political objective of establishing Kim Il-sung's anti-Japanese armed struggle as the sole North Korean revolutionary tradition to justify his succession of power, maximizing the propaganda effect of art and literature. Seonghwangdang presents the story of an ordinary woman, Mrs. Park, who sincerely believes in the local god but eventually recognizes the illusion of her belief. She is determined to take control of her own destiny. The play's plot revolves around the kernel incident involving Dolsoi, who incites Mrs. Park's change. According to the principle of Seonghwangdang -style playwrighting, Mrs. Park, who appears in seven out of eight places in the entire play, must be the central figure for the three-dimensional composition focusing on human relationships. However, Dolsoi takes the center of the play. The standard examples of the multi-scene composition emphasize the satellite incidents in which Dolsoi's actions are highlighted. Nevertheless, Mrs. Park's act of destroying the shrine embodies the principle of the juche idea's independence. The audience naturally internalizes the juche worldview by sympathizing with the two protagonists. The multi-scene composition of Seonghwangdang -style theatre can be attributed to the advanced theatre technology. However, from a theatrical style perspective, its novelty lies in the presentation of incidents occurring in various places, disregarding the unity of place.

Abstract: When discussing the Lanling Theatre Workshop, critics often cite the success of Hezhu's New Match in 1980 as a milestone in Taiwan's modern theatre. However, in hindsight, its success was more symbolic than artistic, signifying a break from Nationalist propaganda drama. The lack of discussion on its decline also obscures the theatre's trail and hinders researchers from achieving a comprehensive understanding. Furthermore, given Lanling's adoption of Western theatre techniques, it is essential to contextualize it within Taiwan's theatre scene as well as the broader cultural struggle involving Taiwan, China, and the United States during the Cold War. Hence, this article aims to reexamine Lanling's history, focusing on Hezhu's New Match and Nine Songs (1985) as pivotal points in its rise and fall. By placing Lanling within a broader spectrum of Asian and world theatre, this study also seeks to document the dissemination and reception of Western theatre knowledge in Taiwan, particularly Grotowski's influences, and to explore how it shaped Taiwan's theatrical landscape, guiding its transition from spoken drama toward a postmodern and physical trajectory.