The Routledge Handbook of Asian Theatre is an advanced level reference guide which surveys the rich and diverse traditions of classical and contemporary performing arts in Asia. An international team of contributors provide authoritative overviews of dance, musicals, gender, puppetry, make up and costume, gender, colonialism, Shakespeare, and modernity in East, Southeast and South Asia. Offering a cutting edge overview of Asian theatre and performance, the Handbook is an invaluable resource for academics, researchers and students studying this ever-evolving field.

Introduction Part I. Traditional Theatre in Asia 1. Traditional Indian Theatre 2. Traditional Chinese Theatre 3. Traditional Japanese Theatre 4. Traditional Indonesian Theatre Part II. Dimensions of Traditional Asian Theatre 5. Dance in Traditional Asian Theatre 6. Music in Traditional Asian Theatre 7. Masks in Traditional Asian Theatre 8. Puppets in Traditional Asian Theatre 9. Costume and Makeup in Traditional Asian Theatre 10. Architecture and Stage of Traditional Asian Theatre Part III. Modern Theatre in Asia 11. Modern Indian Theatre 12. Modern Theatre in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka13. Modern Japanese Theatre 14. Modern Chinese Theatre 15. Modern Theatre in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, and North Korea16. Modern Theatre in Mainland Southeast Asia: Thailand, Burma (Myanmar), Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam17. Modern Theatre in Maritime Southeast Asia: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore Part IV. Perspectives of Modern and Contemporary Asian Theatre 18. The Beginning of Spoken Theatre: Colonialism and Colonial Modernity 19. Gender Performance and the Rise of Actresses in Traditional Asian Theatre 20. Gender Performance and the Rise of Actresses in Modern Asian Theatre 21. Modern Asian Theatre and Indigenous Performance22. Traditional Asian Performance in Modern and Contemporary Times 23. Intercultural Theatre and Asian Shakespeare Productions in Asia24. Modern Musicals in Asia

Siyuan Liu is a former President of the Association for Asian Performance and an Assistant Professor of Theatre at the University of British Columbia, Canada.