Nic Leonhardt is a theater scholar and a writer at LMU Munich and the University of Cologne, Germany. Christopher B. Balme is professor of theater studies at LMU Munich, Germany.

A reexamination of the historiography of theater in the decolonizing world after World War II.

This collection presents innovative institutional approaches to the theatre historiography of the Global South, proposing a fundamental reexamination of the historiography of theater in emerging countries since 1945. Covering perspectives from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and Eastern Europe, the chapters explore how US philanthropy, international organizations, and pan-African festivals all contributed to the globalization and institutionalization of the performing arts in the Global South.

During the Cultural Cold War, the Global North intervened in and promoted forms of cultural infrastructure that were deemed adaptable to any environment. This form of politics impacted the construction of national theaters, the introduction of new pedagogical tools, and the invention of the workshop as a format. The networks of experts responsible for this foreground seminal figures, both celebrated (Augusto Boal, Efua Sutherland) but also lesser-known (Albert Botbol, Severino Montano, Metin And), who contributed to the worldwide theatrical epistemic community of the postwar years.

Developing Theatre in the Global South investigates the institutional factors that led to the emergence of professional theatre in the postwar period throughout the decolonizing world. The book's institutional and transnational approach enables theatre studies to overcome its commonly strong national and local focus on plays and productions and to connect it to current discourses in transnational and global history.