This is the first book to offer a clear introduction to Kattaikkuttu (or Terukkuttu), a vibrant, vocal and physical outdoor Tamil theatre tradition. It describes the theatre's characteristic heroic nature as expressed through its principal, male kattai characters, explores its history, social status and ritual context, and examines the production of all-night plays. After placing Kattaikkuttu in the wider, competitive context of the performing arts in India, Hanne M. de Bruin introduces readers to the some of the debates which have arisen around the form, largely due to the urban elite's attitude towards popular Tamil performing arts forms such as Kattaikkuttu, whose low caste performers were believed to be unable to create cultural events of a high aesthetic and moral standard. As well as providing an overview of the different elements that make up a Kattaikkuttu performance, this volume also covers Kattaikkuttu's performance spaces and the more recent changes that have taken place within Kattaikkuttu, such as its transition towards an independent and more professional theatre genre, as well as the opening up of the form to different castes and to women entering into this all-male tradition. It also covers the production and frameworks of all-night performances, and uses the Mahabharata play Karna Moksam as a case study while examining the shifts that have more recently taken place in the Kattaikkuttu repertory. In addition, the book looks in more detail at the role of the performer, including the training of a Kattaikkuttu novice, the performance score of actor-singers that underlie a specific role or vesam, and a seasoned performer's agency in interpreting well-known roles. Finally, the study turns to recent innovations, in particular the creation of new work and the Kattaikkuttu Gurukulam.

Exploring director and playwright P. Rajagopal's adaptation of the Mahabharata play Dice and Disrobing , it looks at the ways in which issues of gender and the boundaries of the genre can be examined from within. It concludes with a note on Kattaikkuttu's current status from the perspectives of its performers and connoisseurs, and considers the reasons why this form endures.