Publisher's Synopsis
This ambitious collection of essays offers an innovative look at crosscultural theatrical exchanges. Overturning the simple argument that Western culture has been imposed on subject cultures in favor of the more complex paradigm of exchange, the collection examines the rich intersection of East and West in film, television shows, stage plays, and operas from a range of countries, including Korea, China, France, South Africa, England, and the United States. Through detailed and original analyses of little-known performances, the essays show how the East not only has resisted the cultural imperialism of the West but also has transformed Western culture into local tradition at the same time as Western performances have poached images, themes, and characters from the East. The collection provides a lively glimpse of creative hybridization and crosscultural adaptation at work, as East meets West on the world's stages.
