Matthew Cohen Inaugural Lecture

'Seductions of Tradition: A Lecture-Performance with Puppets'
by Professor Matthew Isaac Cohen
Caryl Churchill Theatre, Department of Drama & Theatre, Royal Holloway University of London
"Traditional theatrical arts, once decried as regressive, recollected nostalgically, or mourned for their imminent passing, have resurged in the global ecumene. New generations of practitioners bring fresh energies to established genres, hybrid and intermedial arts are emerging, and old forms are being critically reframed and reinvented. This ludic performance-lecture with wayang kulit puppets from Java (Indonesia) riffs on tradition in modernity, considers the roles of ‘outside’ researchers and practitioners of Asian performance, and celebrates the embracement of otherness."