A Reflection on

Women in Asian Theatre: Conceptual, Political, and Aesthetic Paradigms

By Arya Madhavan

Arya Madhavan is a senior lecturer in the School of Fine and Performing Arts, University

of Lincoln, UK. She was compelled to investigate women’s place in Asian theatre practices after

her paper generated interest in July 2011 at the conference Performing Arts in Contemporary

Asia: Tradition and Travel. To further investigate on the topic, Madhavan organized the first

international Women in Asian Theatre symposium held at the University of Lincoln in

September 2013. The conference aimed to explore differences across Asia and note that theories

from Western feminists do not necessarily apply to Asian models. More than twenty-five

scholars and practitioners from the United Kingdom, India, Australia, the United States, Korea,

Japan, Germany, Sweden, and France attended and contributed. The symposium incorporated

paper presentations, lecture demonstrations, and a film viewing.

The world has always regarded Western ideology as the model that dictates the norms of

societal standards, and the role of women in theatre across the world is no exception to this

implication. Western history of theatre dictates the female absence in theatre traditions and this

has been a globally accepted principle. It is evident in the stages of the earlier 17th-century stages

that were all-male preserves; women were involved in the play-going audience and worked in

theatre buildings but did not act on the commercial stages (The British Library 2016). Madhavan

discusses however, that despite it being a globally accepted principle, this is not the case with

Asian performance traditions. She sites several examples of Asian performance that are inclusive

of females including the Indian kuttiyatam, which traditionally consists of a female cymbalist-
singer and the nangyarkuthu, a forty-one-day solo performance performed by the female actress

referred to as the nangyar.

The Japanese theatre has the takarazuka, where women play all parts and consists of

women of all ages as its fans; but Japanese theatre also consisted of several performances that to

this day remain women-free such as the noh, kabuki, or kathakali. However, in response, women

would then formulate their own female versions though are not always recognized by the

mainstream audience. Reading about these kinds of responses from female performers in Asia

led me to realize how women needed to actively adapt and exert the extra effort just to make

their mark in theatre society – an effort their male counterparts do not necessarily need to exert.

This speaks loudly of male privilege yet highlights the female resilience that is so often

downplayed especially in Western culture.

As for the Korean tradition, most forms were performed by men but Madhayan argues

that evidence exists of the Baudeogi – a prominent female troupe leader in the nansadang nori

which is an all-male performance form; and the existence of the pansori narrative singing that is

performed by a woman. I have read about how these women are regarded with such honor and

how they hold a respectable position in society and couldn’t help but compare their social status

to how women in Western theatre rarely appeared onstage and if so, were often associated with

derogatory symbols for male entertainment.

The pansori is the performance that stood out to me the most for its intricacy and the

discipline involved in order to deliver such a delicate performance. It began in the 17 th century as

a form of shamanism and peaked in the 19th century as a popular form of musical story telling for

the nobles and royal family. This wasn’t until Shin Jae-Hyo altered these upper-class melodies

and lyrics to suit the preferences of the wider population that it was performed also for the lower
classes and the ordinary population (Dunsmore 2017). As a result of this growing popularity,

Shin Jae-Hyo then trained a group of women in the performance of the pansori until soon

enough, it became Korea’s national music. Today, it is proclaimed by the United Nations

Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as “a masterpiece of the oral and

intangible heritage of humanity” and is regarded as Korea’s proudest forms of entertainment.

Delving deeper into the craft of the pansori singing, I learned to appreciate the discipline

that is involved in its practice. “Sori” means sound, and this could be the sound of anything in

the world – from the sound of the wind, of rushing water, or even the sound of a busy city. It

could also be the sound of feelings like grief, anger, excitement, and calmness. The female singer

tells a story and portrays these elements, feelings, characters, and objects surrounding the story

using nothing else but the sound of her voice, and accompanied by percussion; no matter the race

of the audience she performs in front of, she must be able to break the language barrier and

deliver the flow of the story by manipulating the tone and technique of her singing and must

likewise mimic the movements with the use of her fan. A captivated audience will be able to

perceive the fan to be whatever the pansori singer wants it to be. In order to for her to elicit such

perceptions and emotions, she trains in open nature; connecting herself with the elements that

she wishes to be able to portray through her voice. I believe it requires a deep spiritual

connection to nature to be able to use one’s voice to resemble the sounds and feelings of being in

nature, and thus is what makes the pansori such a delicate and disciplined form of Asian theatre.

The deep spiritual connection that a pansori singer has with nature is what makes her a

great performer. A similar woman with the same spiritual connection with nature is regarded

with respect in the Philippines. She is called the babaylan - someone who has the ability to

mediate with the spirit world, has her own spirit guides, and is given gifts of healing, foretelling,
and insight. She is a ritualist, a chanter, diviner. Babaylans are called by other names in the other

languages of Philippine indigenous communities such as Mombaki in Ifugao, Dawac in Kalinga,

Balyan or Balian in Davao Oriental and Davao del Norte, Katalonan in Tagalog and Northern

Luzon, Ma-Aram in Tibiao, or Mambunong in Igorot.

A babaylan was looked up to by the community for leadership especially in solving

problems. In other Lumad communities, she must first be able to wield a weapon or sword to

protect her community and prove herself as a warrior before further developing her role as a

babaylan (Villariba 2021). She is chosen and trained and should embody a natural sense of the

things around her and a deep understanding of philosophy and spirituality. Babaylans have no

special stages to perform their rituals – rather, nature itself is their stage and every place is a

performance space and so theater is their way of life. In a way, a babaylan is theater in all forms

for to meet one is to experience a dance, a chant, the playing of an instrument, an epic story, and

a ritual for the ill, dead, and parted (Zerrudo 2013). Indigenous communities have a ritual for

every occasion from weddings to deaths. These rituals are regarded as a powerful spiritual

theater with God as its center and is reflected in all their values and relationships. The babaylans

believe that God is in all of us and that it is this interconnectedness that guides them to uphold

justice and peace as vital to life. They believe that we share the earth with invisible beings of

nature. It is therefore the role of the babaylan to connect with these beings and to communicate

with them through words, movements, chants, and sometimes are used by these spirits as

channels. In such an event, the babaylan goes in a trance and is used by these invisible beings as

a bridge to our world.

Seeing how these women were looked up to even in the Philippines contrasts heavily

against the way Western culture has influenced the world to see and treat women not only in
theatre, but in society as a whole. I believe these are the traditions that should be kept alive and

continued to be passed onto generations to come. Contrary to the common notion of the absence

of women in theatre, it is clear that women are not absent in Asian theatre after all. Not only

were they very much active in Asian traditions, but also, they held honorable and respectable

positions in society. The roles they played in traditional theatre may not have been as vast or

accessible as those of men, but required a special discipline that only women can achieve. I

believe there is so much more to be uncovered especially with regards to the role of women in

theatre – not only in Asia, but in all other cultures across the globe.
Dunsmore, Linda. 2017. “Stories Told to Music: A Brief History of Pansori.” Culture Trip. The

Culture Trip. April 11, 2017. https://theculturetrip.com/asia/south-korea/articles/stories-

told-to-music-a-brief-history-of-pansori/.

The British Library. 2016. “Shakespeare and Gender: The ‘Woman’s Part.’” The British Library.

https://doi.org/https://www.bl.uk/shakespeare/articles/shakespeare-and-gender-the-

womans-part.

Villariba, Marianita Girlie. 2021. “Babaylan Women as Guide to a Life of Justice and Peace.”

Isiswomen.org. 2021. https://www.isiswomen.org/index.php?

option=com_content&view=article&id=433&Itemid=346.

Zerrudo, Maria Rosalie. 2013. “Images of Women: Babaylan Ritual Theater: A Total

Experience.” Sunstar. sunstar. August 17, 2013.

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/300227/Local-News/Images-of-Women-Babaylan-

Ritual-Theater-A-total-experience-.