Asian Theatre Journal Volume 31 Number 1 Spring 2014

This is an issue that exemplifies the variety of performances, covering all the major geographic areas and including modern, traditional, and modern-traditional work; there are two contrasting views of a recent Suzuki production in Taiwan. “Democratic Kabuki” for a “Democratic Japan”: 1945-1946 (page 103). This article briefly examines four unusual kabuki plays written and set in devastated postwar Japan (1945-1946). “Innovation in No: Matsui Akira Continues a Tradition of Change” (page 126), this article examines Matsui’s innovations, his unusual path toward becoming a professional, and his transnational collaborations. “Socialist Realism and New Subjectivities: Modern Acting in Gao Xiangjian’s Cold Theatre” (page 152), this article about Chinese ideas of a distinctly Chinese modernity; the specific way in which China utilized Stanislavski; debate over the status of huaju (spoken drama) and various Chinese forms of theatre; and emergent ideas about the relationship of the state, religion, and the individual provide a seething cauldron of debate. More articles about theatre can read in this issue.