Universitas 21 PhD Scholarship Report
Name: Thea Buckley
Thesis title: South India's Self-directed Shakespeare
My thesis explores the intersection between Shakespeare’s original English works and selected new
local language Indian adaptations. In analysing the hybridisation of secular British drama with
traditionally sacred Indian theatre art, I look at twenty-first century Shakespeare productions for
indigenous Kerala art forms ranging from the two-thousand-year-old kutiyattam dance-drama to
contemporary modern Malayalam theatre. My research aims to critically examine this intercultural
transposition onto a now global stage, with the potential for the meeting point of two great
dramatic cultural traditions as a forum, underpinned by residual postcolonial legacies, for
intercultural discourse.
Department: Shakespeare Institute
Institution visited: University of Delhi, India
My Universitas 21 placement at the University of Delhi, the national academic institution of India’s
capitol city and a prestigious research hub, was an amazing experience. The visit afforded me the
invaluable opportunity to access unique resources under the supervision of leading academics, while
immersed in the host culture and exploring its richness.
The U21 scholarship allowed me to conduct essential primary and secondary research for my
doctoral thesis, which explores the intersection between Shakespeare’s original English works and
their twenty-first century South Indian adaptations into local languages and performing art forms.
My PhD thesis specifically focuses on intercultural Shakespeare productions, with case studies of
several interpretations of Macbeth by artists from the state of Kerala, India. My stay coincided with
the visit to the city of several Keralan artists, including the famous dramatist and director Kavalam
Narayana Panikkar. I was lucky enough to be able to watch their performances, and to see K. N.
Panikkar in action at the National School of Drama and interview him afterwards. I was also able to
visit the International Centre for Kathakali (one of the Kerala performing arts forms that I profile),
and to interview Principal Evoor S. Rajendran Pillai, a master performer who had played Macbeth in
one adaptation. These were experiences of a lifetime that provided me with a practical and primary
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complement to my work in the Delhi libraries; during these few weeks I completed research that, if
at all possible, would have taken months had I tried to do it from a distance in the UK.
To further my research into the theoretical aspects of these intercultural productions, I was
privileged to become a guest member and to access specialised archives with information on Keralan
arts and Indian Shakespeares, at the renowned library of the Sangeet Natak Akademi (National
Academy of Music, Dance and Drama). The library’s digital catalogues further enabled me to compile
a reading list and obtain publications from Delhi’s publishing houses that I could not have located
otherwise. In addition to the Sangeet Natak archives I was also able to make use of the University of
Delhi’s vast library resources and take extensive notes from relevant works which are unavailable to
me in the UK. I was further able to discuss my ongoing research with leading resident academics in
the field such as Dr. Poonam Trivedi, a University of Delhi lecturer and herself an alumna of the
Shakespeare Institute, my own UofB department. Her assistance proved incredibly valuable in both
facilitating my access to and directing me towards key print and audiovisual resources I would
otherwise have missed – not to mention the invaluable insights I gained through our meetings.
I must also mention the warm hospitality I enjoyed from her and the other lecturers at the I.P.
College campus, where I was accommodated and fed an unending array of delicious Indian food! The
length of the U21 placement at one month is perfect as it allowed me the chance to interact with
the students and make some friends during my stay. In between their exams and my research we
enjoyed a few evening outings: sightseeing among the Delhi museums, monuments, and national
handicraft emporia; sampling the street food; or watching the latest Bollywood adaptation of Romeo
and Juliet! I was also able to give the undergraduates an information session including brochures I
had brought from the Shakespeare Institute, and many students asked me for further details about
postgraduate studies in the UK.
A final exciting discovery for me was that UofB has an office base in Delhi. It was a bit surreal to see
a tiny corner of Birmingham in Delhi, complete with the familiar brochures, posters, logo and photos
of Old Joe! I enjoyed meeting the staff there and having the opportunity to attend a session of a
higher education summit where one of our visiting staff from Birmingham, Ms. Marilyn Miles, spoke
on an international panel.
My stay in Delhi was overall an unforgettable experience, both personally and academically. I was
able to immerse myself in an intensely focused and fruitful exploration of both the theoretical and
practical aspects of my research, and I was given the opportunity to access unique primary and
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secondary sources, and meet experts without whose input my thesis would be incomplete. My visit
to the University of Delhi would not have been possible without the support of the U21 scholarship,
which has also succeeded in fostering subsequent networking as intended – multiple international
links have since been created and strengthened between the wider research community
surrounding the two universities.
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