Gabriel Levine examines a variety of contemporary collective practices that experiment with traditional forms as a means of reclaiming and reinventing them within systems dominated by settler ideology. Levine characterizes such practices as “radical vernaculars,” shared acts that reimagine living in the world through “collective ways of doing, making, and thinking that are not sanctioned by ‘official’ cultural institutions” (4). Levine’s first chapter is largely theoretical and examines the ways that these practices utilize techniques of translation, experimentation, and embodied repetition to reclaim traditional acts. The book’s subsequent case studies focus on New York City’s annual Purim Ball, the audiovisual performances of the Indigenous DJ collective A Tribe Called Red, and contemporary practices of do‐it‐yourself home fermentation. By extrapolating practices from a variety of traditions and artistic disciplines, Levine identifies the contextual and functional similarities shared by such acts. Collective embodiment, repetition, and reinvention of vernacular practice, he argues, have the power to reclaim traditional ways of being from capitalist and colonial structures.

In this book, Gabriel Varghese examines the work of key contemporary theatre companies operating in the West Bank. By considering Palestinian theatre practices in the context of the ongoing colonization of the region, Varghese identifies the ways that these theatres contribute to the formation of an “abject counterpublic” that contests Zionist hegemony while reclaiming Palestinian narratives (2). Early in the book, Varghese discusses the cultural and artistic histories of West Bank theatres, including Al‐Kasaba Theatre, Ashtar Theatre, Al‐Harah Theatre, The Freedom Theatre, and Al‐Rowwad. In later chapters, he analyzes contemporary Palestinian theatre practices that circumvent and refute Zionist discourse by seeking solidarity, support, and artistic collaborations with international theatremakers. Additionally, Varghese examines the work of female theatre artists working in Palestine, whose projects interrogate the ways in which Palestinian women are perceived both internationally and within traditionally patriarchal communities.

Burcu Yasemin Şeyben examines the oppressive challenges faced by Turkish theatre institutions since the AKP (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, or Justice and Development Party) came to power in 2002. In doing so, Şeyben provides thought‐provoking analyses of the ways that authoritarian policies like those enacted by the AKP affect artistic and cultural institutions. Şeyben first examines the history of theatre systems in Turkey from the Ottoman Empire to the Turkish Republic. She then considers the subsidized Istanbul City Theatre and the State Theatre, focusing on the changing policies, regulations, and political ideologies that have shaped the institutions over time. Further chapters identify the unique issues encountered by independent, municipal, and commercial theatres that operate without government support, as well as Kurdish theatres that have been shuttered or forced to operate in exile from Turkey. Rather than focusing solely on the AKP’s effects on Turkish theatrical institutions, Şeyben also highlights the ways that these institutions have resisted authoritarian oppression.

By presenting a variety of case studies focused on East Asian nations, Peterson investigates how the empowered presentation of national identity at world’s fairs affects perceptions of that nation’s narrative, both by international audiences and by the nation itself. This book examines the self‐representation of Asian nations at world’s fairs from 1915–2015, beginning with the exhibitions put forward by Japan and China at the 1915 Panama‐Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. Subsequent chapters track how these nations changed their exposition performances over time, focusing on Japan’s participation in the 1939–1940 New York World’s Fair and China’s presence at World Expo ’88 in Brisbane, Australia. Peterson also examines the 1964 –1965 New York World’s Fair, focusing on the participation of the Philippines and Indonesia, and on the 2015 Milan Exposition, with studies of the exhibitions compiled by South Korea and Thailand. By observing a century’s worth of evidence, Peterson exposes the ways that the changing public of Asian cultural performances reflects shifting political and cultural values, systems of government, and perceptions of self within these nations.

In this volume, editors Renganathan and Bhattacharya have assembled a collection of writing that demonstrates Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s contributions to Indian drama and performance. Known primarily as a poet, Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) was also an accomplished theatre artist, composing more than 40 plays in his lifetime. Tagore’s works spanned dramatic forms and genres, borrowing from both colonial and Indian performance traditions to create a broad catalogue of dramatic texts. In their introduction, Renganathan and Bhattacharya explain that through this synthesis Tagore sought to create “a kind of unification of diverse art forms of the world into a universally integrated whole” (2). However, they also posit that Tagore did so without compromising his cultural roots or privileging western forms over Indian performance traditions (9). This collection examines Tagore’s dramatic works within a variety of contexts, including discussions of the political, cultural, formal, and thematic elements at play within his work. Chapters also explore contemporary and filmic productions of Tagore’s plays.

In this thoroughly researched biography, Smalec presents an examination of the life and work of experimental theatre artist Ron Vawter (1948–1994), chronicling multiple decades of his contributions to New York’s downtown theatre scene. Beginning with his time as an actor and director in the student drama club at Siena College, the biography follows Vawter’s work with The Performance Group and the Wooster Group, in addition to the independent works he created in the years before his death from AIDS. Smalec notes how Vawter took part in the development of several aesthetic and conceptual performance techniques that became integral to the Wooster Group’s ongoing practice, including “the self‐based performance personae; task‐based scores as modes of developing character; acting as a form of ‘standing in’ for absent others […] and the company’s enduring attraction to media” (1). Smalec’s book utilizes archival material and years of oral interviews with Vawter’s family, friends, and collaborators to compose an exhaustive portrait of a key figure in US American theatre’s recent history.