Modernity is a transforming experience and yet it remains an enigma in many aspects of Asian theatre scholarship. Not only are theories of modernity extraordinarily complex in Asia, they also show asymmetric and non-synchronic relationships with European and Anglo-American modernism. These are regional modernities as models of resistance to colonialism and dictatorship. They overturn Western-centric notions of modernity as the totalizing and authentic model (see Denise Varney, Peter Eckersall, Chris Hudson and Barbara Hatley, Theatre and Performance in the Asia-Pacific, 2013, pp. 4–5). Modern Asian Theatre and Performance 1900–2000 is a valuable addition to scholarship about this important topic. The book is the welcome result of the combined expertise of Kevin J. Wetmore Jr, Siyuan Liu and Erin B. Mee, known for their work on Japanese, Chinese and Indian modern theatres, respectively. The authors’ aim is to introduce readers to a diversity of Asian theatre-makers and provide ‘analysis, interpretation, historical context [and] cultural context’ and ‘allow the reader to see the larger map of modern Asia’ (p. 15).

This is not primarily a theoretical text, although in the introduction there is a discussion of the evolution of modern drama as a hybrid theatre connected to intellectuals and political activists. The book is encyclopedic in its coverage and is helpful in distilling key events, plays and artists into a coherent narrative without oversimplifying the complexity of this task. The topic areas of the book are diverse, with chapters focusing broadly on theatre histories before and after the upheavals of war and independence. Two chapters on Japan look at the theatre at the beginning of the twentieth century, the era of Japanese militarism, the occupation of 1945–52, and the 1960s and beyond. Examples include representative figures from the 1950s to the 1990s, including Abe Kōbō and Mishima Yukio, and ‘underground’ (angura) luminaries such as Suzuki Tadashi and Terayama Shūji. The discussion concludes with a brief mention of contemporary playwright–director Okada Toshiki. Two chapters on Chinese drama outline developments prior to and after the formation of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, with a third chapter focusing on developments in Taiwan and Hong Kong (e.g. Taiwan's Festival of Experimental Plays and Danny Yung in Hong Kong). As shown here, modern drama is sometimes at variance with state politics, and an ‘apolitical’ entertainment industry has also been encouraged, such as a commercial theatre of musicals in China. The final major case study, Indian theatre, is examined in two chapters from the perspective of cosmopolitan modern drama (with an exceptionally long history dating from 1821) and activist theatres post-independence.

While the book triangulates around these modern theatre histories, and most of the detailed discussion is to be found in the chapters dealing with this material, there are also chapters and sections on Korea and South East Asia. The account of South Korea offers a succinct history of the developments of modern drama prior to and after the end of military rule in 1987. It also describes the popularity of mass spectacles in North Korea as a highly rehearsed, doubtless obligatory, display of passionate amateurism. The final chapter is a bare-bones survey of modern South East Asian drama with longer sections for Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia and short entries for other countries such as Cambodia and Thailand.

Modern Asian Theatre and Performance 1900–2000 is to be commended for its wealth of detail and clarity of expression. It is an effective teaching text while also being a good point of reference for specialists who often do not know about theatres adjacent to their own area of expertise.