Western Theatre in Global Contexts supports decolonization of pedagogical and methodological practices in teaching theatre. It also advocates for decentring the dominant Western canon of texts prevalent throughout the world in defining global theatre and its practices. Editors Jillian Campana and Yasmine Marie Jahanmir contend that these shifts are necessary to promote a more diverse space for representation and reception on the part of students, educators, practitioners and the public, especially in places where Western theatre texts, theories and pedagogies lack connection with the local community. The authors reject the notion that Western canonical work is superior and/or universal and advocate for expanded critical readings of such texts by considering how issues such as social differences and power structures influence cultural production and the dissemination of knowledge in an increasingly globalized world.

Referencing their experiences teaching theatre in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, sixteen contributors in the book make significant interventions in discussing how educators can navigate tensions between teaching Western theatre in a non-Western context while accounting for local traditions and practices. They discuss the challenges they have faced in their discipline through excellent and diverse case studies. Educators in the field of foreign languages may be familiar with the myriad of pedagogical texts on intercultural communication and foreign-language teaching methodologies that promote intercultural competence in the classroom. Recent examples include Fatima Pirbhhai-Illich, Shauneen Pete and Fran Martin, eds., Culturally Responsive Pedagogy: Working towards Decolonization, Indigeneity and Interculturalism (2017), and Zsuzsanna Ittzés Abrams, Intercultural Communication and Language Pedagogy: From Theory to Practice (2020), which discuss several of the issues raised in Western Theatre in Global Contexts. However, one would be hard pressed to find a pedagogical text of the same calibre discussing culturally responsive intercultural communication strategies and pedagogy specifically within the field of theatre.

The book is divided into four parts that each include case studies from different countries. In all, the analyses present a diverse cross-section of geographical locations and contexts. The first section explains the framework and situates the following discussions. A salient point from this section by Marvin Carlson, in the chapter ‘Similarities and Differences in Teaching Western Based Theatre in China and the Arab World’, that echoes across the book is that ‘one must at a rather fundamental level deal with the ghosts of colonialism’ (p. 23) when teaching Western theatre, particularly while working in spaces touched by colonialism. It is worth noting that all the geographic locations presented in this book have been marked by colonialism, a legacy that manifests itself in many different ways throughout the text. For Carlson, challenging the legacy of colonialism means considering theatre from a global rather than a colonial perspective. In other words, Western theatre is one among many varieties of theatre that are all unique and significant outside a hierarchy of perceived greatness. The second part discusses performances, focusing on case studies of practitioners. The third part considers pedagogies for Western theatre outside the anglophone world, focusing on the classroom as the site for consideration. The final section explores how theories are considered and put into practice in the classroom and in performance, touching on issues such as ethics, hybridity, accessibility and marginality. The contributors present a wide spread of locations, topics and approaches and take the reader on a global tour of texts and case studies. There is no universal solution presented to the issues raised. Rather, the contributors reveal a plethora of specific, individual experiences describing ‘global theatre’.

Western Theatre in Global Contexts would be helpful to educators in the humanities and fine arts to learn more about postcolonialism and globalization. It is thought-provoking and directed to theatre practitioners and educators working outside the West. However, it would be especially illuminating for educators working within Western classrooms to consider ways in which the decolonizing practices described could be applied to lend greater diversity to curricula and methodologies in culturally sensitive ways. At the core of this book's project is a call for educators and practitioners to reconsider their positionality regarding their literary and theatre traditions as part of a global context to promote empathy, equity and collaboration.