The traditional plays were long, many written to be performed all night, some such as those based on the Ramayana and the Mahabharata written to be performed for many sequential nights. However, others such as the Prahlada Charitham have been composed so that they can be performed within four hours. [59] Modern productions have extracted parts of these legendary plays, to be typically performed within 3 to 4 hours. [60] Offshoots and modern adaptations [ edit ] J. Harding; C. Rosenthal (2011). The Rise of Performance Studies: Rethinking Richard Schechner's Broad Spectrum. Palgrave Macmillan. p.178. ISBN 978-0-230-30605-9. The roots of Kathakali are unclear. Jones and Ryan state it is more than 500 years old. Kathakali emerged as a distinct genre of performance art during the 16th and 17th centuries in Kerala. [19] The roots of Kathakali, states Mahinder Singh, are more ancient and some 1500 years old. [20] Links to older performance arts: Kutiyattam and Krishnanattam [ edit ] FACT Jayadeva Varma a b Daugherty, Diane (2005). "The Pendulum of Intercultural Performance: Kathakalī King Lear at Shakespeare's Globe". Asian Theatre Journal. Johns Hopkins University Press. 22 (1): 52–72. doi: 10.1353/atj.2005.0004. S2CID 161340863.

Ewan Fernie (2005). Reconceiving the Renaissance: A Critical Reader. Oxford University Press. p.191. ISBN 978-0-19-926557-2. According to tradition, there are 101 classical Kathakali stories, although fewer than a third are performed on stage nowEric C. Rath (2004). The Ethos of Noh: Actors and Their Art. Harvard University Asia Center. pp.1–27. ISBN 978-0-674-01397-1. The character types, states Zarrilli, reflect the Guṇa theory of personalities in the ancient Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy. [44] There are three Guṇas, according to this philosophy, that have always been and continue to be present in all things and beings in the world. [45] These three Guṇas are sattva (goodness, constructive, harmonious, virtuous), rajas (passion, aimless action, dynamic, egoistic), and tamas (darkness, destructive, chaotic, viciousness). All of these three gunas (good, evil, active) are present in everyone and everything, it is the proportion that is different, according to the Hindu worldview. [45] [46] [47] The interplay of these gunas defines the character of someone or something, [45] and the costumes and face colouring in Kathakali often combines the various colour codes to give complexity and depth to the actor-dancers. [44] [48] Part of a series on The expressive part of the performance, which constitutes the dance-drama, is split into four types: Kalasham (major and most common), Iratti (special, used with battles-related Chempata rhythm), Thonkaram (similar to Iratti but different music), and Nalamiratti (used for exits or link between the chapters of the play). [51] Over five hundred Kathakali plays ( Aattakatha) exist, most of which were written before the 20th century. [56] Of these, about four dozen are most actively performed. [57] These plays are sophisticated literary works, states Zarrilli, and only five authors have written more than two plays. [57] The late 17th century Unnayi Variyar, in his short life, produced four plays which are traditionally considered the most expressive of the Kathakali playwrights. Typically, his four plays are performed on four nights, and they relate to the mythical Hindu love story of Nala and Damayanti. [57] The Nala-Damayanti story has roots in the texts of 1st millennium BCE and is found in the Mahabharata, but the Kathakali play version develops the characters, their inner states, the emotions and their circumstances far more than the older texts. [57] N Pani (2009), Hinduism, in Handbook of Economics and Ethics (Editors: Jan Peil and Irene Staveren), Edward Elgar, ISBN 978-1-84542-936-2, 216-221

Despite the links, Kathakali is different from temple-driven arts such as "Krishnanattam", Kutiyattam and others because unlike the older arts where the dancer-actor also had to be the vocal artist, Kathakali separated these roles allowing the dancer-actor to excel in and focus on choreography while the vocal artists focused on delivering their lines. [24] Kathakali also expanded the performance repertoire, style and standardized the costume making it easier for the audience to understand the various performances and new plays. [24] Repertoire [ edit ] D. Appukuttan Nair, Ayyappa K. Paniker (1993), Kathakali: The Art of the Non-Worldly, Marg Publications, ISBN 978-81-85026-22-0a b Farley P. Richmond; Darius L. Swann; Phillip B. Zarrilli (1993). Indian Theatre: Traditions of Performance. Motilal Banarsidass. pp.95–96. ISBN 978-81-208-0981-9. Kathakali ( IAST: Kathakaḷi Malayalam: കഥകളി pronunciation ⓘ) is a major form of classical Indian dance. [1] It is a "story game" genre of art, but one distinguished by the elaborately colourful make-up and costumes of the traditional male actor-dancers. [2] [3] [note 1] It is native to the Malayalam-speaking southwestern region of Kerala and is almost entirely practiced and appreciated by Malayali people. [2] [3] [5] Kathakali is one of the eight classical dances of India Hanuman in Kathakali (FACT Jayadeva Varma) The gender exclusivity is one of the significant differences between Kathakalī and other classical Indian dances which either included or favored female actor-dancers. [4]