IV. On the Balinese Theater Summary and Analysis

Balinese theater realizes an extreme and pure version of theater, through which everything exists only because it is performed on stage. In Balinese theater, voice and speech are given an entirely new role, in part because the power of the director, or 'metteur en scène,' of a play is absolute. Gestures, coded by many centuries of traditions, manage to remain effective because they are rooted in centuries of spiritual and metaphysical study.

In Balinese theater, the author of the scenario that drives Occidental theater is replaced by a metteur en scène. The latter becomes the master of a sacred ceremony that happens solely on stage. For this purpose, a Balinese theater play creates a language designed solely to convey a series of pure and almost magical scenic images. The resulting...