Abstract

This review research paper explores the study between the ancient Indian drama from The Natyashastra and contemporary ongoing virtual theatre practices, particularly through the lens of the farcical play Bhagavadajjukam serving as the medium. The paper serves as a critical analysis of researcher David Hughes, where he has applied a practice-based methodology in his research. Hughes created a virtual environment of the play and then conducted workshops with the participants. Later, he codified a thematic analysis of participants feedback. The liminal, emotional, and metatheatrical principles of the Natyashastra can be effectively adapted into virtual environments. By incorporating rituals, rasa theory, and narrative structure, the VR setting successfully evoked Hasya rasa and fostered a sense of communitas among participants. The “peacock moment” served as a key breakthrough, illustrating how classical humour can be meaningfully re-experienced in digital space, enhancing emotional engagement and embodied performance. This review paper highlights the gaps that were not identified or mentioned in Hughes’s paper. Hughes is only focused on one play and one rasa. This doesn’t give an understanding of the impact of other unexplored Rasas on people and how they consume them in a virtual environment. Different rasas leaves different kinds of impacts on people, which is strongly associated with the narrative play or drama in this context. The paper also serves as a scope for future research where researchers could focus on different plays from different regions, different timelines, and different languages, and then study the impact of understanding by the audience. A comparative study between culturally aware and unaware participants – such as Indians and Westerners, or those familiar and unfamiliar with Natyashastra – could reveal how background influences engagement and interpretation in virtual performances.