Chongtham Jayanta Meetei

Co-founder, EX-Theatre Asia, Taiwan 

Lecture Title:
Role of Aesthetics in Rebuilding Society: Lessons from EX-Theatre Asia, Taiwan

Moderators: Rajkumar Bitesh Singh

Graduated with a diploma in dramatic art (specialized in acting) from National School of Drama (NSD), New Delhi, In 2000, he pursued his advanced studies in the Theater Training & Research Programme in Singapore and got exposure to Noh(Japan) Chinese opera (China) Wang yang wang (Indonesia). in 2006 went to Taiwan , where he co-founded EX-Theatre Asia with Lin Pei-Ann, and has been exploring  a theatre style beyond the language barrier which directly touch the soul.  His solid training in both traditional and modern acting enables him to transforms the Asian classic, the Western realism, the post-modern physical theatre and many other forms into his own unique contemporary theatrical aesthetics.

Throughout his career as an actor, director and trainer, Jayanta has taught acting in the different university of India and Taiwan, hosted theatre workshop, participated in 41 professional productions and directed above 30 plays.  He has been nominated by Taiwan Taihsin Art Awards several times, and invited to numerous international art festivals and performed in UK, Japan, Shanghai, Singapore and India etc. As an immigrant artist in Taiwan, Jayanta continue exploring the inter-cultural communication and experimenting a contemporary expression of actors’ physical movement, mixing the culture from Taiwan as well as the culture from all over Asia to create a novel contemporary theatrical aesthetic.

In 2018, Jayanta introduced the concept of “theatre of essence,” a discourse on theatrical aesthetics and actor training methodologies that highlight contemporary expressions of physical language. His insights into the theatre industry and vision for its future stress the importance of art in society and its role in fostering cultural exchange and understanding. Jayanta is a profoundly influential artist whose work enriches Taiwan’s cultural landscape and promotes the exchange and integration of Asian cultures.