Ananda Lal (born 1955) is an Indian academic and theatre critic. He is the son of P. Lal, founder of Writers Workshop, one of India's oldest creative writing publishers, established in 1958. He is Professor of English and Coordinator, Rabindranath Tagore Studies Centre (UGC), at the Jadavpur University, Calcutta. He also heads Writers Workshop now, translates from Bengali to English, is a theatre critic for The Telegraph (Calcutta) and directs university theatre.

His books include the "Oxford Companion to Indian Theatre" (2004, the first reference work in any language on that subject), "Rabindranath Tagore: Three Plays" (1987 and 2001, the first full-length study in English of Tagorean drama), "Theatres of India" (2009), "Twist in the Folktale" (2004), "Shakespeare on the Calcutta Stage" (2001) and "Rasa: The Indian Performing Arts" (1995).

Containing more than 700 entries and 250 illustrations, this comprehensive reference tool offers coverage for all of Indian theater, in its various regional languages. The entries focus on topics such as censorship, criticism, architecture, acting, festivals, lighting, mime, individual groups or companies, and genres.

Review

"Lal has assembled a useful compendium that surveys drama in India, historical and contemporary.... Designed to provide brief discussions of people, places, and concepts of theater in India, the encyclopedia provides a balanced perspective on India's rich dramatic traditions."--Choice