Leela Venkataraman (2015). Indian Classical Dance: The Renaissance and Beyond. Niyogi Books. ISBN 9789383098644. The story is enacted purely by the movements of the hands (mudras), facial expressions (rasas) and body movements - there are 24 basic mudras. Some characters adorn their left fingers with long steel or silver nails to enhance the clarity of the hand gestures

The Japanese performance arts Kabuki/ Noh and Chinese performance art Peking Opera are similar in many ways to Kathakali. a b c Farley P. Richmond; Darius L. Swann; Phillip B. Zarrilli (1993). Indian Theatre: Traditions of Performance. Motilal Banarsidass. pp.320–321. ISBN 978-81-208-0981-9. Kapila Vatsyayan (2008). Aesthetic theories and forms in Indian tradition. Munshiram Manoharlal. ISBN 978-8187586357. OCLC 286469807.Eric C. Rath (2004). The Ethos of Noh: Actors and Their Art. Harvard University Asia Center. pp.1–27. ISBN 978-0-674-01397-1.

Farley P. Richmond; Darius L. Swann; Phillip B. Zarrilli (1993). Indian Theatre: Traditions of Performance. Motilal Banarsidass. p.87. ISBN 978-81-208-0981-9. D. Appukuttan Nair, Ayyappa K. Paniker (1993), Kathakali: The Art of the Non-Worldly, Marg Publications, ISBN 978-81-85026-22-0Alice Boner (1935), "Kathakali", Journal of the Indian Society of Oriental Art, June 1935, pp 1–14. Kathakali is structured around plays called Attakatha (literally, "enacted story" [3]), written in Sanskritized Malayalam. [28] [30] These plays are written in a particular format that helps identify the "action" and the "dialogue" parts of the performance. [30] The Sloka part is the metrical verse, written in third person – often entirely in Sanskrit - describing the action part of the choreography. [3] [30] The Pada part contains the dialogue part. [30] These Attakatha texts grant considerable flexibility to the actors to improvise. Historically, all these plays were derived from Hindu texts such as the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Bhagavata Purana. [31] [32] 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]

Richard Schechner (2010). Between Theater and Anthropology. University of Pennsylvania Press. pp.17–18. ISBN 978-0-8122-0092-8. The play is in the form of verses that are metered and lyrical, sung by vocalists whose voice has been trained to various melodies ( ragas), music and synchronized with the dance-acting on the stage. [53] The vocalists not only deliver the lines, but help set the context and express the inner state of the character by modulating their voice. For example, anger is expressed by the use of sharp high voice and pleading is expressed by the use of a sad tone. [54] Tarla Mehta (1995). Sanskrit Play Production in Ancient India. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-1057-0. Krishnanattam is the likely immediate precursor of Kathakali, states Zarrilli. [24] Krishnanattam is dance-drama art form about the life and activities of Hindu god Krishna, that developed under the sponsorship of Sri Manavedan Raja, the ruler of Calicut (1585-1658 AD). [24] The traditional legend states that Kottarakkara Thampuran (also known as Vira Kerala Varma) requested the services of a Krishnanattam troupe, but his request was denied. So Kottarakkara Thampuran created another art form based on Krishnanattam, called it Ramanattam because the early plays were based on the Hindu epic Ramayana, which over time diversified beyond Ramayana and became popular as 'Kathakali'. [24]

The Kidangoor style is one of the two, that developed in Travancore, and it is strongly influenced by Kutiyattam, while also drawing elements of Ramanattam and Kalladikkotan. [65] It is traditionally attributed to Nalanunni, under the patronage of Utram Tirunal Maharaja (1815-1861). [65] Farley P. Richmond; Darius L. Swann; Phillip B. Zarrilli (1993). Indian Theatre: Traditions of Performance. Motilal Banarsidass. p.327. ISBN 978-81-208-0981-9.