Facts about Myanmar (formerly Burma)

Myanmar (formerly Burma) is an isolated country, both geographically and politically. It is separated from its neighbours to the west, north, and east by mountains and is bordered by the Indian Ocean in the south. Until the late 18^th century it expanded politically, but the 19^th and 20^th centuries have been a period of deliberate isolation, a situation that has still continued during the regime of the present military junta (since 1962).

As a result of the isolation, some archaic forms of theatre have been preserved, free from direct outside influences. Theatre and dance did not, however, develop in a vacuum. Early contacts with Indian culture played a major role in the development of the dance, theatre, arts, literature, and music of Myanmar, and later, in the late 18^th and the early 19^th centuries, the contacts with Thailand also influenced the theatrical traditions.