Abstract
This article seeks to destabilise the categories of the regional, national and foreign by juxtaposing several strands of performance history in colonial India. The first of these is the strong presence of military theatricals in the subcontinent; the second is the continuous passage of girls and women often as solo performers or as a couple, through British India and Ceylon, eastwards and westwards; and the third, the growth of new forms of vernacular theatre under colonial auspices. Select examples are drawn here from the 1860s–1880s to index the performance range, establish links with regimental theatres and outline the popular travel routes to highlight crucial points of intersection between these strands.