Kathakali (the word "kathakali" literally means "Story-Play") is one of the oldest theatre forms in the world, characteristic for the south Indian state of Kerala. It has a long tradition dating back to the 17th century. 

It is a group presentation, in which dancers take various roles in performances traditionally based on religious and nature themes from Hindu mythology, especially the two epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

Kathakali is widely recognizable for its distinctive costumes and sophisticated make up. Depending on a character the make up can be predominantly green (fhe faces of noble male characters, such as virtuous kings, the divine hero Rama etc.), green slashed with red marks on the cheeks (characters of high birth who have an evil streak, such as the demon king Ravana) or predominantly red (extremely angry characters). All the make up's are made from natural materials: the white one is made from rice flour, the red from Vermillion and the black is made from sook.

The actors rely very heavily on hand gesture to convey the story. These hand gestures, known as mudra, are common through out much of classical Indian dance. The body movements and footwork are very rigourous. To attain such a high level of of flexibility and muscle control required for this art, a Kathakali dancer needs years of a strenuous training special body massages.

Although a traditional Kathakali performance is a major social event, which usually starts at dusk and lasts for the whole night culminating at the dawn hour, when Good finally conquers Evil, today sometimes it is modified for smaller urban audiences.