Negotiating Cultural Transformation in the Performance Practice of Narratives in Kenya

Abstract

ABSTRACT Culture is never static but continues to change. The narrative is one of the prosaic performances in cultures with an oral tradition. Such prosaic performances are culture bearers and signifiers. Change in societal setup has affected the contexts within which the narrative is performed. In Kenya, one of these contexts is at the Kenya National Drama and Film Festival (KNDFF). This paper interrogates the identity of the narrative at the KNDFF space in Kenya. The narrative is broken down into parts in order to identify and discuss the present state of each part. The parts are: guiding principles of performance practice of the narratives at KNDFF, narrative structure, themes and topical issues encapsulated in the narratives, songs and dances, narrative language use and narrative audiences. In addition, there is a comparison made between the performance practice of the narrative in the traditional context and that at the KNDFF. This paper then discusses how change has taken place in the narrative and how the process of cultural transformation has been negotiated in the performance practice of the narrative.