Theatre of the Rooted and Theatre of the Uprooted: Comparing Multiculturalism in African and Caribbean Theatre

Abstract

IntroductionTHE VERY FOUNDATION OF THE CARIBBEAN society was multicultural. Correspond- ingly, avowed intention and constant declaration of leading lights of Caribbean theatre, from Derek Walcott through Errol Hill to Ron Williams, has been promotion and legitimising, through theatrical medium, of multicultural status of Caribbean. On other side of Atlantic, 'international multiculturalism'1 has long been foisted on native Africa by related factors of history, resulting what Ali Mazrui describes as a his 1986 film documentary series The Africans - A Triple Heritage. This triple heritage is generally appraised at levels of ethnicity, language and culture - or traditional African Islamic culture and Western culture, according to paradigm laid out by Mazrui.2However, such a broad layout of similarities history tends to conceal significant differences manifestation of multiculturalism two regions and their corresponding theatres. Multiculturalism Caribbean is integral, an inevitable part of life, and therefore always an integral part of Caribbean theatricality. In African theatre, on other hand, international multiculturalism is treated as incidental, intrusive and not always part of continent's history, a tag indicative of a contest of cultures. In this contest, indigenous culture appears to gain an upper hand through culturally committed theatrical craftsmanship. This essay pursues theme of diversity unity with regard to practice of multiculturalism African and Caribbean theatre and corresponding issue of identity.The term multiculturalism itself has not always been free of contention, and has recent times been viewed from contradictory perspectives. The search for parameters of multiculturalism theatre may therefore be befuddled ab initio by seeming ambivalence of definition(s) of term. The dilemma of multiculturalism theatre has rested precisely on this ambivalence.3 On one hand, multiculturalism refers to reality of a culturally diverse world, resulting diverse aesthetics, and need for mutual respect on part of cohabiting cultures. Recent definitions emphasise a positivist perspective of this term as an advantageous phenomenon; for example, Andrew Heywood considers multiculturalism to be either a descriptive term, as a general reference to cultural diversity, or a normative term, as an endorsement or celebration of such diversity.« On other hand, multiculturalism has also been seen to mean, especially when viewed from a Western, hegemonist or globalist standpoint, the assimilation of other groups into a base culture. 5 The distinction here is between two perspectives of multiculturalism: so-called cultural mosaic or cultural pluralism perspective, and melting pot or cultural assimilation perspective.6The sharp divide perspectives on multiculturalism is manifested at several societal levels, including level of politics and that of literary and popular as nations and communities grapple with theoretical purport of term and its practical implications. For example, recently, British prime minister David Cameron denounced thirty years of official multiculturalism and accommodation of non-British cultures on their own terms Britain. His contention was, and remains, that Britain had tolerated unfettered expression of different cultures for too long and in ways that run counter to our values. The panacea proposed by him, then, is a more muscular liberalism, which would involve, for example, making sure that people learn English . . . and . . . kids [of all backgrounds] are taught British history properly at school. Britain, Cameron would also insist, cannot continue hiding under cloak of cultural sensitivity or ignoring [contradictory cultural] differences ... with a hapless shrug of shoulders, saying, 'It's their isn't it? …