Xenophobia and subaltern theatre in post-colonial African identities

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study is a rhetorical criticism of the relationship between theatre, the concept of subalternity and xenophobia in post-colonial African identities. It places theatre in the frame of nativism, belonging and migration in Africa. Cases of apartheid and colonial system in South Africa and Zimbabwe, respectively, demonstrate the use of theatre in advancing antagonism against colonialism by using topics of identities and nationhood. This characteristic has manifested in contemporary subaltern theatre in challenging xenophobia, political rhetoric and ethno-politico narratives in post-independent Africa. The study analyses Burn Mukwerekwere Burn (2008), a play by Blessing Hungwe based on the 2008 xenophobic attacks in South Africa.