Theatre In Africa Research Articles

The agentive power of play in theatre for young people: a Zimbabwean case study

Popular arts are not only accessible to most people, but their stylistic features are also a crucial scholarly site of attention. Liz Gunner [1990. “Introduction: Forms of Popular Culture and the Struggle for Space.” Journal of Southern African Studies 16 (2): 199–206] regards African popular art as an empowering agency that can give people a new sense of control over their own lives. Through processes of improvisation, enactment and dialogue, such popular arts create spaces for participants to not only express themselves, but also to exercise power and authority over forces of oppression and repression. In African storytelling the trickster narrative is one of the aesthetic categories and is indeed the trope from which popular theatre in Africa has derived most of its inspiration. Using the illustrative paradigm of a popular theatre performance entitled, Vana Vana (Children are children), this article seeks to demonstrate how symbolic inversion was used to address topical issues associated with child abuse in Zimbabwe. The performance focuses on the violation of children’s rights through child labour, domestic violence, sexual abuse, child soldiers and ‘street children.’ The article examines these forms of child abuse to see how Vana Vana operates as a performative discourse that deploys trickster narrative to critique actual violations of children’s rights. The article also examines the agentive power of the young theatre facilitators and performers who were at the centre of devising the popular theatre performance through symbolic inversion. What the paper demonstrates, then, is a classic example of the performative power of popular youth theatre and its agency to critique and hold accountable a dominant culture that endangers the lives and futures of young people.

Theatre as transcultural capital in the Sino-Nigerian relational context: cultural celebrations at the Confucius Institute in Lagos, Nigeria

Studies on Afro-Asian relations have mainly focused on the grand narratives of economic, academic, and diplomatic engagements at the macro level, while discourses on the micro level cultural interactions have been given very little attention. This study, thus, addresses these fault lines by investigating exchanges at this level using the case study of theatre performance at the Confucius Institute in Lagos, Nigeria. The study examined how the use of theatre is integral to the Sino-Nigerian cultural exchanges by means of the teaching curriculum and cultural celebrations with specific focus on the Spring Festival. The study specifically investigated how performances such as drama, music, dance, martial arts and magic, project the Chinese culture in line with Mao Zedong’s and Yoruba functionalist approaches to theatre. It contends that Chinese theatre in Africa serves as an integral cultural component of the Sino-Nigerian economic, diplomatic and academic exchanges while advocating an infusion of a multiculturalist approach to the festival in which both cultures recognize and respect the ‘other’ in line with Hanban’s objective of building a harmonious world.

Acts of Recognition: The Political Dimension of Terminology

Abstract This article uses theories on the Politics of Recognition to attach a political dimension to terminology. More than a practice that facilitates communication in rehearsal or studio situations, terminology is a tool that aids in the recognition of one’s work and identity. Two case studies frame the discussion, namely, certain scholarly material written about theatre in Africa and the laboratorial practice developed by Frank Camilleri, a practitioner-academic whose work has featured in recent publications. (These choices are framed around the theories on recurrent practices as developed by Michel De Certeau.) Two terminological approaches are delineated, namely, the appropriation of terms and the formulation of alternative nomenclatures. The relevance of terminology to contemporary discourses on hybridity, creation of lineages and academic accreditation is also evaluated.

From Oral Literature to Performance Analysis: Towards an Aesthetic Paradigm Shift*

*This article has been developed from a paper delivered at the International Federation for Theatre Research (IFTR/FIRT) Conference on ‘Theatre in Africa – Africa in the Theatre’ held at the Univer...

Editorial: Wherein the articles of this issue and some new developments for TRI are introduced

In the summer of 2007 the annual conference of the International Federation of Theatre Research (IFTR/FIRT) met for the first time in Africa. Hosted by Stellenbosch University in South Africa, it was probably the first international theatre conference of its kind on the continent, enabling scholars and practitioners from all over the world as well as from many African countries to present their work on the conference theme: ‘Theatre in Africa – Africa in the Theatre’. This issue of TRI opens with two articles which reflect the deep interest among non-African scholars in the latest developments on African stages as well as the challenge of depicting its complex state of affairs from within. Both contributions examine strategies of subversion mobilized by theatre to create continuity and identity through different readings of the historical past.

Africa! (Re)source of theatre—The 50th International Federation for Theatre Research (IFTR) Conference, Stellenbosch. 10–14 July 2007

This was a significant IFTR conference for it was not only taking place on the African continent but, more importantly, it was also about African theatre, as the theme of the conference explicitly pronounced: ''Theatre in Africa: Africa in the Theatre. So Africa became the site, the content and the meaning of the conference's performance. Africa was both source and resource of theatre scholarship.

The Power of Double Vision: Tradition and Social Intervention in African Puppet Performance

The appeal of the puppet lies partly in its dual nature: it is at once a representative object without life while at the same time it enacts the imagined life with which it is endowed by the puppeteer. Marie Kruger argues that this duality makes puppetry a uniquely effective way of questioning the very traditional values it appears to embody, and so of stimulating a sense of the need for social change. She relates her argument to the long tradition of puppetry among the Bamana people of Mali, and specifically to the performance of the Bin Sogo bo, an animal masquerade in which the ‘characters’ adumbrate human qualities with effective ambiguity. Marie Kruger is Chair of the Department of Drama at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, where puppetry is offered as a performance option. She is the author of Puppetry: a Guide for Beginners and has also published in the South Africa Theatre Journal. Over the past twenty years she has directed numerous puppet productions for all ages, and is currently leading a research project to document the nature and application of African puppet traditions.

A History of Theatre in Africa. Edited by Martin Banham. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004, pp. xvii + 478; $140 cloth.

One of the greatest challenges to teaching world theatre history in the United States is that the vast majority of survey history books spend two dozen chapters on the theatre of the West, giving the theatres of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East a single chapter each at best. In addition, there have to date been no comprehensive histories of African theatre covering the entire continent, Africa north of the Sahara being linked for cultural reasons with the Middle East instead of geographically with the rest of the continent. A History of Theatre in Africa, edited by the pioneer of African-theatre scholarship, Martin Banham, is an excellent, if uneven, redressing of those imbalances.

A History of Theatre in Africa, and: Playing for Life: Performance in Africa in the Age of AIDS, and: Theatre and Empowerment: Community Drama on the World Stage (review)

Reviewed by: A History of Theatre in Africa, and: Playing for Life: Performance in Africa in the Age of AIDS, and: Theatre and Empowerment: Community Drama on the World Stage Loren Kruger A History of Theatre in Africa. Edited by Martin Banham. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004; pp. xvii + 478. $130.00 cloth. Playing for Life: Performance in Africa in the Age of AIDS. By Louise M. Bourgault. Durham: Carolina Academic Press, 2003; pp. xxvii + 315. $48.00 paper. Theatre and Empowerment: Community Drama on the World Stage. Edited by Richard Boon and Jane Plastow. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004; pp. xi + 267. $75.00 cloth. While several regional studies of theatre in Africa have appeared recently, A History of Theatre in Africa is the first to assemble essays on theatre across the continent, from South Africa at the tip to Egypt and the Maghreb in the north, from the Cape Verde Islands in the west through Nigeria and Kenya to Madagascar in the east. Since most of these essays conclude in the 1990s, this book can be complemented by Playing for Life, which documents performance dealing with the topical problem of AIDS, and by Theatre for Empowerment, which includes essays both on Africa and the African diaspora. A History of Theatre in Africa offers a commendable range of views documenting relatively understudied theatre in, for instance, Lusophone Africa (Luís Mitras) or the Indian Ocean islands of Réunion and Mauritius (Roshni Mooneeram), alongside better-known performance cultures in Ghana (James Gibbs), Tanzania (Amandina Lihamba), Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Botswana, and Namibia (David Kerr), Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, and other francophone countries (John Conteh-Morgan). These articles stand out because they combine comprehensive historical coverage and critical analysis of the translation of seemingly disparate cultural practices as theatre, whether identified as traditional (ngoma) or modern (concert or concert party) or, more likely, syncretic (ingoma ebusuku: music at night, or urban performance); they also challenge the clichés of academic discourse. Kerr highlights as the chief "conceptual boulder" the difficulty of recovering the history of "indigenous performing arts" (265) and their ongoing influence on repertoires disseminated by spoken or bodily rather than written transmission. These articles rise to the challenge, broadening the scope of "theatre" to include indigenous and syncretic forms as well as imported literary drama, while also tracking the ways in which this syncresis has been contested. Kamal Salhi's account of performance in the Maghreb countries of Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria disputes the received idea that Islam always suppressed human representation, including that of actors in performance. Gibbs traces the evolution of the practices associated with the term "concert party" in Ghana and Lihamba, showing how a range of performance forms from dance, beni, lelemama, beni ngoma, and music, such as taarab, marked the multiethnic dimensions (Swahili, Luo, also Arab and Gujurati) of Tanzania. By contrast, Conteh-Morgan shows how the contested nature of "francophonie" has, on the one hand, produced a transnational "school drama" published, taught, and staged from Senegal through Côte d'Ivoire to Cameroon and shown at festivals like the Marché des arts du spectacle africain (87), but on the other hand, has obscured the diversity of local forms whether "recreational" or "devotional" (89). Other contributions provide useful chronicles, but do not engage critically with their own assumptions. Nigeria's prominence and the contentious diversity of its Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruban regions might have prompted a more probing article than the one offered by Dapo Adelugba and Olu Obafemi, who focus mostly on Yoruba traveling theatre. While these troupes may have dominated the field as well as academic research, the work of Karin Barber and others suggests not only more regional diversity but also key intersections between theatre and new media, as more traveling theatre troupes turn to video production. This shift is important not only because it comes out of a longer, if uneven, association with other media, but also because this association is likely to affect future styles of performance as well as live and recorded production. The articles on Tanzania, Ghana, and Southern Africa already acknowledge this cross-fertilization; other likely cases for the mutual influence of theatre...

A History of Theatre in Africa. Edited by Martin Banham. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Pp. xvii + 478. £80; $130 Hb History and Theatre in Africa. Edited by Yvette Hutchison and Eckhard Breitinger. Bayreuth: University of Bayreuth, 2000. Pp. 216 + illus. €14.99 Pb Contemporary Nigerian Theatre. By Olu Obafemi. Bayreuth: University of Bayreuth, 1996. Pp. 293 + illus.

<b>A History of Theatre in Africa</b>. Edited by <b>Martin Banham</b>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Pp. xvii + 478. £80; $130 Hb <b>History and Theatre in Africa</b>. Edited by <b>Yvette Hutchison</b> and <b>Eckhard Breitinger</b>. Bayreuth: University of Bayreuth, 2000. Pp. 216 + illus. €14.99 Pb <b>Contemporary Nigerian Theatre</b>. By <b>Olu Obafemi</b>. Bayreuth: University of Bayreuth, 1996. Pp. 293 + illus.

A History of theatre in Africa

A History of theatre in Africa

An introductory placing of South African theatre in the African context

Summary The article provides a broad overview of the forms and elements which have contributed to the progression of drama in Africa, and simultaneously indicates the position of South African drama within this extensive context. Much attention has been devoted to pinpointing existing similarities and differences which may mainly be ascribed to South Africa's unique socio‐political character. The conclusions drawn could have a significant bearing on future trends in the development of theatre in Africa as a whole.

Feminist theater in Africa: Will it play in Ouagadougou?

This paper attempts to bring together theater for development, the situation of rural women in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and feminist theory and practice through a discussion of the uses of theater as a means of empowering women. Performance is often used in the so‐called Third World countries to raise consciousness, to educate, and to problem solve. Women in these countries are at the bottom rung of the social, political, and economic ladder and suffer from many health problems caused by such factors as domestic violence, excision, inadequate nutrition, high birthrates, alcoholism, and labor‐intensive duties. Feminist theater, or performance with a feminist content, could be used as a strategy to raise women's awareness and consciousness of their situation. The paper examines women and development from a feminist perspective to see if the Western theories of feminism could be used to improve the situation of Third World women. There is also a discussion of the history of political theater, or thea...

“LEST ONE GOOD CUSTOM SHOULD CORRUPT THE WORLD:” AFRICAN THEATRE AND THE “HOLY” CANON

ABSTRACT Taking a look at Western and African theatres through the ages, the paper examines the beginnings of theatrical canons and the attitude of conservative scholars to new theatrical forms. It draws particular attention to Plato, Hegel, Brockett, and early colonial theatre in Africa, on the one hand, and the innovative theatrical form of the Zambuko-Izibuko of Zimbabwe in which gender, race, production methods and general non-conformity militate against the holy grounds of the canon, on the other hand. Rejecting the narrow definition of canonical theatre as “common culture,” the paper argues for theatrical experimentations and for canonical flexibility and inclusiveness to make the theatre more relevant to the different cultures of the world. There is no hesitation in using the canon to argue against the canon, as the paper shows in Alfred, Lord Tennyson's “Morte D'Arthur.”

Plays, Possession, and Rock-and-Roll: Political Theatre in Africa

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1146214?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents.

Theater as Praxis: Discursive Strategies in African Popular Theater

Although over the last decade there has been a considerable growth in African theater research, the majority of such work has confined itself to the analysis of traditional theater practices or to that of contemporary literary theater. While acknowledging the functional dimensions of African theater, this research has focused on the aesthetics of African performance. When the social dimensions of theater have been evoked, they have been asserted mainly in terms of the propositional value of theatrical content. Playscripts have been analyzed for propositional claims and thematic concerns, and social critiques have then been constructed on such analyses. This essay presents an analysis distinct from that critical trend. It examines neither traditional theatrical practices nor contemporary literary theater but rather an ambiguous theatrical practice that can be labeled popular theater. The first section of the paper discusses the concept of the popular and suggests that it is best understood as a functional discourse which can legitimate or subvert the existing power structures of society. The second section focuses on the ideas of Paulo Freire, the Brazilian adult educator whose work provides the theoretical basis for most popular theater projects in Africa. The essay then analyzes the discursive construction of popular theater in various African contexts including Botswana, Zambia, and Nigeria. Through the history of popular theater in Africa, the paper shows the growth of popular theater theory. The last section, on the Kamiriithu production of Ngaahika Ndeenda, illustrates some of these theoretical claims.

Meanwhile in Toronto ... / 2: Via Newfoundland and Africa

Sydney, Cape Breton, May 1987 /1 am moderating a panel on theatre in Africa at the Standin’ the Gaff festival. Before the panel begins we teach the participants several African games, chants and dances. Oga Abah, who teaches drama at Nigeria’s Amadu Bello University, leads us in a round of “Che Che Kule,” a children’s game from Mali. Oga and I both learned the game in the village of Karamazonda in Zimbabwe. I taught the game to villagers in Zambia, Oga uses it in Nigeria. Ross Kidd has taught it in a popular theatre training workshop in Edmonton. This is the stuff of popular theatre workshops: sharing simple games and songs, exchanging information.

Egoli — City of Gold

Egoli is a product of the Soyikwa Africa Theatre, part of the Creative Youth Association founded in Soweto by students in 1976. The Soyikwa Theatre believes in a communal approach to plays. The final version of Egoli represents a collaboration between the writer, Matsemela Manaka, and the play's two actors, John Moalusi Ledwaba and Hamilton Mahonga Silwane. In the printed version, all three are listed as copyright holders.

Didactic Theatre in Africa

David Kerr examines how performing arts in Africa have been used as a tool for informal adult education. Focusing on their history and dual nature, he characterizes some performing arts as "spontaneous creations of the African masses" and others as plays whose "messages emerged not from a genuine popular viewpoint, but were imposed by an alien force." By analyzing the pedagogic and aesthetic features of didactic theatre,the author reveals the subtle distinctions between a theatre that reflects colonial values and one that encourages critical reflection.

Story Theatre in Africa: An Essay in Description

Research Article| May 01 1971 Story Theatre in Africa: An Essay in Description Victoria C. Ekwueme Victoria C. Ekwueme Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Theater (1971) 3 (2): 79–83. https://doi.org/10.1215/00440167-3-2-79 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Twitter Permissions Search Site Citation Victoria C. Ekwueme; Story Theatre in Africa: An Essay in Description. Theater 1 May 1971; 3 (2): 79–83. doi: https://doi.org/10.1215/00440167-3-2-79 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search Books & JournalsAll JournalsTheater Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. Copyright © yale/theater 19711971 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal Issue Section: Story Theatre You do not currently have access to this content.