Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-gb8f7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T17:17:20.721Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Theater as Praxis: Discursive Strategies in African Popular Theater

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 May 2014

Gaurav Desai
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

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.

Type
Articles
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 33 , Issue 1 , April 1990 , pp. 65 - 92
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 1990

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abah, Oga and Etherton, Michael. 1982 “The Samaru Projects: Street Theatre in Northern Nigeria,” Theatre Research International 7/2: 222–234.Google Scholar
Ahmadu Bello Collective. 1982 “Stage One: The Ahmadu Bello Initiative,” Theatre International 6: 21–24.Google Scholar
Akerman, Anthony. 1978 “Refugee Theatre in Tanzania,” Theatre Quarterly 8/30: 36–41.Google Scholar
Akerman, Anthony 1977a “Prejudicial to the Safety of the State: Censorship and the Theatre in South Africa,” Theatre Quarterly 7/28: 54–57.Google Scholar
Akerman, Anthony 1977b “Why Must These Shows Go On? A Critique of Black Musicals for White Audiences,” Theatre Quarterly 7/28: 67–69.Google Scholar
Barber, Karin. 1987 “Popular Arts in Africa,” African Studies Review 30/3: 1–78.Google Scholar
Bennett, Tony, Mercer, Colin & Woollacott, Janet. 1986 Popular Culture and Social Relations. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.Google Scholar
Boal, Augusto. 1979 Theatre of the Oppressed. New York: Urizen.Google Scholar
Botswana Extension College. 1977. Bosele Tshwaraganang—a Popular Theater Campaign by Kgatleng District Extension Team—Mochundi—1976. Gaborone: University of Botswana, Botswana Extension College.Google Scholar
Byram, Martin, Etherington, Alan, and Kidd, Ross. 1978 Laedza Batanani: Report of the 1976 Campaign. Gaborone: Bosele Tshwaraganang Publication, 5.Google Scholar
Byram, Martin and Kidd, Ross. 1978 “The Performing Arts: Culture as a Tool for Development in Botswana,“ Botswana Notes and Records 10: 81–90.Google Scholar
Byram, Martin and Kidd, Ross 1976 “The Performing Arts and Development?— A Botswana Experiment in a New Approach to Rural Education,” in Proceedings of the AFRO Workshop on Rural Environment and Development Planning in Southern Africa. Gaborone: University College of Botswana, pp. 85–95.Google Scholar
Chifunyise, Stephen, Kerr, David, and Dall, Frank. 1980 Theatre for Development: A Regional Workshop held at Chalimbana, August 1979 and Sponsored by Zambia International Theatre Institute. Lusaka. Zambia International Theatre Institute.Google Scholar
Chifunyise, Stephen. 1980 “Workshop on Theatre for Development,” Chikwakwa 1979–1980: 2–7.Google Scholar
Chishimba, Maurice. 1974 “Report on the University of Zambia Northern Province Travelling Theatre,” Chikwakwa 1973–1974: 3–10.Google Scholar
Coplan, David. 1986 “Performance, Self-Definition, and Social Experience In the Oral Poetry of Sotho Migrant Mineworkers,” African Studies Review 29/1: 29–40.Google Scholar
Correlra, Dianne. 1978 “The People of Kamirithu and their Play,” Ideas and Action 124: 7–10.Google Scholar
Costigan, Margaret. 1983 “‘You Have the Third World Inside You’: Conversation with Paulo Freire,“ Convergence 16/4: 32–38.Google Scholar
Desai, Gaurav. 1987a “Conversation with Ngugi wa Thiong'o,” Unpublished manuscript. Evanston, IL, Northwestern University.Google Scholar
Desai, Gaurav 1987b “Popular Theatre, Adult Education and Community Development in Africa: A Preliminary Bibliography,” Working Paper. Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, Evanston, IL: Northwestern University.Google Scholar
Etherton, Michael. 1982 The Development of African Drama. London: Hutchinson and Co.Google Scholar
Eyoh, Hansel Ndumbe. 1986 Hammocks to Bridges: Report of the Workshop on Theatre for Integrated Rural Development: Kumba, Cameroon, 1-16 December 1984. Yaounde: Bet and Co. Google Scholar
Fabian, Johannes. 1978 “Popular culture in Africa: Findings and Conjectures,” Africa 48/4: 315–331.Google Scholar
Freire, Paulo. 1985 The Politics of Education: Culture, Power and Liberation. South Hadley: Bergin and Garvey.Google Scholar
Freire, Paulo 1973 Education for Critical Consciousness. New York: Seabury Press.Google Scholar
Freire, Paulo 1970a Cultural Action for Freedom. Cambridge: Harvard Educational Review.Google Scholar
Freire, Paulo 1970b Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum.Google Scholar
Freire, Paulo and Macedo, Donaldo. 1987 Literacy: Reading the Word and the World. South Hadley: Bergin and Garvey.Google Scholar
Gecau, Kimani. 1983 “A Theater for Development in Zimbabwe,” Africa Report, 25/6: 24–26.Google Scholar
Gitau, B. K. 1982 “Ngugi wa Thiong'o—The African Paulo Freire,” African Journal of Sociology, 2/1: 42–55.Google Scholar
Grabowski, Stanley M. 1972 Paulo Freire: A Revolutionary Dilemma for the Adult Educator. Syracuse: Syracuse University.Google Scholar
Gramsci, Antonio. 1972 Selections from the Prison Notebooks. New York: International Publishers.Google Scholar
Hall, Budd L. 1981 “Participatory Research, Popular Knowledge and Power: A Personal Reflection,” Convergence 14/3: 6–19.Google Scholar
Hope, Anne and Timmel, Sally. 1984 Training for Transformation: A Handbook for Community Workers, 3 vols. Gweru: Mambo Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hunt, Albert. 1976 Hopes for Great Happenings: Alternatives in Education and Theatre. New York: Taplinger Publishing Co. Google Scholar
Hunt, Albert 1975 “Education as Theatre: Turning the Political Tables,” Theatre Quarterly 5/17: 55–60.Google Scholar
Idoye, Emeka P. 1982 “Popular Theatre and Politics in Zambia: A Case Study of the University of Zambia (Chikwakwa) Theatre,” Ph.d. diss., Florida State University.Google Scholar
International Defence and Aid Fund. 1977 “‘A New Wave of Cultural Energy’: Black Theatre in South Africa” Theatre Quarterly, 7/28: 57–63.Google Scholar
International Defence and Aid Fund 1976 “Black Theatre in South Africa,” [Fact Paper on Southern Africa, no. 2] London: IDAF.Google Scholar
Kahn, Michael. 1979 “Laedza Batanani,” Botswana 5: 56–59.Google Scholar
Kamlongera, Christopher. 1982 “Theatre for Development: The Case of Malawi,” Theatre Research International, 7/2: 207–22.Google Scholar
Kerr, David. 1981 “Didactic Theatre in Africa,” Harvard Educational Review 51/1: 145–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kerr, David and Chifunyise, Stephen. 1984 “Popular Theatre in Zambia: Chikwakwa Reassessed,” Theatre International 11, 12: 54–80.Google Scholar
Kidd, Ross. 1985 “Theatre for Development: Diary of a Zimbabwean Workshop,” New Theatre Quarterly 1/2: 179–204.Google Scholar
Kidd, Ross. 1983 “Popular Theatre and Popular Struggle in Kenya: The Story of Kamiriithu,“ Race and Class 24/3: 287–304.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kidd, Ross. 1982a The Popular Performing Arts, Non-Formal Education and Social Change in the Third World: A Bibliography and Review Essay. Hague: Centre for the Study of Education in Developing Countries.Google Scholar
Kidd, Ross. 1982b “Stage Two: From Outside - In to Inside Out,” Theatre International 6: 25–44.Google Scholar
Kidd, Ross. 1980 “Popular Theater = People's Theater,” World Education Reports 21: 14.Google Scholar
Kidd, Ross, Byram, Martin, and Rohr-Rouendaal, Petra. 1978 Laedza Batanani—Organizing Popular Theatre: The Laedza Experience 1974-1977. Gaborone: University College of Botswana, Institute of Adult Education, Popular Theatre Committee.Google Scholar
Kidd, Ross and Byram, Martin. 1982 “Demystifying Pseudo-Freirian Development: The Case of Laedza Batanani,“ Community Development Journal 17/2: 91–105.Google Scholar
Kidd, Ross and Byram, Martin. 1978 Popular Theatre and Participation in Development—Three Botswana Case Studies. Gaborone: Bosele Tshwaraganang Publications, 3.Google Scholar
Kidd, Ross and Byram, Martin 1976 “Laedza Batanani: Village Theatre for Development,” Botswana Adult Education Newsletter 1/1: 5–7.Google Scholar
Kidd, Ross and Colletta, Nat. 1980 Tradition for Development: Indigenous Structures and Folk Media in Non-Formal Education. Berlin: German Foundation for International Development.Google Scholar
Kohler, Adrian and Mackenzie, Bob. 1976 Bosele Tshwaraganang since Molepolele. Gaborone: Bosele Tshwaraganang Publications, 11.Google Scholar
MacCabe, Colin. 1986 High Theory/Low Culture: Analysing Popular Television and Film. New York: St. Martin's Press.Google Scholar
MacKie, Robert, ed. 1981 Literacy and Revolution—The Pedagogy of Paulo Freire. New York: Continuum.Google Scholar
Malamah-Thomas, David. 1987 “Community Theatre with and by the People: The Sierra Leone Experience,“ Convergence 20/1: 59–68.Google Scholar
Michalski, Yan. 1980 “The ‘Active Spectator' Takes the Floor: An Interview with Augusto Boal,“ Theater 12/1: 14–18.Google Scholar
Morake, K. P. 1980 “Let Us Remember Who We Are,” World Education Reports 21: 12–13.Google Scholar
wa Mirii, Ngugi. 1980 “Literacy for and by the People: Kenya's Kamirithu Project,” Convergence 13/4: 55–61.Google Scholar
wa Mirii, Ngugi. 1979 “Kamirithu Literacy Project,” Kenya Journal of Adult Education 7/1: 7–10.Google Scholar
wa Thiong'o, Ngugi 1986 Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature. London: J. Currey.Google Scholar
wa Thiong'o, Ngugi 1983a Barrel of a Pen: Resistance to Repression in Neo-Colonial Kenya. Trenton: Africa World Press.Google Scholar
wa Thiong'o, Ngugi 1983b “No Licence for Musical,” Index on Censorship 12/1: 22–24.Google Scholar
wa Thiong'o, Ngugi 1981 Writers in Politics: Essays. London: Heinemann.Google Scholar
wa Thiong'o, Ngugi 1981 Detained: A Writer's Prison Diary. London: Heinemann.Google Scholar
wa Thiong'o, Ngugi and wa Mirii, Ngugi. 1982 I Will Marry When I Want. London: Heinemann. [Translation of Gikuyu original Ngaahika Ndeenda.]Google Scholar
Ogunba, Oyin and Irele, Abiola, eds. 1978 Theatre in Africa. Ibadan: Ibadan University Press.Google Scholar
Ogunbiyi, Yemi, ed. 1981 Drama and Theatre in Nigeria: A Critical Source Book. Lagos: Nigeria.Google Scholar
Paterson, Douglas. 1980 “Popular Theatre and Political Content,” Theaterwork 1: 12–19.Google Scholar
Popular Theatre Committee. 1977 “The Development of Popular Theatre in Nonformal Education in Botswana,” [Information paper] Gaborone: University College of Botswana, Institute of Adult Education.Google Scholar
Pickering, A. K. 1957 “Village Drama in Ghana,” International Journal of Adult and Youth Education 9: 178–83.Google Scholar
Quiles, Edgar and Schuttler, Georg trans and eds. 1980 “From Two Hundred Exercises by Augusto Boal,” Theater 12/3: 6–13.Google Scholar
Richards, Sandra. 1987 “Toward a Populist Nigerian Theatre: The Plays of Femi Osofisan,” New Theatre Quarterly 3/11: 280–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shor, Ira and Freire, Paulo. 1987 A Pedagogy for Liberation: Dialogues on Transforming Education. South Hadley: Bergin and Garvey.Google Scholar
Sitas, Ari. 1986 “Culture and Production: The Contradictions of Working Class Theatre in South Africa,” Africa Perspectives 1/2: 84–110.Google Scholar
Steadman, Ian. 1986 Popular Culture and Performance in South Africa. Durban: Contemporary Cultural Studies Unit, University of Natal.Google Scholar
Tomaselli, Keyan G. 1980 “Black South African Theatre: Text and Context,” English in Africa 8/1: 51–58.Google Scholar
Vandenbrouche, Russell. 1978 “Chiaroscuro: A Portrait of the South African Theatre,” Theatre Quarterly 7/28: 46–54.Google Scholar
von Kotze, Astrid. 1985 “Worker Plays in South Africa,” Communications from the International Brecht Society 5/1: 3–16.Google Scholar
von Kotze, Astrid. 1987 “Worker's Theatre in South Africa,” New Left Review 163: 83–92.Google Scholar
Youngman, Frank. 1986 Adult Education and Socialist Pedagogy. London: Croom Helm.Google Scholar
Youngman, Frank. 1978 Popular Theatre Skills. Gaborone: Bosele Tshwaraganang Publications, 6.Google Scholar