THEATre PLAY IN

AFRICA
 In Africa theatre matters. African theatre is
entertainment, but it can also be aesthetically, politically,
socially and spiritually committed, and often it is all these
things simultaneously. Moreover, much modern African
theater refuses to be compartmentalized into a particular
form of presentation. Instead it draws on indigenous
performance traditions including dance, music, storytelling
and mime, and combines them with ideas of drama drawn
from experiences of Western colonialism, to create theater
forms which are syncretic and inclusive in both form and
content. At its best African theatre is a total experience of
mind, body and soul which engages with, and feeds off, a
highly responsive, involved and vocal audience.
 Post-colonial period which began in 1957 when Ghana
became independent of British rule. Pre-colonial African
theatre forms still require much research. They were usually
dance, music and poetry-based and served a wide range of
functions including the teaching of social roles and behavior,
explaining the history of ethnic groups, social criticism,
celebration and the fulfillment of religious rituals. During the
colonial period Africans were usually only allowed to publish
or perform drama under the patronage and censorship of their
white rulers. Early plays often have biblical themes, reflecting
missionary influence; they also tend to be more or less
naturalistic, since this was the form favored by the colonizers.
Above all involvement in political debate was strictly censored
in almost all cases under colonial rule, so these plays are
largely anodyne and imitative.
 Female playwrights are still a relative rarity in Africa
for a number of reasons. In many places it is considered
disreputable for women to become involved in commercial
performances and it is often difficult for women to combine
domestic life with the demands of the theatre. These have been
factors restricting women’s development as playwrights in
many societies across the world. Perhaps one of the most
potent forces holding back African women playwrights has
been the relative lack of educational opportunities for women,
particularly during the colonial era.
 Ama Ata Aidoo is a triumphant example of a writer
who overcame a plethora of social handicaps to produce
plays. She is also recognizable West African in her world
view. The pantheon on gods, spirits, the unborn and the
ancestors who are constantly encountered in much West
African writing give the cultural productions of this region a
density, richness, and indeed difficulty for the uninitiated
which is unparalleled in other parts of the continent.
 Working against a background of poverty and
struggle, this theatre developed its own style of
presentation which relies heavily on the plasticity of the
performed. Sophisticated staging, costume and props were
not available and actors often had to be prepared to decamp
quickly if security forces moved in to stop performances.
Therefore the primary tool is the actor himself who must
create his whole world through mime, sound and a bare
minimum of symbolic properties. Reflecting the urgency of
the actors’ messages and the energy of urban life, many
such plays are composed in epic mode, with short scenes
building up a collage picture of society.
 The Lion and the Jewel is a play
by Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka that
was first performed in 1959. It
chronicles how Baroka, the lion, fights
with the modern Lakunle over the right
to marry Sidi, the titular Jewel. Lakunle
is portrayed as the civilized antithesis
of Baroka and unilaterally attempts to
modernize his community and change
its social conventions for no reason
other than the fact that he can. The
transcript of the play was first
published in 1962 by Oxford University
Press. Soyinka emphasises the theme
of the corrupted African culture
through the play, as well as how the
youth should embrace the original
African culture.
 The Gods Are Not To Blame is a
1968 play and a 1971 novel by Ola
Rotimi. An adaptation of
the Greek classic Oedipus Rex, the
story centres on Odewale, who is
lured into a false sense of security,
only to somehow get caught up in a
somewhat consanguineous trail of
events by the gods of the land.[2]
The novel is set in an indeterminate
period of a Yoruba kingdom. This
reworking of Oedipus Rex was part of
the African Arts (Arts d'Afrique)
playwriting contest in 1969. Rotimi's
play has been celebrated on two
counts: at first scintillating as theatre
and later accruing a significant
literary aura. This article focuses
specifically on the 1968 play.
Harold Athol Lannigan Fugard (b.
June 11, 1932, Middelburg, South
Africa), better known as Athol
Fugard, is a South African
playwright, actor, and director.
Fugard showed he was against
injustice on both sides of the fence
with his play My Children! My
Africa! where he attacked the
ANC for deciding to boycott
African schools as he realised the
damage it would cause a
generation of African pupils. With
the demise of apartheid, Fugard's
first two post a partheid plays
Valley Song and The Captain's
Tiger focused on personal rather
than political issues.
Sizwe Banzi Is Dead Lusaka Play House
by Athol Fugard