A History of Theatre in Africa

This book aims to offer a broad history of theatre in Africa. The roots of African theatre are ancient and complex and lie in areas of community festival, seasonal rhythm, and religious ritual, as well as in the work of popular entertainers and storytellers. Since the 1950s, in a movement that has paralleled the political emancipation of so much of the continent, there has also grown a theatre that comments back from the colonized world to the world of the colonists and explores its own cultural, political and linguistic identity. A History of Theatre in Africa offers a comprehensive, yet accessible, account of this long and varied chronicle, written by a team of scholars in the field. Chapters include an examination of the concepts of \'history\' and \'theatre\'; North Africa; Francophone theatre; Anglophone West Africa; East Africa; Southern Africa; Lusophone African theatre; Mauritius and Reunion; and the African diaspora.

• First full-length history of theatre in Africa • Written by a team of scholars in the field • Covers the full continent as well as issues of the definition of ‘theatre’ and ‘history’ as they apply to Africa

Preface Martin Banham; 1. Concepts of history and theatre in Africa Kole Omotoso; 2. North Africa: (a) Egypt Ahmed Zaki; (b) Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia Kamal Salhi; (c) Sudan Khalid AlMubarak Mustafa; 3. Francophone Africa south of the Sahara John Conteh-Morgan; 4. Anglophone West Africa: (a) Nigeria Dapo Adelugba and Olu Obafemi, additional material by Sola Adeyemi; (b) Ghana James Gibbs; (c) Sierra Leone Mohamed Sheriff; (d) A note on recent Anglophone Cameroonian theatre Asheri Kilo; 5. East Africa: (a) Ethiopia and Eritrea Jane Plastow; (b) Kenya Ciarunji Chesaina and Evan Mwangi; (c) Tanzania Amandina Lihamba; (d) Uganda Eckhard Breitinger; 6. Southern Africa David Kerr; 7. South Africa Yvette Hutchison; 8. Theatre in Portuguese speaking African countries Luis Mitras; 9. Mauritius and Réunion Roshni Mooneeram; 10. Surviving the crossing: theatre in the African diaspora Osita Okagbue.

\'… excellent … rich, tempting and provocative … This stimulating book is recommended to readers seeking to acquire greater knowledge of the practice of theatre of all kinds in Africa or to address the issues surrounding theatre scholarship in and from the continent.\' Times Higher Education Supplement

\'… will endure as a classic reference for all studies of the history of theatre in Africa. It will be difficult to match the volume\'s intellectual seriousness, its readability and clarity, and its sense of dedication. With this fine collection, Banham again leaves an indelible footprint on the territory that he has been exploring for so many years.\' African Studies

\'… we are faced with a truly multifaceted picture of theatre in Africa … The variety of approaches makes for compelling reading, providing us with a plethora of detail … deserves a warm welcome as an addition to the study of African theatre, and will certainly set the standard for African theatre histories in the years to come. It is a rich and valuable supplement to available guides and encyclopaedias, and sets new directions in which research in this field could be moving.\' Wasafiri