The Kwagh-hir Theater: A Weapon for Social Action represents a significant milestone in the documentation and theorization of non-Western theater. The book describes how the Tiv people of Nigeria used their indigenous theater to fight against British colonialism and oppression by dominant groups in Nigeria. It celebrates the power of the theater to give voice to the voiceless and to become a catalyst for positive change.

In the two decades since the publication of the second edition, Learning Through Theatre has further established itself as an indispensable resource for scholars, practitioners and educators interested in the complex interrelations between teaching and learning, the performing arts, and society at large. Theatre in Education (TIE) has consistently been at the cutting edge of the ever-growing field of Applied Theatre; this comprehensively revised new edition makes an international case for why, and how, it will continue to shape ways in which the participatory arts contribute to the learning of young people (and increasingly, adults) in the 21st century. Drawing on the experiences and insights of theorists and practitioners from across the world, Learning Through Theatre shows how theatre can, and does, promote: participatory engagement; the use of innovative theatrical form; work with young people and adults in a range of educational settings; and social and personal change. Now transatlantically edited by Anthony Jackson and Chris Vine, Learning Through Theatre offers exhilarating new reflections on the book's original aim: to define, describe and debate the salient features, and wider political context, of one of the most important - and radical - developments in contemporary theatre.

Written by an international team of experts, this is the first work of its kind to offer comprehensive coverage of folklore throughout the African continent. Over 300 entries provide in-depth examinations of individual African countries, ethnic groups, religious practices, artistic genres, and numerous other concepts related to folklore. Featuring original field photographs, a comprehensive index, and thorough cross-references, African Folklore: An Encyclopedia is an indispensable resource for any library's folklore or African studies collection. Also includes seven maps.

The book is a collection of fifteen plays written by Prof. Iyorwuese Hagher, Africa’s most politically exposed playwright. This rare collection offers a penetrating insight of corruption and politics in Africa well as the global injustices that plagued the world in the last quarter of the 20th century and in contemporary times. Hagher’s unique narrative style is richly inspired by his academic career as Professor of theater and drama and his practical work as actor and director as well as his engagement with the traditional Tiv Kwagh-hir theater. Hagher is master of satire, humor and unending endings. The plays are masterpieces of Hagher’s workshop experiences.

The post-millennium world has been experiencing several recognisable historical milestones with regard to arts, culture and heritage. One of these has been the resuscitation and revival of creative elements of the arts, culture and heritage of previously marginalised or disadvantaged communities around the world. Until recently, there had been scant regard and skewed allocation of resources for these, but lately attempts have been made to promote and sustain them in order to enable the socio-economic aspirations of a multicultural society. The contributions brought together here are the product of papers that were presented during a conference on “Strategic Repositioning of Arts, Culture and Heritage in the 21st Century”. They cover a broad spectrum of subjects such as indigeneity, music, song and identity, politics, national reconciliation, education, product development, and national development.

First Published in 1992. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Originally published in 1982, this book explores concepts such as ‘traditional performance’ and African theatre’. It analyses the links between drama and ritual, and drama and music and diagnoses the confusions in our thought. The reader is reminded that drama is never merely the printed word, but that its existence as literature and in performance is necessarily different. The analysis shows that literature tends to replace performance; and drama, removed from the popular domain, becomes elitist. The book’s richness lies in the constantly stimulating analysis of ‘art’ theatre, as exemplified in protest plays, in African adaptations and transpositions of such classical subjects as the Bacchae and Everyman, in plays on African history, on colonialism and neo-colonialism. The final chapters argue that the form of African drama needs to evolve as the content does.

This edited volume provides an interdisciplinary and balanced discussion on the changing dynamics of identities in Africa, with a focus on gender, ethno-cultural, and religious identity.

Jokes have always been part of African culture, but never have they been so blended with the strains and gains of the contemporary African world as today. Joke-Performance in Africa describes and analyses the diverse aesthetics, forms, and media of jokes and their performance and shows how African jokes embody the anxieties of the time and space in which they are enacted. The book considers the pervasive phenomenon of jokes and their performance across Africa in such forms as local jests, street jokes, cartoons, mchongoano, ewhe-eje, stand-up comedy, internet sex jokes, and ‘comicast’ transmitted via modern technology media such as the TV, CDs, DVDs, the internet platforms of YouTube, Facebook, and other social arenas, as well as live performances. Countries represented are Egypt, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Nigeria, and Zambia, covering the North, West, East and Southern Africa. The book explores the description of the joke form from various perspectives, ranging from critical discourse analysis, interviews, humour theories, psychoanalysis, the postcolony and technauriture, to the interactive dramaturgy of joke-performances, irrespective of media and modes of performance. Containing insightful contributions from leading African scholars, the book acquaints readers with detailed descriptions of the diverse aesthetics of contemporary African jokes, thereby contributing to the current understanding of joke-performance in Africa. It will appeal to students and scholars of African studies, popular culture, theatre, performance studies and literary studies.