Includes articles, annotated filmography, interviews, creative writing, and book reviews.

This collection brings together essays written over a thirty-five year period. They reflect James Gibbs's position vis-à-vis the Ghanaian theatre as sometimes a remote onlooker, sometimes an enthusiastic participant observer, deeply involved in issues of perception and influence in a society moving through colonialism to nationalism, independence and beyond. The main body of the book is divided into four sections. The first, “Outsiders and Activists,” looks at theatre for community development during the late 1940s, some connections between drama and film, and the astonishing involvement in Ghanaian performance culture of the Haitian poet and playwright Felix Morisseau–Leroy. The second section, “Intercultural Encounters,” examines ways in which classic Greek drama has been used by producers and writers in West Africa, with special reference to Victor Yankah, Kobina Sekyi (Ghana's first published playwright), and the Nigerian Femi Osofisan. Section Three, “Plays and Playwrights,” concentrates on Efua Sutherland, Ama Ata Aidoo, and Joe de Graft. This section uncovers issues of documentation and achievement that draw attention to the need for investment in organising resources for writing Ghana's theatre history. The volume draws to a close with personal accounts of touring student productions in the 1960s (with due attention to the influence of Bertolt Brecht) and of involvement in a British film production on location. The book closes with an updated complete bibliography of Ghana's chief dramatist, Efua Sutherland.

This compilation was inspired by an international symposium held on the Legon campus in September 2003. Hosted by the CODESRIA African Humanities Institute Programme, the symposium had the theme 'Canonical Works and Continuing Innovation in African Arts & Humanities'.

Brilliantly adapting Greek New Comedy for Roman audiences, the sublime comedies of Plautus (c. 254 -184 bc ) are the earliest surviving complete works of Latin literature. The four plays collected here reveal a playwright in his prime, exploring classic themes and developing standard characters that were to influence the comedies of Shakespeare, Molière and many others. In The Ghost, a dissolute son who has squandered his father's money is thrown into disarray when he returns from abroad, a theme that is explored further in the comedy of errors A Three-Dollar Day. In The Rope - regarded by many as the best of Plautus' plays - the shipwreck of a pimp and his slaves leads to the touching reunion of a father and his daughter, while Amphitryo, Plautus's only excursion into divine mythology, offers a cheerful account of how Jupiter became father to Hercules.

Southern Postcolonialisms is an anthology of critical essays on new literary representations from the Global South that seeks to re-invent/reorient the ideological, disciplinary, aesthetic, and pedagogical thrust of Postcolonial Studies in accordance with the new and shifting politico-economic realities/transactions between the North and the South, as well as within the Global South, in an era of globalization. Since the emergence of Postcolonial Theory in the 1980s, the shape of the world has changed dramatically. Old Cold War boundaries have shifted in the wake of the collapse of communism, Globalization, on an unprecedented scale, has dramatically changed the meaning of time and space. The rise of the US as a new imperial power has profound implications for the world order. In the South, new emerging markets have challenged the older division of industrial ‘first world’ and non-industrial ‘third world’. In most parts of the world, the academy is struggling to keep up with these developments. One result has been a major transnational turn in the humanities and social sciences. Terms like ‘world history’, ‘globalization’, ‘glocalization’ and ‘transnationalism’ now dominate academic agendas worldwide. These changing circumstances raise far-reaching questions. What does the new emerging world order mean for established models of postcolonial theory? Is postcolonialism as a field of study being overtaken by models of globalization and transnationalism? What implications do the new configurations in the South have for postcolonial theory? This volume, drawn from a major literary conference at Delhi University, provides a set of perspectives on these questions. With a majority of contributions by scholars from the South, these research articles have a dual focus – they revisit older debates on postcolonial theory, while suggesting new perspectives and directions.

Journal of African languages and literature.

"Refreshing..." -- African Sudies Review "The entries are knowledgeable, thorough, and clearly written.... Highly recommended... " --Choice "...an ambitious reference guide to works on African literature." - African Studies Review "This comprehensive compendium will be a handy companion for anyone working on African literatures. The entries are authoritative and up-to-date, providing reliable information on the hundreds of authors and texts that have contributed to a whole continent's literary flowering." --Bernth Lindfors A comprehensive introduction and guide to African-authored works, with over 1,000 cross-referenced entries covering classics in African writing, literary genres and movements, biographical details of authors, and wider themes linking African, Afro-Caribbean and Afro-American literatures.

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.

This second annual volume in the African Theatre series focuses on the intersection of politics and theatre in Africa today. Topics include the remarkable collaboration between Horse and Bamboo, a puppet theatre company based in the United Kingdom, and Nigerian playwright Sam Ukala that was inspired by the infamous execution of Nigerian playwright Ken Saro-Wiwa and other Ogoni activists; the plays of Femi Osofisan; and plays by Ghanaian playwrights Joe de Graft and Mohammed Ben-Abdallah. African Theatre features the work of Mauritian playwright Dev Virahsawmy and includes an interview with him, reviews of an English production of his play, Toufann, as well as the translated playscript. Reports of workshops and conferences, reviews, and news of the year in African theatre make this volume a valuable resource for anyone interested in current issues in African drama and performance.