Lest One Good Custom Should Corrupt the World
” African Theatre and the “Holy” Canon
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 14960729 |
|---|---|
| Authors | I Peter Ukpokodu (University of Kansas, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1995 |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 3-26 |
| Publication date | 1995-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | South African Theatre Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1013-7548 • E-ISSN: 2163-7660 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/10137548.1995.9688156 |
| OpenAlex | W2023078472 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 9 |
Taking a look at Western and African theatres through the ages, the paper examines the beginnings of theatrical canons and the attitude of conservative scholars to new theatrical forms. It draws particular attention to Plato, Hegel, Brockett, and early colonial theatre in Africa, on the one hand, and the innovative theatrical form of the Zambuko-Izibuko of Zimbabwe in which gender, race, production methods and general non-conformity militate against the holy grounds of the canon, on the other hand. Rejecting the narrow definition of canonical theatre as “common culture,” the paper argues for theatrical experimentations and for canonical flexibility and inclusiveness to make the theatre more relevant to the different cultures of the world. There is no hesitation in using the canon to argue against the canon, as the paper shows in Alfred, Lord Tennyson's “Morte D'Arthur.”
Art · Canon · Colonialism · Conformity · Epistemology · Hegelianism · Literature · Political science · Sociology · Gender Studies · History · Law · Mathematics · Philosophy · Shakespeare, Adaptation, and Literary Criticism · Theater, Performance, and Music History · Theatre and Performance Studies
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,03 |
| Citation span | 1996 - 1996 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |