Theater as Praxis
Discursive Strategies in African Popular Theater
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2595267 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Gaurav Desai (English and Foreign Languages University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1990 |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 65 |
| Publication date | 1990-04-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | African Studies Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-0206 • E-ISSN: 1555-2462 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/524628 |
| OpenAlex | W2005257535 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 10 |
| References cited | 6 |
Although over the last decade there has been a considerable growth in African theater research, the majority of such work has confined itself to the analysis of traditional theater practices or to that of contemporary literary theater. While acknowledging the functional dimensions of African theater, this research has focused on the aesthetics of African performance. When the social dimensions of theater have been evoked, they have been asserted mainly in terms of the propositional value of theatrical content. Playscripts have been analyzed for propositional claims and thematic concerns, and social critiques have then been constructed on such analyses. This essay presents an analysis distinct from that critical trend. It examines neither traditional theatrical practices nor contemporary literary theater but rather an ambiguous theatrical practice that can be labeled popular theater. The first section of the paper discusses the concept of the popular and suggests that it is best understood as a functional discourse which can legitimate or subvert the existing power structures of society. The second section focuses on the ideas of Paulo Freire, the Brazilian adult educator whose work provides the theoretical basis for most popular theater projects in Africa. The essay then analyzes the discursive construction of popular theater in various African contexts including Botswana, Zambia, and Nigeria. Through the history of popular theater in Africa, the paper shows the growth of popular theater theory. The last section, on the Kamiriithu production of Ngaahika Ndeenda, illustrates some of these theoretical claims
Aesthetics · Art · Media studies · Movie theater · Political science · Praxis · Sociology · Visual arts · Gender Studies · Law · Shakespeare, Adaptation, and Literary Criticism · South Asian Cinema and Culture · Theatre and Performance Studies
Dancers as interpreters
Conceptualizing Alternative Theater and Alternative Performance Space in Postindependence Zimbabwe
Emerging paradigms for applied drama and theatre practice in African contexts
Dramatic codifications
National Erotica, The Politics of “Traditional” Dance in Tanzania
From war cacophonies to rhythms of peace’
The Uses Of Theatre
Appendix
Development Communication and Popular Resistance in Africa
The State of Research on Performance in Africa
| Citations per year | 0.28 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1990 - 2023 (34) |
| Highly cited | No |