African Theatre for Development: Art for Self-determination

African Theatre for Development acts as a forum for investigating how African Theatre works and what its place is in this postmodern society. It provides the subject with a degree of detail unmatched in previous books, reflecting a new approach to the study of the performing arts in this region. The collection: • reveals the dynamic position of the arts and culture in post-independent countries as well as changes in influences and audiences, • shows African theatre to be about aesthetics and rituals, the sociological and the political, the anthropological and the historical, • examines theatre's role as a performing art throughout the continent, representing ethnic identities and defining intercultural relationships, • investigates African theatre's capacity to combine contemporary cultural issues into the whole artistic fabric of performing arts, and • considers the variety of voices, forms and practices through which contemporary African intellectual circles are negotiating the forces of tradition and modernity. The book provides an opportunity to discover contemporary material from experts, critics and artists from across the world. The contributions are in a language and style that allow them to be read either as aids to formal study or as elements of discussion to interest the general reader.