Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Generation of Modern African Playwrights in Southern Africa PDF
The Generation of Modern African Playwrights in Southern Africa PDF
The Generation of Modern African Playwrights in Southern Africa PDF
employed in an imaginative manner to create events or stories that are fictitious for
divided into three genres: drama, prose and poetry. However, due to the scope of
this discourse, emphasis will be on modern African drama with our primary focus
''contemporary African drama,'' that is, modern African drama, according to him, is
colonial and post colonial African experiences. it can also be defined as a body of
Despite the fact that modern African drama is centered around the four
regions of Africa, our focus here will be on the Southern region with regards the
their works(plays).
The countries in Southern African region includes: Angola, Botswana,
country in the Southern region has similar thematic preoccupations that cut across
will be on these thematic preoccupation and how they apply to the various
drama.
-1-
APARTHEID/FIRST GENERATION
parties against the colonised black majority. This phenomenon cuts across the
know, is a mirror of the society, it is meant to observe and change some certain
writing to counter the erroneous segregation imposed upon the black masses by the
remove one from the other. Apartheid drama comprises themes that sought to fight
Africa. African playwrights who wrote about this apartheid ideology either in
white supremacists.
drama in this country was restricted to cultural values, norms and folkloric
traditions prevalent at that time. However, focus will be on the first recognised
1. Steven Black, who wrote Love and the Hyphen(1908), Helena’s Hope(1910),
2. GuybonSinxoInfenekaDebeza(1925).
4. Gibson KenteHow Long Our Belief(1973), Too Late(1974), Can you take it?,
Hard Road, How Long?, I Believe, Life, Lobola, Mama and the Load,
-3-
Goodbye(1965),The Coat(1966),People are Living There(1968), The Last
10. Geina Mnope Have You Seen Zamdile?, Zakes Mda And the Girls in their
Sunday Dresses
of Freedom(1983).
with reference to this discourse, a short survey has been carried out.
In Lesotho, farming was the major occupation of the citizens therefore the
issues related to it, either to teach them how to preserve, sell or cultivate their
-4-
produce or to attack the seeming exploitation. However, these first generation
easily preserved).
The plays above are aimed at the farming communities and they are
Money Palava,Img, Ekaete, Asabo Tail, Found and Lost, A Son in Search of
Itambo(1990), Comments(1992).
Frederick Philander. Some of his plays include King of the Dump (1986), The
-5-
Railway Man, The Beauty Contest-An Adult Play, The Curse, Two Men and a
emphasizing the renewal of African culture, and to promote the concept and
1. LindoLhongoOsNoivosouOnferenciaDramaticaSobre o Lobolo, As
TrintaMulheres de Muzelini.
After a panoramic overview of these apartheid playwrights, one can see that
-6-
POST APARTHEID/SECOND GENERATION/ CONTEMPORARY
rule or apartheid regime. It is a literary critique to texts that carry racist or colonial
Southern African drama has been influenced by the great African heritage and
refined it in many countries. Other common themes include: social and cultural
lecturer in English and Drama based at the University of Botswana. He has written
thirteen plays amongst which include: Hallucinations, The Mother of All Dinners,
Foreign Affairs, Infidel, From Whom Things Do Not Change, Ashes to Ashes,
De Summer Blow(1994).
4. Chimombo’sThe Rainmaker.
From the short survey of post-apartheid dramatic works listed above, one can
see how Southern African writers change their recurrent themes with recluse to the
-8-
CONCLUSION
Without doubt, modern African drama is one aspect of modern African
classified in this genre have used the thematic preoccupations espoused in their
works to reflect the socio economic, political conditions prevalent in their societies.
This work has succinctly taken a regional overview of modern African drama using
apartheid and its movement. This racial consciousness and fight for colour equality
progressed into a struggle for nationalism and the attainment of independence from
the colonial masters. Dramatic works were written with relevant themes of
writing went further into post-colonial Africa where dramatists buttressed the
starting point for the African consciousness, the world over. The writings of
Southern African dramatists espouse the African experience to the world thereby
stimulating intellects on the presence of Africa, according to Arjun, ‘in the global
village’ and also engendering internal creativity within the African continent.
-9-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hienemann, 1975.
3. Litkie, C.A. 2003. Selected Black African Dramatists South of the Zambezi.
- 10 -