integrates ethnographic fieldwork and archival re- Search to argue that "|i blackface in the Gold ‘Coast was not rcs twas on some level abut ace and racial affinity” (G4). She contextualizes the Performers‘ copying of minstrel traditions, gleaned through Al Jolson’s films distributed inthe British Gold Coast within a growing fascination withthe African American diaspora in the 1930s. The voices fof Ghanaian performers are integrated into het analysis as a reminder to the (Wester) reader of thei resistance to this focus, Successive chapters trace the concert party's his: torical development In the late nineteenth century, schools and social dibs began to perform “con ces" a mixture of sketches and song in British English, which played mainly to Western-educated audiences in urban coastal towns. AS in the ex fmple of the Oyin Adgjobi company’ in Basber's book. key moment occurred when amateur actors began forming professional “trios” in the 1990s leading #© touring companies that frely inter mingled English and Ghanaian languages. After World War the “trios” exploded into full-fledged troupes, and the companies began to emphasize an ‘engagement with nationalism and working class ‘concer in their plays. As the performers increas ingly incorporated Ghanaian highlife music (popu lar dance hall tunes) and content that drew upon ‘oral trations i the 19505, the concert party devel- ‘oped into sprawling allnight performance that included several hours of highlfe music anda comic melodrama. Like Barber, Cole interrogates the performers’ engagement with modemity: for ‘example, she notes that the Ghanaian performers categorized their discarding of British performance ‘onventionsin favor of more indigenous forms and content as “modemization,” which distinlly con tradiets the Western tendency to equate “modem ization” with the adoption of Western culture Cole makes no attempt to disguise the book's genesis asa dissertation, which calls attention to the influence of Western academia inthe shaping, of her research. However, the book would have lhenetited from additional revision, Occasionally, analysis is cut short especialy in the final chapter and the disappointing epilogue that displays few ‘ofthe analytical faculties demonstrated in earlier ‘chapters. Also, her persuasive discussion of female Impersonation, in which she challenges the isola: tion of gender in Western drag theory, relies mainly "upon works published inthe early 1990s and docs not consider significant, more recent work done in this area. ‘These criticisms ate not to diminish Cole's con- siderable accomplishment. In keeping with her call to redefine Africanist methodologies, Cole includes BOOK REVIEW / 513 the voices of the performers whom she interviewed throughout the text. foregrounding their own in terpretation of events. She also searches out Gha nalan models upan which to base her theoretical frameworks, demonstrated in her uses ofthe Fante politcal theorist Kobina Sekyi’s concept of moder nity and of Akan proverbs to theorize Akan-ased theories of creativity that undergird concert party practices, Although Tam doubtful ofthe extent to which the performers’ ‘gumption,” as Cole puts it can be related to ther ethnicity, considering that ‘Similar examples of ingenuity in the context of ‘scarce material resources are found throughout the continent, Cole's commitment to finding alterna- tive theoretical ramevrorks sets an excellent exam pile for other Westerners doing research on Africa Barber occasionally attempts to compare Yordss theatre to trations of ather Arian counties but [perhaps additional workin this area would carly the distinctions between ethnic, regional, ancl con tinental stagings and concerns. As bth books make clear, however, comparative work must not be Sone atthe cost of meticulous research. Both Bar- ber and Cole have raised the bar, and those of us who research African performance would do well, to ssc tothe challenge LAURA EDMONDSON, Florida State University AFRICAN THEATRE IN PERFORMANCE: A FESTCHRIFT IN HONOR OF MARTIN BANHAM. Edited by Dele Laviwola. Con- temporary Theatre Studies Series, Vol. 35, Amsterdam: Harwood Academie! Publish: ers, 2000; pp. 134. $44 loth, ASvican Theatre in Performance is a festchift in honor of Martin Banham, who helped develop the School of Drama at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria's leading university, His retirement afer a long and fruitful academic career isthe occasion for the collection. Banham, a white Englishman from Yorkshire, went to colonial Nigeria in 198625, a young man to teach lterature. The Nigeria he encountered was struggling for independence, with he University of Ibadan in turmoil In the “Into duction,” former Banham student Dapo Adelugba, currently the Dean of Ars at the University of Ibadan, recalls his teacher: “His Buency of speech and felicity in phrasing, his wit and humor, his originality in lerary appreciation, Iis waem hit manity and his love of theatre became evident within the ist few months” (1).514 / Book Re 1m 196, with Nigeria nevely independent, Banham and Geotirey Axworthy developed the School of Drama, instituting programming and curriculum reflecting the indigenous performance traditions of Nigeria. Banham invited traditional Nigerian art= fats to teach and work at the School of Drama where they developed a Nigerian style of theatre ‘The collaboration and interaction of indigenous tists with European traditions created an atmo~ "phere in which traditions could intermingle sym Botially, creating a postcolonial, Nigerian per formance aesthetic. Though such cross-cultural interaction would seem obvious today, i was not 0 0 them African Theatre in Peformance chooses 10 pay tribute to Banham, notby detailing his work, which ‘is worthy of study, but rather by allowing others speak about the theatre that followed. Although this approach is commendable, it never realizes potential because of lack of editorial guidance and Imuddled organization. Despite these filings, how ever, each of the essays on its own offers an important window onto contemporary African theatre. ‘The first esay, “Broken Mirror: Art and Actual> ity in Zimbabwean Theatre” by Robert McLaren, deals with how Zimbabwean theatre emerged it the 1960s, The essay is insight and, while oes not address Banham’s work directly it suggests “strong points of comparison between Zimbabwe of the 1980s and Nigeria ofthe 19605, 25 Zimbabwean, theatre similarly emerged from the shadow of British colonialism into'a viable and progressive ‘community based expression. The essay documents ‘agitprop work at the University of Zimbabwe, ‘where theatre group gave voice to the conceens of Sudents protesting worsening housing, transpor: tation, andl increases in costo living. When police clashes resulted in student deaths, the performance evolved, becoming & medium of mediation and ‘ultimately resolving a volatile situation, ‘The book's next offering is When Criminals Turn Judges, 2 1962 play by Ola Roti. The play, st in newly independent Nigeria, builds generally on the theme of how Arica theatre has both imme- diacy and proactive currency with socal and cl tural change. I shows hove the theatre, as 4 plat= form on which newfound poltical freedoms are played out, gave voice to emerging conilets and Aspiration, inthis instance womens rights, (Oga Steve Absh's essay, “The Role of Comma ‘ity Theatre in Health Education in Nigeria” hon- ‘rs Banham’s influence on Nigerian theatre. The- ate for Abah was not only anaesthetic expression bot also a medium of social and cultural change ‘The essay considers community theatre, here de fined ae "the theatre of the people talking to them about their own problems, in their own language, fn theie own terms and using their oven artistic forms" (72). Community theatre in Nigeria had its start under Banhams purview, and Abah’s essay reiterates al of the major stains of Banham’s work, albeit without directly referencing him, "Epoch and Echo Stage Lyrics of Martin Banham Days at Ibada” by Sonny Otis the only essay dealing directly withthe work of Banham in Nige- tia in the late 1950s and early 19608. The piece chronicles the improvisational process applied by Banham to create a Nigerian pidgin adaptation of Shakespeare's The Comaiy of Erors that blended ‘Shakespeare, Yoruba praise-singing, and calypso Influences. Pruced by Banham’ Tian Univer- sity Traveling Theatre in 1963, the pla established ‘8 working methodology infhaencing modern Nige- flan theatre ‘Oyin Ogunba’s fascinating essay "Stage and Sto ing in Yorobs Ritual Drama” details the Yorubs worldview as expressed throvgh staging, citing how performance lation is as important as the action being staged if a man isto be transformed into a character ora god. Ogunba's essay prepares the reader for an appreciation of Wale Oganyers play The Hand That Feds the King, play exemplify: fing the integration of western and Yoribén ritual, performance styles. However, her, as elsewhere, the reader is left to fathom the connections and context ofthe pla to Yoruba tradition; an editorial bridge would have been help ‘Austin O, Asaba's essay, “Oralty and the Text ‘Trends and Prognosis in Osofisan’s Another Raft and Agbeyegbe’s The King Must Dance Nekat” of- {ers insights regarding the broader politica mpi cations of Nigerian theatre, detailing how two ‘moder Nigerian playwrights synthesize traditional and Wester expressions to "mirror the corruption, ‘moral decay, deprivation, hierocracy of politcal leaders and the enveloping sense of despair in their society” (92). : In “Soyinka and Power: Language and Imagery {in Madrnen and Specialist,” Feances Harding exam ines the Nobel Prize winning playwrights use of language and culturally charged images. Harding. shows how Soyinka variously decoastracts some ‘words while constructing ethers out of fragments ‘of Latin and French, Soyinka thereby reveals the Fragility of ideals associated with words a5 he claims authority over language and meaning Harding explains how Soyinka's unique imagery serves 1 authenticate a mythopoetie Yorabs reli- ‘ious reality as it applies to Aristotelian drama-targy. The fina essay inthe books Dele Layiwola's "Is Ritual Drama Humanistic Methodology?” By comparing and contrasting ritual fom African and Western perspectives, Layiwola presents a stimu lating dialogue. The esay references the ideas of “Turner, Schechner, Van Gennep, and Grotovski on the subject, offering a needed contrast to Western ‘concepts of ritual and performance. ‘That Nigerian theatre—its waiters, actors, and scholars—has become a vital part of world theatre is well expressed by this collection. Whether this 5 a tibute to Banham's work i not realy clear. The ‘book offers a wealth of insights, but as with Africa herself a beter understanding of context and more ‘organization would enable ts potential. THOMAS RICCIO University of Alaska, Fairbanks MIS.DIRECTING THE PLAY: AN ARGU. MENT AGAINST CONTEMPORARY THE ATRE. Terry McCabe, Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2001; pp. 180. $18.95 cloth, A professional director fortwo decades, Terry McCabe teaches at Columbia College in Chicago, ‘where his career has been based. In this book he contributes forcefly to a discussion that is central to the contemporary stage: the relationship of the director to the text, and by implication to the playwright. As the subtitle suggests, he positions himself in apposition to gost of what he sees ‘around him: "What Ihave seen isa theatre defting toward decadence, | have no illsions that any thing {say will reverse this drift, but I do hope my ‘book can be useful tothe discussion” (10), As an interlocutor he is provocative, certain of the rectitide of his positions, and downright “Manichean in his denunciation ofthe dark forces, the practitioners of “artistic quackery” 5). AL times his work reads a9 if he meant it to be a straightforward guide to his charges, his students ‘of directing, but was persuaded that its strengths lay in the cautionary tales he spins of direction |gone astray: “Its arrogant directing hats the ‘subject ofthis book" (108). In 2001 the book pro- voked a furry of outrage when an abbreviated version of one chapter appeared in The Croce of Higher Education with the ttle "A Good Director Doesn't Need a Dramaturg.” And what is good directing? “The director's ‘proper role is that ofthe interpretive artist who BOOK REVIEW / 515 ‘communicates, precisely and vividly, the vision of the theatre's only creative atist—the playwright to the group of interpreters—the actors who beat tltimate responsiblity for communicating that vision to the audience” (108), McCabe says. The ‘only auteur to be countenanced is te author of the text, McCabe is nothing if not apodictic. Hovering ‘over his shoulder is Aristotle, eho provided "[Jhe ‘most sensible guide to analyzing plays ever writ- ten... clear explanation of what plays do and. how they do it” (41). McCabe's explication ofthis, supposed model of clarity is, like many of his predecessors, more prescriptive than the orignal tnd tailored to suit his ideal theatre, virtually ‘eliminating all that is inconvenient in favor of plot, ‘character, and thought, which add up to action, ‘which in his cosmology is ll that matters “a pli ‘consists of action, and of action only” 49), McCabe champions the actors, as well as the playwright. against the arrogant director, without faking into account how treacherous his ally ‘Aristotle is on that score. Live theatre, says the author, is an actor’s medium, but Aristotle had litle interest in live theatre, or in actors. They were, in his schema, part of the spectacle—opsis, the Visible—and a= sh the last important part of Bs subject. McCabe adopts Arstole’s scornful tone, but selectively there's bad spectacle of course, but he asserts without the master’s support—that there ie good spectacle. This comprises staging and esign that never cll atention to themselves and that derive either directly from the playwright’ stage directions or from the direcor’s humble, oed-aith attempt to convey precisely what the playwright had in mind, Directors should never forget "You are the deliveryman, and the play is the package” (38) ‘This sounds very clear-cut, but McCabe admits the existence of nuance. The package exists only in the playwrights mind, and honest attempts at elivering it will result in very different produc- tions. At any rate, there’ no controling how indi- vidual audience members will receive it. The author's stage directions are “as much a part ofthe play as any of the lies” (57), but what McCabe falls or “has nothing todo with mindlessly follow. ing the printed stage directions” (2). Afterall, he says, some of these derive from the stage manager rather than the author, and it is an exsy and recessary task o differentiate between thems. What differentiates good and bad direction, it would seem, is whether the director approaches the task of reading and illustrating the pls rind with humility and honest sets himself up as arbiter, with sometimes surpris- ing results. Having actos in Grook tragedy’ wear