Theatre for Development is one of the most dynamic and controversial theatre movements on the global South. Emerging in Southern Africa in the 1970s to address social and economic problems using theatrical techniques, today it is taught in theatre departments across sub-Saharan Africa and employed in numerous contexts from health care to…

Despite a diverse and vibrant contemporary artistic scene, East Africa sees less international exposure than other regions on the continent; this article argues that a new approach to understanding the complexities and value of performance in the region is fundamental to developing the sector. East African Soul Train is a pop-up residency, which…

This paper proposes a re-examination of the histographies of theatre for development (TfD) which takes into account the background influences, cultures and agendas of complex networks of actors, organizations, governments, and higher education institutions in which the practice and praxis of TfD revolve. The article introduces and reflects on my…

Reverend Father Professor Amechi Nicholas Akwanya is one of the towering scholars of literature in Nigeria and elsewhere in the world. For decades, and still counting, Fr. Prof. Akwanya has worked arduously, professing literature by way of teaching, researching, and writing in the Department of English and Literary Studies of the University of…

A group of black children in the city of Salvador da Bahia, intrigued by their teacher's explanation that black Brazilians are descendants of Africans, embark on a quest to search for Africa. This is the central plot of "Áfricas"--Bando de Teatro Olodum's theatre production for young people that premiered in 2007 (Teatro Vila Velha,…

Most of the applied drama and theatre projects being carried out in African contexts tend to be one-off events with limited follow-up in terms of building the capacity of target communities and organising them for action. Besides bringing people together for workshops, performances and post-performance discussions, such projects simply pass by…

The prevailing tendency in applied drama and theatre research and practice in African contexts has been for both critics and practitioners to apply the Freirian educational paradigm of "codification" and "decodification" in the interpretation of their work. Guarav Desai asserts that most of the theoretical premises of applied…

Focusing on "The Sheep and the Whale" ("Le mouton et la baleine," 2001) by Moroccan-Canadian playwright Ahmed Ghazali, this essay examines political and ethical issues concerning human migration from Africa to Europe. The play's representation of human rights abuses in the Strait of Gibraltar and the dilemmas facing illegal…

An outstanding problem that has haunted most development workers in Africa has been how to effectively engage rural communities who often have no access to modern technological media like newspapers, radio, television, video and film. The tendency has been for development workers to resort to top-down or blueprint development approaches that…

This article deals with a British Academy funded pilot project carried out in December 2005 and January 2006 involving six primary schools in Eritrea. The project was led by the author, Jane Plastow, a Theatre for Development academic and practitioner, and John Holmes, an educationalist. Both partners work at Leeds University and have involvement…

The author discusses the use of popular theater as an adult education tool. She emphasizes its use in information campaigns. (CH)

The author describes the Theatre for Development program in Africa. This program uses native community theater to teach the public lessons about health, work methods, and other topics that the public is unlikely to pursue actively through the print media. (CH)

The essay deals with a Ugandan production of Brecht's Mother Courage and her Children and the issues raised when it travelled from Uganda to the United States, South Africa and back to Uganda. It explores the shift in perception and conception that happened/happens to both image and national identity when a production moved from one cultural…

This document describes the development of theater in Africa, over the last 20 years, from a medium of entertainment for the colonial elite to an African theatre, after independence. It describes various approaches to the use of theater as a medium of education and development. Nine chapters in the book concern: (l) background to African drama;…

This paper discusses the impact that teaching and research on African theatre in the Workshop Theatre of the University of Leeds' School of English may have had in Africa and elsewhere. After surveying the productivity and influence of the Workshop Theatre to the present, the authors ask if they have contributed meaningfully to the development,…