Ne Francophone African and Caribbean Theatres [Paperback]

John Conteh-Morgan explores the multiple ways in which African and Caribbean theatres have combined aesthetic, ceremonial, experimental, and avant-garde practices in order to achieve sharp critiques of the nationalist and postnationalist state and to elucidate the concerns of the francophone world. More recent changes have introduced a transnational dimension, replacing concerns with national and ethnic solidarity in favor of irony and self-reflexivity. New Francophone African and Caribbean Theatres places these theatres at the heart of contemporary debates on global cultural and political practices and offers a more finely tuned understanding of performance in diverse diasporic networks.

In this fascinating and exciting study, the late John Conteh-Morgan succeeded admirably in bringing to Anglophone attention a precious body of Francophone African and Caribbean theatera rich seam for further enquiry, comparative not least.[Conteh-Morgan's] readings are excellent, and his approach will be of interest to anyone studying post-colonial theatres in a global context. By grouping French-language African and Caribbean theatres together in terms of their genealogical history, and investigating their multiple theatrical influences in context, Conteh-Morgan develops a conscientious reading strategy that melds the culturalpolitical imperative of post-colonial studies with a respect for the limitlessness of artistic genius.

John Conteh-Morgan (19482008) was Professor in the Department of French and Italian at the Ohio State University. He is author of Theatre and Drama in Francophone Africa and editor (with Tejumola Olaniyan) of African Drama and Performance (IUP, 2004).

Dominic Thomas is Chair of the Department of French and Francophone Studies and Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is author of Nation-Building, Propaganda, and Literature in Francophone Africa (IUP, 2002) and Black France (IUP, 2006).

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