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 African Theatre And The Colonial Legacy:
Review Of The East African Scene
Tololwa Marti Mullet*
Generally speaking, the young African's first intimation of theatre was at the
mission school where simple Christian reiigious stories were dramatised and
European folksongs and nursery rhymes recited in what were called,'concerts'
....in secondary schools we staged plays which were set books for languages and
literature studies... It should be noted that the African child knew nothing of the
current trends in Western theatre, so his idea of the theatre was that of medieval
and Elizabethan Europe.'

Most African countries have, since independence, adopted a critical stand towards the
cultural legacies left behind by the former colonisers. This stand has resulted from the
political and cultural nationalism that ushered in flag independence in Africa, a development
that constitutes a revolutionary force not only in the politics of liberation but also in the
realm of art. 2
In the theatre the growth of cultural nationalism within the womb of an anti-colonial
political nationalism has inspired attempts to displace the theatre imported with colonialism
and encouraged, through colonial policies and ideology, a theatre that consisted of a
dramatic mishmash from Victorian England, an alien importation that could only be
"...accepted by those who have passed through the western-oriented educational system,...
by as little a minority as five percent of our population". Tossed to the colonised like crumbs
to a beggar who had no choice, these theatrical importations featured themes and values
from a remote European tradition.
However, in their struggle to create a modern African theatre to replace this colonial
legacy they reject most African artists and critics recognise a dilemma they seem to be caught
up in: how can authentically African drama and theatre be made from the imported colonial
theatre that was intended, first of all, to entertain colonial agents resident in Africa and,
secondly, to alienate Africans being trained to run their countries on behalf of the coloniali-
sts? Many progressive individuals are of the view that African cultural and artistic traditions
hold the key to this pressing question. 4 ln a movement towards an authentic African theatre,
attempts to throw off the colonial straitjacket have started w.ith a close inside study of pre-
colonial modes of theatre, and cultural forms embodying theatrically relevant phenomena
such as ritual, ceremony, dance, song, storytelling, dramatic enactment, etc.5 and have
culminated in creative works that aim at social and cultural relevance.6 All such attempts
have had one aim: to create a future for modern African theatre, to retrieve African theatre
from the misconception, usually Eurocentric, that there is no significant basis in traditional
culture for modern theatre in Africa, implying thereby that the only theatrical experience
worth speaking about in Africa is the one inherited from Europe, that African theatre is a
distant child of Europe, an imperialistic assumption of Africa's subservience to the Western
World.'
Such a misconception could only have come out of an imposition on the colonies of
Eurocentric theatre aethetics that the colonial theatre pioneers thought were universal.

Lecturer Department of Art, Music and Theatre, University of Dar es Salaam.

20
 Thus up to now we still have, for instance, the wrong but strongly held belief (in the schools
especially) that theatre is only that which is based on the l well-written' play or that theatre is
only possible on an indoor stage, under a picture-frame proscenium, arch and fancy foot-
lights, and we still believe that there ought to be for any theatre performance a rigid
demarcation between the audience and the performers, the pcrlo;mers on a lighted stage,
raised above the audience who sit in a darkened auditorium below, to all appearances non-
existent.
This review focuses on the^truggle that is today occurring between the legacy of colonial
theatr? and emerging national theatre, a struggle that paves the way for a modern African
theatre that aspires to base itself on the life and the experiences of the masses. Such a review
necessarily involves a critical evaluation of efforts undertaken by progressive
practitioners of the theatre to effect the transition from an imported to an inde-
pendent tradition of the theatre, fiiit the question might be asked: why wait this long for a
review of a cultural movement two decades old? If the wait has been long it can only be for
one reason. The road to a modern African theatre has, since the beginning of the journey be-
en marked by fajse starts, superficial experimentalism, romantic mystifications and a lack of
complex understanding of African culture, obstacles that have stood in the way of objective
analysis. But now perhaps the time is ripe enough to take stock of things, after all the dust has.
settled and we have been freed from the idealisations and romanticism of the earlier pioneers.
So much has happened, indeed continues to happen, and it is because of the
impossibility in a short review like this of covering all that it taking plage across Africa, that
we confine ourselves to the East African scene, which compared to* say, West Africa, where
scholars have tended to overconcentrate their efforts, has received less coverage than is due.
We focus our attention on Tanzania and Kenya. Uganda is left out, not out of any
consideration that it has less to offer in terms of theatre but solely due to technical reasons.
Of the East African countries, Tanzania and Kenya have provided the most steady
conditions for notable developments in the theatre. Their political and economic ideologies
have had a marked and clear impact on the theatrical scene, as opposed to Uganda where
theatrical developments have been shrouded in political turmoil, a fact that renders difficult
a clearcut view of what has been taking place there. The Idi Amin era, for example, has
especially prevented much from being known outside Uganda about its theatre, although
before the advent of Amin in 1972 Uganda was the centre of intellectual artistic culture in
Fast Africa, for it was there that the British established the first University, Makerere. In
Tanzania, the Arusha Declaration has been an inspiration for important theatrical
developments, and in Kenya, domination of national life by foreign economic and cultural
interests and the preponderance of the colonial legacy in the theatre has sparked off in
opposition, new interesting theatrical trends. Ngugi wa Thiongo's rural theatre being the
most noteworthy. (See p. 26). .
Our review will also include Zambia. Though the country does not belong in East Africa
in the strict geopolitical sense of the term, it is strongly related to the experiences of the East
African countries and its theatre has also undergone such important developments, indirecly
influenced by Zambia's nebulous ideology of 'Humanism', that it cannot be overlooked in
any review of the East Africa theatrical scene. We start with Zambia.
, One of the most interesting theatre experiments to come out of Zambia has been the
Chikwakwa Theatre. Formed in 1969 as an experiment in popular theatre, Chikwakwa was
based on the aspiration to create a truly Zambia? theatre, out of Zambia's indigenous
cultures and local resources, a theatre that would treat topics and issues FromtZMtiibian life,
history and politics. Michael Etherton,7 an expatriate and one of the principle founders of the
theatre, describes the nature of its popular basis:.

21
 The idea of Chikwakwa Theatre was to develop, through self-help, a theatre place
that would allow an expansion of the traditional performing arts... The intention
was to stay as close as possible to the function of the traditional performing arts,
i.e. to tell the history of the tribe, to keep society intact... Since these functions
invariably involved the whole community either as performers or as audience, or at
least were accessible to every one in the community, it follows that the work of
Chikwakwa should also be accessible to all and not just on the level of admission
charges.8

Chikwakwa was formed as an alternative to the expatriate colonial theatre that was
mainly based in the towns of the Zambian copperbelt, to serve the European industrial
mining population. This expatriate theatre consisted of plays of the Elizabethan era put on-
for the, white mine workers to help them forget their hard day's labour. It dominated the
theatre scene until thV 1960's, propagating itself in the minds oi the Zambian elite as the the-
atre worth emulating.9 However, the inadequacy and irrelevancy oi colonial theatre forced
many inventive minds to search for a basis on which to bu'ld an alternative theatre. This basis
they found in a number of touring companies that criss—crossed Zambia providing plays,
skits, dance, dramas and musical routines, performing them among the people. Leading an
independent existence, this type of theatre did not enjoy favour with the patrons of the
colonial theatre who derided it as being of a low cultural standard, and who saw in its
popular appeal reason to discredit it. Frequently this theatre became political, mounting
anticolonial criticism, a further kick at the colonial theatre which considered treatment of
political themes "and issues taboo.
Michael Etherton's play adaptation of Houseboy, the novel by Cameroon's Ferdinand
Oyono, was the first direct effort to breach one of the preserves of the colonial theatre in
Zambia. The play, which was produced by the University of Zambia Dramatic Society
(Unzamdrams), the main contributor to Chikwakwa, was entered for the 1969 annual
Theatre Association of Zambia (TAZ) festival, sponsored by the predominantly white
theatre clubs. Because of its sharp criticism of white colonials, both French and British, and
of the present neo-colonial Black bourgeoisie in Africa, Houseboy aroused some controversy
when it was performed during the festival. The most significant development stemming out
of the whole undertaking, however, was the fact that the production, which intergrated
popular elements of music and ^ance, eventually toured the Lusaka townships making
contact with the township masses. It was this event that led to, and inspired, the formation of
Chikwakwa.
Judging from the aims that guided the Chikwakwa Theatre one could conclude that the
theatre and those behind it were undisputably progressive. Judging too from the writings,
meagre as they aVe, that we have on theatre in Zambia, particularly on the transition from an
imported to an indigenously-based theatre tradition, one could say that efforts like those
behind Chikwakwa represent a genuine drive to link up culturally with the masses, the
creating force that can ensure the growth of a relevent modern African theatre. However, we
should not lose sight of the fact that it was a university-based expatriate effort that was the
main force behind Chikwakwa, an irony whent>ne considers the fact that it was an expatriate
colonial theatre that Chikwakwa was seeking to unseat. This is not to say however that there
cannot be a place in modern African Theatre for expatriate talent, initiative or output. But it
should be stressed that theatre is a strongly cultural phenomenon; every culture spawns its
ov*n specific brand of theatre with a specific content expressed through specific forms,
artistic traditions, and aesthetics. Each culture therefore requires that its own people be the
:entral force in the creation of a relevant, popular indigenous theatre tradition.
There exists then, a real danger that any' cultural undertaking that relies on

22
point of view of the indigenous culture. Also, we Should not lose sight of the fact that most of
the personnel running Chikwakwa were based at the University of Zambia, a fact that would
present no problem were the role of the university in Africa different from what is it today.
As it is, the university is still very much an ivory tower placed above the masses, and it cannot
be denied that all efforts, however noble, coming down from this 'ivory tower' necessarily
carry with them certain elitist notions that end up divorcing *'vi peupk behind them from the
iiiiti tive of the masses.
In Tanzania, it was only after the Arusha Declaration1" in 1967 that a serious re-
examination of the colonial legacy brought forth a more progressive conception of theatre.
The realisation that theatre was not all Shakespeare could be said to have come about
through the introduction in the same year to the concept of'Education for Self-reliance' as
part of the Arusha Declaration policies. 'Education for Self-reliance' aimed at making
educational institutions strong outposts of Ujamaa, by encour aging them to engage in
productive education that incorporated the ethic of practical work and self-reliance. The
concept, soon converted into a policy, had some influence on Tan/aniun cultural lile
including the theatre; it consolidated and reinforced the spirit of cultural nationalism that
had started with independence, a spirit calling f or the promotion of values with roots in the
soil of Tanzanian culture. As a result of such a policy.
Schools started to practice self-reliance, not only in their lessons and in economic
production, but also in culture. Tanzanian culture grew in value as the masses
realised that they should stop emphasizing foreign values, and start concentrating
more on promoting their traditional cultures."
Traditionally, schools had been centres for the propagation of a colonial intellectual
culture that assumed an absence of any cultural ingenuity or initiative on Hie part of the
colonised. Schools operated on strange cultural menus consisting, lor example, of the
maypole dance, 'country' dance, Scottish and squuic dancing, all claiming superiority over
'native' dances and artistic performances. In the area of written drama, there were
productions of Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors, Taming of the Shrew and Othello, and
dramatisations of Snow White and Cinderella. Such drama was introduced into the schools
not because of any social relevance perceived in them, but because the colonial theatre
'pioneers' who introduced il "...were looking for something with which to pass time during
their leisure moments (and) they picked on drama as the thing to do". l 2 However, it was this
colonial—inspired drama, especially the Shakespearian, that even alter independence was
presented as the only valid theatrical experience for schools.
Colonial theatre was introduced into Tanzania in the 1920's when Tanganyika
(mainland Tanzania prior to 1964) became a mandate territory of the British, who
constructed schools and colleges in which they acquainted the elite with this kind of theatre.
As early as 1922, Hussein writes, "a school in Dar^s Salaam was already perfoming one-act
plays like Gow's The Sheriffs Kitchen, Milner's The Ugly Duckling, McKinnel's The Bishop's
Candlesticks and Francis' The Birds of a Feather".13 Using expensive costumes and
promoting the proscenium arch as the ideal setting for theatre performances, this theatre
took on themes and subject matter concerned with the "typical middle class family and its
problems, which has for milieu, a drawing room and which artistically respects unity of time,
place and character". 14 The schools and colleges, being the major outposts of colonial
theatre, were influential in creating the view that the imported theatre tradition provided a
'universal' model.
The emergence of a non-colonial theatre in the wake of the Arusha Declaration could be
said to have been spearheaded by the Department of Theatre A r t s (now renamed
Department of Art. Music and Theatre) established in 1967, a year after the Declaration.

23
Under the new winds of change, the Department, for instance, mounted two landmark,
productions, one of Hussein's Kinjeketile,'5 and the other, of Muhando's Hatia.'" Both plays
were considered good theatrical models because of their strong social and historical releva-
nce and consequently their popular appeal which saw the plays performed widely, and one ol
them, Hatia, was taken on an extensive national tour. Since its establishment, the Departme-
nt has instituted a spirit for experimental work and innovation in the search for an alternative
tradition to the inherited colonial theatre. To strike roots for a new theatre tradition, the
Department engineered research programmes into traditional cultures, one of the principal
sources for creative material. The first student research reports were compiled in 1975 to
form part of the Departmental archives. So far, much of the research undertaken has consis-
ted mainly of recordings of traditional cultural forms, of rituals, customs, ceremonies, dan-
ces,music, etc. However, confusion has emerged, and still remains, as to whether the above
items constitute theatre in the African context. There is also a lack of precision in assessing
the relevance of the observations made from research findings, to the development of mode-
rn African theatre. At the moment, the view, entertained quite widely, seems to be that since
these items contain theatrically relevant elements, they necessarily constitute theatre in the
African context. It is a view that we feel betrays a serious limitation in the interpretation of
traditional cultural phenomena as they relate to the building of an African theatre. It is true
that most artistic performances in traditional ritualb dnd ceremonies do contain certain
theatrical and dramatic ingredients for good theatre, but one cannot equate these sou«v«\s
with theatre per se. There are many traditional performances that are better regarded as mere
sources o( creating material for the theatre, rather than ripe theatrical fruits ready for
picking.
Encouraging staff and student research into the indigenous cultural heritage was not the
only way the Department extended its scope of activity beyond the University; the
•Department also encouraged and organised students to involve themselves practically in
theatre with groups outside the University, in the correct belief that the growth of a new
theatre can only be guaranteed, not through grand theoretical and academic
pronouncements, but through actual practical work that embraces as- large a segment of the
masses as possible. Such extension of the art and practice of theatre into the cultural and
social experiences of the masses represented an attempt to link up with the people, a pious
sentiment inspired by the Declaration, which assumed that an elitist university education
was incomplete without the process of learning from the masses. Nevertheless, the positive
achievements notwithstanding, it must be said that the Department has not been entirely
successful in striking deep and broad-based roots for a new theatre tradition. For instance,
much research has admittedly been done, but this has not always been backed Up by follow-
up efforts to make sure that the findings are consolidated into deep and concrete creative so-
urces. The Department also has not fully succeeded in breaking out of the confines of the enc-
lave that the University is, something that it needs to do if a broadbased tradition is to take
root. One of the ways the Departmenthas attempted to reach out to the people has been thro-
ugh production tours. Most of the productions taken on tour, however, have not been of a
nature flexible enough that they can escape the elitist conditions which nurtured them and ta-
ilored them to the cultural and intellectual demands of a narrow, captive University-based
audience. These weaknesses should definitely be attributed to the stultifying strictures of an
academic environment and to the constraints imposed by an artistically insensitive
bureacracy at the University which has to make crucial decisions affecting the operations ot
the Department.
Although in his search for a genuine African theatre, the Tanzanian University-based
artist has not, unlike his Zambian conterpart, produced an experimental centre comparable

.24.
 to Chikwakwa, his influence and contribution beyond the University is not something to be
ignored. Besides influencing positively theatre lovers in schools and colleges, through its
graduates, the Department of Theatre has also inspired the growth of semi—professional
theatrical groups, the most significant and professional being the Paukwa Theatre Group.
Founded in 1976 with a modest membership, mainly from the University and the
Tanzania Film Company, Paukwa is an attempt to brea!- from DU. eacratic fetters so as s.o
op« rate on a basis more favourable to artistic growth. The group aims to promote African
works of drama and to provide room for a fuller play of indigenous cultural resources
through production of original creations. So far its most outstanding effort has been the
production of Chuano, a Swahili adaptation of Mukotani Rugyendo's The Conte^'
(Heinemann, 1977), the group's entry for an international festival in West Germany in May.
1980. A symbolic theatricalisation of a 'developing' nation's struggle or development and
true independence, the play is based on the traditional theatrical form of heroic recitations
indigenous to North Western Tanzania and South Western Uganda, the use of which
represents a departure from the conventional conception of drama in the Western sense; an
innovation into new theatrical possibilities, song, dance, improvisation, and heroic dialogue
and spectacle, contributing to a new form of theatrical language.
The Department has also contributed in a major way to the increasing general
awareness that we have in Tanzania and in Africa; a cultural heritage that can support an
alternative theatre wholly independent of the imported tradition, in his search I'o*
possibilities that the new theatre can benefit from, the artist has connected himself, albeit
insufficiently, with a wealth of popular theatrical material bevond the University: vichekesho
(comic skits) with their raw energy, mime and dance-dramas, by professional and semi-
professional u.oups; u :d ngonjera (poetic 'drama') with ihcir direct didacticism, praise and
satirical songs, etc. These constitute theatre in schools, in town and village community halls
and in factories. They form part of an indigenous-based cultural expression of the everyday
life and problems of the masses. However, although more and more efforts are being devoted
to getting in touch with and recording these activities, the University-based artist has hardly
gone beyond taking note of them. He has yet to make use of them as creative theatrical
sources, bearing in mind that it is by feeding upon the local theatrical variety that a popular,
indigenous theatre tradition can take root and flourish.
Of the East African countries it is Kenya, perhaps, that best exemplifies the struggle
against the coloni;1' legaCy, sun med up by Ngugi as "the struggle between the cultural forces
representing foreign interests and those representing patriotic national interests.'M Ii i:>
interesting to note that, unlike Tanzania, Kenya is still very much beset by the colonial
legacy, and cultural expression, including the theatre,, is at the mercy of foreign interests in
alliance with an indigenous neo-colonial elite, whose domination of national life can be seen
in the cinema, music, news media, in publishing and education. In the theatre, preference is
given to foreign cultural tastes catered for by theatre companies reproducing the West End
and Broadway type of theatre. The level offoreigndominationof the theatre can best be seen
in the fact that even the Kenya National Theatre, ostensibly there to promote national
cultural expression and encourage local artistic talent, gives priority to foreign-based groups
like City Players and Theatre Ltd. which import "directors, costumes, orchestral pieces and
actors from England and Canada, giving the impression that there are no Kenyan directors,
no Kenyan costumes, no Kenyan actors and no Kenyan musical instruments."18
The neo-colonial type of theatre being sponsored by the Kenya National Theatre is not
the only one of its kind in Africa. A survey around mesi of the Anglophone African countries
would no doubt reveal versions of this type of theatre planted in the centres of their capitals.
For example, even in Tanzania where neo-colonial culture has not found as favourable a

25
climate as in Kenya, sewnd-rate imitations of the West End and Broadway type of theatre
c~n still be seen in the productions put out by the Little Theatre of Oar es Salaam, whIch
caters mainly for the expatriate community and is significantly located In Oyster Bay, a
residential area formerly reserved for Europeans during the colonial period but now taken
over by the local petty bourgeoisie. It was formed in 1947, firstly under the ,name The I?a~ es
Salaam Players Club. From the Ministerial Archives File, No. So 524 (RegIstry of SOCIetIeS,
HOple Affairs), Hussein quote~ that:
The Little Theatre set out 'to promote and to foster knowledgeand appreciation
-:()fthe arts' and 'in particular the dramatic and musical arts' and 'in furtherance of
this to provide facilities for instructions and education in .the above arts.'"
Between the Kenya National Theatre and the Little Theatre there is a similarity in the
way they both perceive their function in cultural 'upliftment'. The aims behind the Kenya
National Theatre are: 'to create dramatists of international standing; to create actors who
can claim a high level of proficiency in their art; and to cultivate a national audience able to
understand and appreciate the tbeatre."20 Both the Little Theatre and the Kenya National
Theatre masquerade as cultural benefactors and promoters of art in society. Purporting to
be an inspiring force in the growth of theatre, they mask their true role, which is that of trying
to legitimise second-rate irrelevant theatrical importations.
This colonial legacy is, h~wever, being challenged. The struggle for a truly national
theatre in Kenya is being caried out by groups like the Festac 77 Drama group, that produced
Ngugi and Micere Mugo's The Trial of Dedan Kimathi; the University of Nairobi Free
Travelling Theatre, which conducts annual national tours with plays in both Kiswahili and
English; the Tamaduni Players; and the Kenyan Schools and Colleges Drama Festivals.
These groups, however, do not yet constitute an effective challenge to the foreign
establishment, despite the fact that they have generated an awareness of the need for a truly
Kenyan National culture, and have" ...unleashed a torrent of Kenyan taIents ...that puts to
shame the foreign productions."21 According to Ngugi, their ineffectiveness stems' partly
from the fact, that,
Writers,dIrectors and actors often operate within the same tradition as the
foreignIheatre they are setting out 10 challenge.First, their theatre has mostlybeen
In a foreIgn language, I.e. English, and therefore, despite any radical innovations
In conlent and method, their main larget audience can only be the foreign, English
speaking audIence or the urban, Kenyan Enlllish speaking bourgeoisie,22

And even despite the fact that these groups have at timesattempted'to incorporate into' their
sear~h for an alternative theatre exploitation o( the resources of the Kenyan national
languages, Ce.Kiswahili, KikuyU, Luo, k.amba, ete.an4the'Cuimm~bomein thetn.~1
they have not managed to appeal to more than a small minority. '
In the struggle to throw off the legacy of the colonial theatre in Kenya; it is' N'gugi wa
Thiong'o who represents the most advanced and meaningful position to-date, in his
involvement with the peasants of Kamiriithu in Limuru, Kenya, in their production of
Ngaahika Ndeenda( I will marry when I choose). Written in Kikuyu, one of the major Kenyan
national languages, the play deals with one of the key national issues in present day
neo:""colonial Kenya: the contradiction between the local Kenyan middle class in
collaboration with ihe metropolitan capitalists and the downtrodden and deprived
peasantry ..
The play was produced in a rural context and was based entirely on the human, ~ultural
and fT\ilterialresources of the' Kamiriithu peasants. The play was directed exclusively at the
rural masses and not at the city-based elite who make up the audience for the foreign
dominated theatre. The peasants participa~~ democratically in the improvisation, in the

_26
 evolution of the script, in the choreography of the dances, the composition of the songs, and
in the acting and directing of the play. An example of the popular democratic character of the
venture is given by Ngugi in his report of the product!Qn:
...the initial reading and discussion of the play was done III me open. The selection
of actors was done in -the open with the viltage audience helping in the selection,
and all the rehearsais for'tour months were in the' open with an ever ,increasing
crowd of commentators and directors. The dress rehearsal was' done to ~naudience
of over one th,;>usand peasants and wor~ers., "When finally, the show'lopened-to a
feepaymg audIence, the group performed:-1o thousands of peasants and worker~
who often would hire buses or trek_on foot in order to coiile dlllfiie"ffll: play. Forthe
.!!.rstJtime, the rural people could see them'~elves and, their lives and their historY
:,ortrayed in a posItIve manneL"
The type that Ngaahika Ndeenda foreshadows is perhaps the best antidote so far to the
colonial legacy in East African theatre. It is only a popular type of theatre, a type that is at
one with the people, that can form the basis for a truly African Theatre. Ngugi, we feel,
provides such a model for otHer East African artists, who, because of close geographical'
proximity and occasional personal contacts, have opportunities to learn from each other
,about progressive trends of theatre obtaining in each other's countries.

~otes

1 Demas Nwoko, 'The Search for a New African Theatre', in Presence Africaine, No. 75, 1970, p. 59.

2 For further discussion on the nature and growth of cultural nationalism and its influence on
African theatre in particular, s~e Joel A.dedeii's 'TheatrcJind Id~ology: }\n African Experience:.JoIj~:,
East African Journal of Literature and Society, 2, i;I974, pp. 72-82, A4ede'ji disc~s cuIttml!
nationalism in both francophone and anglop'honetheatre. He sees francophone theatre as beinagreatly
influenced by .'Negritude', a philosophy started by French-educated black intellectuals, which embraced
traditionalism and the aesthetics of blackness as a weapon against French colonialism and cultural
chauvinism,. The theatre inspired by Negritude integrat~d .African traditional e1eme'lts of song, dance,
music and oral literature, in an atlClRpt ti5 capture 'lost' cult\lrali~, The Aftt&ophone theatre in
West Africa, where Adedejf concentrates, was, according to him, only'marginally mfluenced by a similar
,political-artistic ideology.under the siogan 'African Personality' that calJeil for the reassert ion of the
African 'shattered' image.
3 Mukotani Rugyendo, 'Towards a Truly African Theatre', in UMMA, 4, ii, 1972,..1" 66.
4 In this connection Mukotani Rugyendo argues that the correct djrection for a (ruly Afri&an'
T?~atre lies in Q!lsif\R it almost exclusively on trf!ditional theatrical forlTls.H~chan:!IDons.foiexainple,a
kmd of drama "".whOle tota1 form is based on the traditional forms \9idlall1heincidcl1tJ in the drama
existing within the confines of 'that form. If the play is based on a ritual, let the rhythm of the ritual ~.
pervade the play from beginning to end and not just have a ritual as a simple part of something (that is)
totally alien." Towards a Truly African Theatre' p. 70. This is obviously an overreaction on the part of
~ugyendo which has led him, in the'Same art.tle, to launch a rash attack on major Africandramatist,:;
He W ole Soyinkil, J:P. elm and Obotunde Ijimere. charging thlltlbeir eff9US to incorporate into their
dramas theatrical material from traditIOnal cultures, are superticial a\jd have only resulted in putting
.African masks over essentially European forms WhIch; according ti, Rugyendo, -their works repre~ent.
However, despite Rugyendo's lack of sophisticated understanding of the I,:uropeantheatrical tiaihtlons
he is rejecting in his article, his passionate attack on the lej,acy of colonial .theatre exemplifies the
Impatience that is felt by me' " progressive African artists, in regard to the search for a t~ Afncan
theatre. Demas Nwoko, though not the extremist that Rugyendo is, also places weight on traditional
culture in the creation of a thriving African theatre. "The young African artists", he fecIs, "should be
taught the classic art forms of Africa", The Search for a New African Theatre', p. 57. While the study of
the cultural heritage of traditional Africa is obviouslv important in the creation of a modern rh-at{e for
Africa, to base such a theatre on a so-called 'c1assical' heritage presents a somewhat tricky situation~ for
what constitutes 'c1assical art forms' in Africa is still problematic. While Rugyendo and Nwoko limIt
themselves to a statement of the significance of traditional culture in African theatre, Wole Soyink
.ctually employees the world view of traditional culture as basIs for an Afrocentnc re-defimtlon 0 f
theatre. Through Yoruba mythology he sees theatre as ..... a symbolicarena fm-metaphysical contests''''
Myth, Literature and the African World, Cambridge University Press, 1976, p. 39. ThIS function IS
represented particularly by ritual drama whose aim he sees as a reflection through physical and symbolic
means of "the archetypal struggle of the moral being against exterior forces". p. 40. LIke Soymka, J.c.
de Graft employs a spiritual outlook from traditional culture for an Afrocentric re-<lefinition oftheatre.
The substance Of theatre, he asserts, .... :is the terror that we seek to ","ster. the inimical forces we seek to
propitiate, the spiritual barrenness we seek to turn into fertility, the mind's wounds we seek to heal, the
cosmic joy we seek to share in, the empathy we seek to establish with the world of animate and inanimate
things around us: this is what people who are devoted to drama go to the theatre to experience. The
seeking is akin to an act of worship, and for an act of worship to have any efficacy the worshippers must
bring to it belief in the goddess of the shrine, understanding and sympathy for the rituals, and a readiness
to surrender himself wholly to the rhythm of the service". 'Roots of African Drama and Theatre', in
African Literature Today, 8, 1976, p< 21. Although there is much to benefit from in the theoretical efforts
of Soyinka and de Graft, one must question whether it is really necessary or beneficial to base the essence
and the role of modern African theatre wholly on a mystical spirituality borrowed from the traditional
world view.
5 A good example of diligent research work on the various aspects of traditional theatrical culture is
Penina Muhando's Music in Traditional African Theatre: Kaguru asa case study, M.A. Thesis, University
of Dar es Salaam, 1973 (unpublished); Godwin Kaduma's A Theatrical Description of Five Tanzanian
Dances, M.A. Thesis, University of Dar es Salaam, 1912 (unpublished); and Mukasa Balikuddembe's
Indigenous Elements of Theatre in Bunyoro and Toro, M.A. Thesis, University of Dar es Salaam, 1973
(unpublished).
6 The best use of traditional cultural forms can be found in Soyinka's Dance of the Forests. Here
traditional background has been effectively wedded to.contemporary content. Other arUstSwno lJJlve
creatively made effective use of tradional heritage are J.P. Clark and'Ola Rotimi of Nigeria ,and Penina
Muhando of Tanzania in Hatia.
7 He was expelled from Zambia in 1971 following student unrest at the University of Zambia. He
was suspected of having supportive links with militant elements in the students body.
8 Michael Etoerton, 'Zambia - Popular Theatre', in New Theatre Magazine, 12, ii, 1972,p. 20. For
more information on and further analysis of Chikwakwa Theatre alld theatre in Zli-mb@ in gervral.see
Etherton's other article 'Indigenous Performances in Zambia: 11aea.,e Q.lirterly London, 3, lI, 1973,
pp. 44-46.
9 Details on the form, content and style of the expatriate colonial theatre can be found in David
Pownall's 'European and African Influences in Zambian Theatre', in Theatre Quarterly, London, 3, x,
1973, pp. 49 - 53.
10 The Arusha Declaration gave birth to Ujamaa (Tanzanian 'Socialism ') which employs an idealist
approach in perceiving and transforming social reality; its idealism can be summarised by Nyerere's
statement. 'SQc.ia.'ism is ~n altitude of mind'. Advocating social and political refClrms, Ujalllaa is meant
to change COllSCIOUSPesS, to change individual moral altitudes as a meens m"e'-8ina Wty.
11. Penina Muhand,o, interview conducted by tbe author in "'ulllSt, 1978: . , '_
12 Penma Muhando na Ndyanao Balisidya, Fasihi na Sanaa za Maonyesho, Tai1zanJa Publishing
House, 1976, p. 22.
. 13 Ebrahi~ Hussei.n, 'Th~ Beginning~ of Imported 'fhe?,tre in Tanzanian_Urban Centres;" in .
Wlssen~chafltche. Zelt~chrlft der ,N•• "~I!_ Universitat. zu Berlin. GeHlM .. .,.......
Sprachwlssenschafthc~e Relhe, 23, 1974, p. 405. See also his D6ctoral Dissertation, The Deveiop.neolor
Theatre and Drama ID East Africa, University of Humbolt,-1974, which contains a full history on
Imported theatre 10 toe whole of East Africa.
14. Ibid. p. 405 .
. IS Ebrahim Hussein, Kinjeketile, Oxford University Press, 1969. The play deals with the Maji Maji
ReSistance agamst the German colonialists, which united a number of ethnic groups in So~ .
Tan}'aDla \D a common cause. It was tOe first time that resistance against colonialism was wal!ed~~ aflI:

.28
 inter-ethnic level. The term Maji Maji (literally meaning 'water water'), refers to medicinal water by
• Kinjeketile, a seer who claimed that the water would provide protection against German bullets. Belief
in the water proved to be disastrous. The play was first performed in 1970 in Dar es Salaam.
16 Penina Muhando, Hatia, Nairobi: East African Publishing House, 1974. Hatia is based on the .
problems of unwed mothers. It centres on a village girl who goes to the city to work. She gets pregnant by
a man who denies responsibility for the pregnancy and rejects her. She attempts to commit suicide out of
disgrace, but is saved in the nick of time and rehabilitated. Hatia was first performed in 1971 in Dares
Salaam.
17 Ngugi wa Thiong'o Writers in Politics, London: Heinemann Educational Books, 1981, p. 42.
18 Ibid., p. 44.
19 'The Beginnings of Imported Theatre in Tanzanian Urban Centres', op. cit. p. 405
20 M.N. Ruchoya, 'Drama is East Africa', in Busara, 3, i, 1970, p. 47.
21 Ngugi, op. cit., p. 45.
22 Ibid., p. 46.
23 Ibid., p. 47.