Culture and Identity in African and Caribbean Theatre

Because of a shared experience of European colonialism and trans-Atlantic slavery, issues of culture and identity are major concerns for African and Caribbean playwrights. Slavery and colonialism had involved systematic acts of cultural denigration, de-humanization and loss of freedom, which left imprints on the collective psyches of the colonized Africans and enslaved peoples of African descent in the Caribbean. Both experiences brought intense cultural and psychic dislocations which still impact in various ways on the lives of Africans and peoples of African descent around the world.

African and Caribbean playwrights try to help their peoples regain their dignities by affirming their cultures, histories and identities. The book focuses on the similarities and differences between Caribbean theatre and the theatre of sub-Saharan Africa, showing how identities and cultures are negotiated and affirmed in each case.
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Osita Okagbue studied English/Dramatic Arts at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Arts Administration and Theatre Management at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and holds a Ph.D. in African and Caribbean Theatre from the University of Leeds, United Kingdom.

He has taught at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, University of Plymouth, United Kingdom, and since 2002 at Goldsmiths, University of London. Dr Okagbue has published extensively on African and Caribbean drama and theatre in journals such as Maske und Kothurn, New Literatures Review, ASSAPH: Studies in Theatre and Theatre Research International. He has also contributed chapters in many books. His most recent book is African Theatres and Performance (Routledge, 2007).