Despite the surge of recent work on African popular culture, this is the first comprehensive survey of popular theatre. David Kerr's book provides a survey of theatre forms in sub-Saharan Africa from precolonial times to the present. The major genres of popular theatre are set in their historical and social contexts, with an emphasis on continuity over time.
The unusual feature of this book is that it concentrates on modes of performance that are broadly popular with African citizens, rather than on elitist theatre. Popular theatre is interpreted widely to include not only conventional drama, but also dances, mimes, dramatized storytelling, masquerades, improvised urban vaudeville theatre, and the theatre of resistance and social action. The book also considers theatre embedded in the modern media of film, radio, and television.
