“LEST ONE GOOD CUSTOM SHOULD CORRUPT THE WORLD:” AFRICAN THEATRE AND THE “HOLY” CANON

Abstract

Taking a look at Western and African theatres through the ages, the paper examines the beginnings of theatrical canons and the attitude of conservative scholars to new theatrical forms. It draws particular attention to Plato, Hegel, Brockett, and early colonial theatre in Africa, on the one hand, and the innovative theatrical form of the Zambuko-Izibuko of Zimbabwe in which gender, race, production methods and general non-conformity militate against the holy grounds of the canon, on the other hand. Rejecting the narrow definition of canonical theatre as “common culture,” the paper argues for theatrical experimentations and for canonical flexibility and inclusiveness to make the theatre more relevant to the different cultures of the world. There is no hesitation in using the canon to argue against the canon, as the paper shows in Alfred, Lord Tennyson's “Morte D'Arthur.”

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