Trickster Theatre: The Poetics of Freedom in Urban Africa (African Expressive Cultures)

"Trickster Theatre traces the changing social significance of national theatre in Ghana from its rise as an idealistic state project from the time of independence to its reinvention in recent electronic, market-oriented genres. Jesse Weaver Shipley presents portraits of many key figures in Ghanaian theatre and examines how Akan trickster tales were adapted as the basis of a modern national theatre. This performance style tied Accra's evolving urban identity to rural origins and to Pan-African liberation politics. Contradictions emerge, however, when the ideal Ghanaian citizen is a mythic hustler who stands at the crossroads between personal desires and collective obligations. Shipley examines the interplay between on-stage action and off-stage events to show how trickster theatre shapes an evolving urban world." -- Publisher's description Trickster Theatre Traces The Changing Social Significance Of National Theatre From Its Rise As An Idealistic State Project During Independence Through The Revolutionary 1980s To Its Electronic Adaptations In The Neoliberal Era. Jesse Weaver Shipley Presents Portraits Of Many Key Figures In Ghanaian Theatre, Describes Theatre Events And Their Political And Social Impact, And Looks Into The Cultural Conditions In Which The Ghanaian Theatre Evolved. Tracing How Performers, Directors, Culture Workers, And Playwrights Developed Theatre As A New Form Of Critical Public Knowledge, Shipley Shows How Ananse Trickster Storytelling Traditions Were Repurposed In New Contexts As Expressions Of National Identity.