Otaelo

Otaelo
Author: Ahmed Yerima
Publisher: Kraft Books
Total Pages: 68
Release: 2003
Genre: Drama
ISBN:

A Nigerian re-working of Shakespeare's Othello, this is an ambitious effort in the tradition of much contemporary Nigerian drama and spirit of cultural exchange to translate the timeless and classic work into the language, cultural reality and settingof the Igbo people. Yerima's play responds to the humanistic values, social and religious sensibilities of the original, reinventing them to speak for different people of a different age. From these perspectives, the play raises questions about the freedom of the individual in society, the nature of collective existence, and whether folly and greatness, jealousy, suspicion, tradition and love can co-exist.

Muse and Mimesis

Muse and Mimesis
Author: Gbemisola Adeoti
Publisher:
Total Pages: 448
Release: 2007
Genre: Literature and society
ISBN:

The Convert

The Convert
Author: Francis B. Nyamnjoh
Publisher: African Books Collective
Total Pages: 76
Release: 2007
Genre: Fundamentalism
ISBN: 9956558036

"This play tackles the theatrically attractive but ethically complex issue of Christian fundamentalism. Nyamnjoh, as a sociologist is well qualified to explore the social problems and psychological pressures which give rise to the born-again phenomenon, and the strong appeal of fundamentalist religion. The Convert, however is no schematic sociological tract. It deals with the conflicting imperatives in 21st century West Africa, which push ordinary people into extraordinary situations, and provides no easy solutions to the issues raised. Although the play revolves around the Ultimate Church of Christ and the four main characters affected by it, the audience is given a deftly sketched picture of a corrupt world beyond it, lacking in spiritual or community values. [..] The characterization. is remarkable for its avoidance of any obvious protagonist; the audience is allowed no clear character with whom to identify. The four main characters . have both virtues and flaws, each providing insights into ways the consumer-oriented materialism of modern life impacts upon African spirituality and community values." - David Kerr, Professor in Literature and Drama, University of Botswana "At the core of the implicit philosophy in Nyamnjoh's The Convert . is the theatrical manifesto that contemporary society has not only to liberate itself, and its productive powers from 'Pentecostal', freak religions and distortion, it also has to liberate these same productive capacities from their present prostration. There is a deep, engaging humanism that pervades The Convert, but it is a humanism emblematic, to speak analogously, of the Aeschylean variety." - Bate Besong, Africa Review of Books.

The Bikoroa Plays

The Bikoroa Plays
Author: J. P. Clark Bekederemo
Publisher:
Total Pages: 160
Release: 1985
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN:

The Tragedy of Mr No Balance

The Tragedy of Mr No Balance
Author: Victor Elame Musinga
Publisher: African Books Collective
Total Pages: 65
Release: 2008
Genre: Drama
ISBN: 9956558982

This play is a must watch for anyone who is frustrated because of corruption and hopeless about its eradication.

Dance of the Vampires and Six Other Plays

Dance of the Vampires and Six Other Plays
Author: Bole Butake
Publisher: African Books Collective
Total Pages: 396
Release: 2013
Genre: Drama
ISBN: 9956790397

This crowning collection brings together seven of Bole Butake's finest plays since 1984, namely: Dance of the Vampires; Family Saga; Lake God; Betrothal Without Libation; And Palm Wine Will Flow; The Rape of Michelle; and Shoes. More than an academic, Butake has distinguished himself as a playwright, unearthing and foregrounding the ills, travails and predicaments of a land and people trapped by the blood-dripping impunities of vampires in power. In his rich repertoire of over ten plays, Butake takes sides with the downtrodden, the wretched of the earth, the deprived and the underdogs. His jabs and jibes, aimed at the rulers, are scathing, at times vitriolic. He has excelled at a stubborn determination to ignore the sinecures, lure and allure of power without responsibility.

The Devil in God's Land

The Devil in God's Land
Author: Bereket H. Selassie
Publisher: African Books Collective
Total Pages: 132
Release: 2011
Genre: Drama
ISBN: 9987081614

This is a Drama based on contemporary political realities in some African countries, which arrived at liberation through armed struggle. Eritrea (God's land, according to the ancient Egyptians) is an example of a country and society in convulsion because of the abandonment by its leadership, particularly among the ex-combatants, of the lofty principles of democracy, serving the people, equality and solidarity: aspirations that characterized the rhetoric of the revolution. The incidences and personalities in it are, however, purely fictitious although similarities are bound to exist since the principles during the wars of liberation and the abuses thereafter tend to be the same in all undemocratic countries. Poetic license has been used to draw characters from the army, students, political dissidents and political opportunists, the Catholic Church and a nun who escapes rape but is martyred in the process of resistance. This is a drama with elements of suspense, farce, comedy and tragedy, woven in a way that will not fail to move the reader in and outside Eritrea by the in depth understanding of the inside workings and "intelligence" of a contemporary African dictatorship.

Blood Lines and other Plays

Blood Lines and other Plays
Author: Anyokwu, Chris
Publisher: Kraft Books
Total Pages: 81
Release: 2015-03-18
Genre: Drama
ISBN: 9789181884

Chris Anyokwu's new creative offerings are snapshots of a the quotidian reality in the playwrights homeland, Nigeria, where polygamy and its associated evils, crass materialism and its classless followers still predominate. Even the ivory towers are not left out as petty rivalry, dirty politics and even fetishism seem to be the name of the game.

Maybe Tomorrow

Maybe Tomorrow
Author: Cole, Soji
Publisher: Kraft Books
Total Pages: 81
Release: 2015-03-18
Genre: Drama
ISBN: 9789180802

Winner of the ANA Drama Prize, 2014, Maybe Tomorrow is a drama that conveys the searing anger of a new generation in Nigeria.