Editorial

Abstract

From the live theatre, to street performance and to interactive television drama, African theatre and performance remain alive, resilient, and relevant to contemporary landscapes.  Africa—imagined, constructed, and symbolic—takes shape in these varied genres and spaces, all of which underscore the critical role of theatre and performance as zones of creativity and socio-political dialogue.  The papers compiled in this special issue of Pula corroborate this assertion.  Ranging in topic, the papers in some way or other, speak to three key issues: (i) memory and memorialization, (ii) identity construction, and (iii) performance aesthetics.  For some authors, Africa is remembered and/or re-membered through self-defining acts and scenarios of self-determination that are attained through African-inspired idioms and enactments.