Monarchs, Missionaries and African Intellectuals

Much of the work in the field of African studies still relies on rigid distinctions of 'tradition' and 'modernity', 'collaboration' and 'resistance', 'indigenous' and 'foreign'. This book moves well beyond these frameworks to probe the complex entanglements of different intellectual traditions in the South African context, by examining two case studies. The case studies constitute the core around which is woven this intriguing story of the development of black theatre in South Africa in the early years of the century. It also highlights the dialogue between African and African-American intellectuals, and the intellectual formation of the early African elite in relation to colonial authority and how each affected the other in complicated ways.The first case study centres on Mariannhill Mission in KwaZulu-Natal. Here the evangelical and pedagogical drama pioneered by the Rev Bernard Huss, is considered alongside the work of one of the mission's most eminent alumni, the poet and scholar, B.W. Vilakazi. The second moves to Johannesburg and gives a detailed insight into the working of the Bantu Dramatic Society and the drama of H.I.E. Dhlomo in relation to the British Drama League and other white liberal cultural activities.

Preface and AcknowledgementsNote on Zulu OrthographyIntroduction: Staging the (Alien)nation: African Theatre and the Colonial ExperienceChapter 1 'All Work and No Play Makes Civilisation Unattractive to the Masses': Theatre and Mission Education at MariannhillChapter 2 'I Will Open My Mouth in Parables': Accounting for the Crevices in RedemptionChapter 3 Parallel Time, Parallel Signs, Discordant InterpretationsChapter 4 B.W. Vilakazi and the Poetics of the Mental War ZoneChapter 5 The Bantu Men's Social Centre: Meeting the Devil on His Own GroundChapter 6 The Bantu Dramatic Society According to a Gossip ColumnistChapter 7 Contesting 'The Bantu Imagination': The British Drama League and the New AfricansChapter 8 H.I.E. Dhlomo: Measuring the Distance between Armageddon and RevolutionChapter 9 The Black Bulls: Assembling the Broken GourdsChapter 10 Hegemony and Identity: What a Difference 'Play' MakesNotesBibliographyIndex