Black Theatre and Performance A Pan-African Bibliography

Subjects:

• The Arts » Theater
• Multicultural Studies » Black Studies

Awards:

• Choice Outstanding Academic Book, 1990

Reviews:

• Over 4,000 citations of primary and secondary (critical and biographical) works on the writing and performance of theater in Africa and the African diaspora in Canada, Europe (including the UK), the Caribbean, and Latin America. Arranged both by geography and by playwright. A useful supplement to the bibliographies in many collections.
  —Reference & Research Book News
• This important work contains just short of 4,000 citations to monographs, chapters in monographs, journal articles, dissertations, audio tapes, video tapes, and reviews. Drawn from a wide range of sources, the citations are to North American and Western European as well as African imprints. The main body of the work is divided into three sections: `Cultural History and the Arts,' `African Theatre,' and `Black Theatre and Performance in the Diaspora.' Further subdivisions within these sections focus on geographical areas and individual playwrights. There are two appendixes, the first containing an additional 200 citations to general reference works in the area of African and black theater, the second consisting of extensive regional lists of individual playwrights and theater companies. Because of its arrangement, it is an easy bibliography to browse. Four separate indexes (artist, title, subject, and author) simplify its use even further. No other bibliographic compilation in African and black theater is as recent or as comprehensive. Highly recommended for all academic libraries.
  —Choice
• This first major bibliographic collection includes both Africa and the African Diaspora in its references, charting the evolution black theatre and its performers throughout Africa, the Caribbean, Europe and Latin America. Over four thousand entries are offered from media which includes unpublished papers, dissertations and videotapes, making this one of the most extensive references available on the subject.
  —The Bookwatch
• Black culture historian specialist John Gray had compiled the first major bibliography on Black theatre and performance in Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, and Canada. Equal treatment is given to Africa and the African Diaspora, as well as to biographical/critical material and play texts. The work is organized into two categories: (1) Studies of specific geographic areas and countries, and, (2) Materials on individual playwrights. Within these divisions, works cited are divided according to type, such as book, journal, or dissertation. Also included is a listing of major bibliographies on African-American theatre and two appendices citing reference sources and regional listings of African and African Diaspora playwrights and theatre groups. Four additional indexes cover artists, play titles, subjects, and authors. John Gray is currently director of the Black Arts Research Center described elsewhere in this issue of the Newsletter.
  —International Theatre Institute Newsletter
• Author John Gray lists more than 4,000 entries from books, dissertations, theses, unpublished papers, media, and other sources in Black Theatre and Performance: A Pan-African Bibliography. Gray features more than 650 playwrights and theater groups from 45 countries excluding the U.S. in the 414-page, indexed work. Performance genres cited range from South African protest plays to African masquerades and New World carnivals. Citations are arranged both by individual playwright and by geographic area. No. 25 in the Bibliographies and Indexes in Afro-American Studies series.
  —American Libraries
• An exhaustive Pan-African bibliography complied by John Gray, Black Theatre and Performance numbers over 4000 entries of works by 650 playwrights and theatre collectives in 45 countries. Its two categories cover studies of theatre/performers in distinct geographical areas, and studies of theatre/performers in distinct geographical areas, and studies of works by individual playwrights. This is a first major bibliography of this type and scope, providing invaluable data on ethnic and dramatic material.
  —Back Stage
• This comprehensive reference attemps to give scholars and students a means to expand the theatrical canon. Listings are divided into three sections: Cultural History and the Arts; African Theatre; and Black Theatre and Performance in the Diaspora: Europe, Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America (the U.S. is noticeably absent). Sections are divided in turn into general works, regional studies and individual playwrights.
  —American Theatre

Table of Contents:

• Introduction
• Cultural History and the Arts
• African Theatre
• General Works
• Regional Studies: West Africa, Southern Africa, East Africa
• Individual Playwrights
• Black Theatre in the Diaspora--Europe, Canada, the Caribbean, and Latin America
• General Works
• Regional Studies
• Appendix I: Reference Works
• Appendix II: Regional List of Playwrights and Theatre Companies
• Artists Index
• Title Index
• Subject Index
• Author Index