Black Theatre: Ritual Performance in the African Diaspora

This volume contains essays written by playwrights, scholars and critics that analyze African American theatre as it is practiced today. Even as they acknowledge that Black experience is not monolithic, these contributors argue provocatively for a Black consciousness that creates a culturally specific theatre. This theatre, rooted in African mythos, offers ritual rather than realism; it transcends the specifics of social relations, reaching toward revelation. The ritual performance that is intrinsic to Black theatre renews the community.