Chapter 4 - What Lies Behind the Façade?: Developing an Underlying Method for Bringing Drama and Black Theology Together

Summary

In the last chapter I demonstrated the means by which Black theology can be carried in a dramatic form in order to represent the concerns of marginalized and oppressed Black people who represent the voiceless presence in the present world order. In this chapter, I want to investigate the means by which these and other dramatic materials can be created in order to present and reflect an authentic theology of the voiceless.

In order to analyse the process that enabled me to create these pieces of drama (in addition to imagining the newer pieces that might emerge), I have sought to utilize concepts and epistemologies that arise from a range of disciplines.

Being in Solidarity with Those who are the Voiceless

One of the primary faults of many theologians and cultural commentators, who work on behalf of the voiceless, has been their inability to inhabit the “world” of those individuals and communities. Within historical and more contemporary discourse there has been a noble tradition of scholars speaking on “behalf” of and rarely “with” those who might be considered the voiceless. I have detailed some of these ongoing tensions in the first chapter of this book.

How can theology and the mission of the church speak with and enable others to find their voice, rather than speaking for them? In my area and context, I am aware that it has been a relatively recent innovation for Black scholars and authors to document the Black religious experience in Britain.