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Africanizing classical European playwrights (Shakespeare and Molière)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 November 2018

Maëline Le Lay
Maëline Le Lay*
Affiliation:
CNRS / IFRA, Nairobi, Kenya
*
m.le.lay@sciencespobordeaux.fr
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Abstract

This article analyses Shakespeare and Molière's enduring appeal in various African countries and the diversity of their plays’ adaptations. The starting point is the discrepancy between the two playwrights, Shakespeare in Africa being an artistic phenomenon (a controversial one in some quarters), while the adaptation of Molière remains mainly the domain of school curricula. This article will first provide a historical overview of activities related to the introduction of Shakespeare and Molière's works in Africa. Second, it will set out to analyse the varied adaptation and “Africanization” of both playwrights’ work. It will shed light on the political and scholarly disputes over the incorporation of these authors in school curricula after independence and examine the ways in which these classical European texts were domesticated in Africa.

Keywords

TheatreAdaptation and translationClassical playsShakespeareMolièreColonial education policies
Type
Article
Information
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies , Volume 81 , Special Issue 3: Translating African Thought and Literature , October 2018 , pp. 493 - 512
Copyright
Copyright © SOAS, University of London 2018 

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Footnotes

Initially written in English, this article was corrected by researcher, lecturer and French to English translator, Melissa Thackway. I would also like to thank Marie-Aude Fouéré for her very informed reading of this article, as well as Léonor Delaunay, Omar Fertat, Étienne Smith, Céline Labrune-Badiane, and Tristan Leperlier for having provided me with various helpful documents and materials.

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