Staging the Amistad : three Sierra Leonean plays / edited and introduced by Matthew J. Christensen.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Christensen, Matthew J. (Matthew James), 1970- editor, writer of introduction.

Class of 1924 Book Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sierra Leonean drama (English).

Enslaved persons.

Sierra Leone.

Enslaved persons--Sierra Leone--Drama.

Sierra Leonean drama (English)--20th century.

Genre:

Drama.

Fiction.

Physical Description:

xxviii, 169 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Athens, Ohio : Ohio University Press, [2019]

Summary:

"Staging the Amistad collects in print for the first time plays about the Amistad slave revolt by three of Sierra Leone's most influential playwrights of the latter decades of the twentieth century: Charlie Haffner, Yulisa Amadu "Pat" Maddy, and Raymond de'Souza-George. Until the late 1980s, when the first of these plays was performed, the 1839 shipboard slave rebellion and the return of its victors to their homes in what is modern-day Sierra Leone had been an unrecognized chapter in the country's history. The plays recast the tale of heroism, survival, and resistance to tyranny as a distinctly Sierra Leonean story, emphasizing the agency of its African protagonists. For this reason, Haffner, Maddy, and de'Souza-George counterbalance the better-known American representations of the rebellion, which center on American characters and American political and cultural concerns. The first public performances of these plays constituted a watershed moment. Written and staged immediately before and after the start of Sierra Leone's decade-long conflict, they brought the Amistad rebellion to public consciousness. Furthermore, their turn to a uniquely Sierra Leonean history of heroic resistance to tyranny highlights the persistent faith in nation-state nationalism and the dreams of decolonization"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction : staging the Amistad / Matthew J. Christensen

Sengbe Pieh : a ballad / Charlie Haffner

Amistad kata-kata / Charlie Haffner

The Amistad revolt : (adapted from the novel Echo of lions, by Barbara Chase-Riboud) / Yulisa Amadu Maddy

The broken handcuff / Raymond E.D. de'Souza George.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Class of 1924 Book Fund.

ISBN:

9780821423608

0821423606

9780821423615

0821423614

OCLC:

1051685044