Doctoral Defense: Ibsen on the West African Stage—A Case of a Complicated Relationship

Abstract

At the brink of the collapse of colonial rule, literary and theatrical endeavors in sub-Saharan African colonies were most often political. The plays of Henrik Ibsen found their way into many British colonies because their subjects were relevant to local theatre and literary enthusiasts. Additionally, changes in Ibsen ’ s literary reception in these colonies suggest a development in the attitudes of colonial subjects. In southeastern Asia, particularly India, there is a thriving Ibsen performance tradition on its postcolonial theatre stages. In sub-Saharan Africa, the southern region has shown a sustained interest in Ibsen ’ s works, while very little can be said about the western region. This dissertation sets out to explain the low interest in Ibsen ’ s works on the theatre stages of western Africa by drawing on some markers from Ghana and Nigeria. The study finds its premise on the mapped travels of the play A Doll ’ s House on the IbsenStage database to piece together historical and political patterns of the reception of Ibsen in Ghana. In a broader context of female imaging in western African literary traditions, the study situates an argument of reception linked to the traditions of performing and imaging maternity and women. This dissertation finds that colonial censorship rules, nationalist sentiments of the early post-colonial period, governmental policies on culture, and some traditions of