[Ghanabib 1819 – 1979 prepared 23/11/2011] [Ghanabib 1980 – 1999 prepared 30/12/2011] [Ghanabib 2000 – 2005 prepared 03/03/2012] [Ghanabib 2006 – 2009 prepared 09/03/2012] GHANAIAN THEATRE A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SOURCES A WORK IN PROGRESS BY JAMES GIBBS File Ghana. Composite on ‘Ghana’ 08/01/08 Nolisment Publications 2006 edition The Barn, Aberhowy, Llangynidr Powys NP8 1LR, UK 9 ISBN 1-899990-01-1 The study of their own ancient as well as modern history has been shamefully neglected by educated inhabitants of the Gold Coast. John Mensah Sarbah, Fanti National Constitution. London, 1906, 71. This document is a response to a need perceived while teaching in the School of Performing Arts, University of Ghana, during 1994. In addition to primary material and articles on the theatre in Ghana, it lists reviews of Ghanaian play-texts and itemizes documents relating to the Ghanaian theatre held in my own collection. I have also included references to material on the evolution of the literary culture in Ghana, and to anthropological studies. The whole reflects an awareness of some of the different ways in which ‘theatre’ has been defined over the decades, and of the energies that have been expended in creating archives and check-lists dedicated to the sister of arts of music and dance. It works, with an ‘inclusive’ bent, on an area that focuses on theatre, drama and performance studies. When I began the task I found existing bibliographical work, for example that of Margaret D. Patten in relation to Ghanaian Imaginative Writing in English, immensely useful, but it only covered part of the area of interest. Resources for the study of local theatre had not been catalogued, and there was a distressing ignorance among the student body about sources and history. Few were informed about what had been happening in the theatre in Ghana or about what had been written. I found John Mensah-Sarbah’s observation reproduced above very pertinent. What follows is a work in progress, a partly annotated bibliography from which a variety of strands could, and I hope will, be plucked. Additional research needs to be undertaken, and I hope information about new entries and, when necessary, corrections to existing ones will be sent to me at the address below. At this point, I would say that it is particularly important that the back numbers of certain publications, including newspapers, must be thoroughly investigated, that the memories of those involved in Ghanaian theatre must be tapped, and that the files of theatre groups must be secured and sifted. For limited periods publications such as Okyeame, Sankofa, Pleisure and What’s On? attempted to keep track of contemporary events in the Ghanaian theatre. And there have been other short- lived attempts. For example, during my eight months in Ghana during 1994, I edited a School of Performing Arts Newsletter that aimed to be a ‘publication of record’. The SPA Newsletter provided coverage of productions put on at Legon and in Accra, and published articles that filled in some gaps about the recent past. Charles Angmor (1996), Karl Richard Priebe (1986) and Kofi Agovi (1990) are among those who have produced substantial surveys of the theatre in Ghana and anyone wanting an overview of the history might start with them. However those dipping into the entries below will realise that there are other places one could start.. This publication is offered to all those who were members of the Legon 7 in the late sixties and early seventies, and for those who were in the School of Performing Arts during the first part of 1994. Since 18 November 1994, when the first Enuanom edition of the bibliography appeared, new entries have come to my attention and what may be considered revised and up-date ‘editions’ have been prepared. These have been issued by Nolisment Publications and made available on disc to some of those researching Ghanaian theatre. Distribution continues and the initiative taken by Dr Anja Oed in November 2011 has led to the document being made available on line through http://www.jahn-bibliothek.ifeas.uni-mainz.de/321_ENG_HTML.php. This opens up exciting possibilities for the exchange of information and documents that I hope will be explored. I would like to record that I first met Dr Oed on a visit to Germany made possible by the University of the West of England, my then employers, to whom I am grateful. With the exception of UWE support for that lecture tour on which I did research in the Jahn Library, no funding body has contributed to the research reflected in this document. In undertaking a work of this kind one incurs many debts. Where interviews are recorded or archives acknowledged, thanks are implied to those interviewed and to those in charge of collections. Among the many who have helped fill in details or add to the collection of documents, I would like to recognise here assistance from Michael Anderson, Wilfred Court, Eric and Auriole Earle. Evans Oma Hunter and former colleagues in at the University of Ghana have been among the Ghanaian theatre enthusiasts who have made material available. In the United States, Bernth Lindfors has set standards and examples in African bibliography and in colleaguely sharing of material that have long been an inspiration. My wife has been a constant source of support and insight. I am acutely aware that references, even or particularly annotated references, are only starting points for researchers. Original documents have to be consulted. This can only happen if an adequate theatre archive is established, preferably in Ghana – or if an adequate virtual archive can be created. Readers will, I hope, quickly apprehend the importance of existing archives and will ponder how they might be enlarged, improved, used and their long-term future secured. At this point, and I am adjusting the bibliography in response to the invitation from the Jahn Library, I would say that I see the Bokoor African Popular Music Archives Foundation, the International Centre for African Music and Dance and the Library of the Institute of African Studies, Legon, as crucial for the evolution of a Ghana Theatre Archive. My own collection of journals, books, photo-copies and ephemera is currently held in my home, on shelves and in a cupboard. This is clearly a temporary arrangement! James Gibbs 8 Victoria Square, Bristol BS8 4ET, UK Tel 0044 (0) 117 973 66 15, [email protected] Abbreviations ALA African Literature Association ALAB African Literature Association Bulletin AMP African Morning Post ARPS Aborigines Rights Protection Society ASA African Studies Association ATCAL Association for the Teaching of Caribbean and African Literature (Sometimes another 'A' - for 'Asian' - is included.) AWS African Writers' Series, Heinemann publications. BA Books Abroad, now World Literature Today. Published: Norman, Oklahoma. BALE Black African Literature in English, invaluable series of bibliographies by Bernth Lindfors BAMPF Bokoor African Popular Music Archives Foundation (John Collins’ initiative. There are plans for expansion. See website.) BBC AA British Broadcasting Corporation Arts in Africa. (I have had access to transcriptions of some programmes.) BLASR British Library Archival Sound Recordings, includes African Writers’ Club that contains Transcription Centre recording, many of them made by Dennis Duerden. Active during the sixties. http://sounds.bl.uk/SearchResults.aspx? BLRRC Black Lineage Reality Research Centre Black Lineage Reality Research Centre C Cedis. (The Ghanaian currency was at one stage referred to as ‘New Cedis’ following de/revaluation. More recently the form ‘GHC’ has come into use.) CEIA Cultural Events in Africa, published by the Transcription Centre, London. chor. Choreographed by CNC Centre for National Culture COSGA The Copyright Society of Ghana CRNLE Centre for Research in the New Literatures in English, Reviews Journal, Flinders, University of South Australia CUP Cambridge University Press Dapamada Danish Association for the Promotion of African Music, Drama and Art ECRAG Entertainment Critics and Reviewers Association of Ghana ESA English Studies in Africa GBC Ghana Broadcasting Corporation GCI Gold Coast Independent GCL Gold Coast Leader GCN Gold Coast News GCS Gold Coast Spectator GCT Gold Coast Times GFIC Ghana Film Corporation Gh C Ghanaian Chronicle GHFAM Ghana Fair for Arts and Music GIAC Ghana Institute of Arts and Culture GIPAS Ghana International Performing Arts Society GPC Ghana Publishing Corporation GRi Ghana Review International, accessible on line GSA Ghana School Aid, UK-registered NGO. GHASCAP Ghanaian Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers GT Ghanaian Times IAS Institute of African Studies. ICAMD International Centre for African Music and Dance, Legon IJOAHS International Journal of African Historical Studies ITG International Theatre Group, based in Accra. JJL/ JL Janheinz Jahn Library, Mainz KUST Kumasi University of Science and Technology, a.k.a. ‘Tech’. Legon University of Ghana, Legon. MRA Moral Re-Armament, a.k.a ‘The Oxford Group’ and, now, ‘Initiatives of Change’. MUSIGA Musicians Union of Ghana NAFTI National Film and Television Institute NC New Cedis NCC National Commission on Culture NOYAM African Dance Institute, see http://noyam.org/index.php?id=8 OE Oversea Education, published in London. OUCRP Oxford University Colonial Records Project PAFAM Pan-African Fair for Arts and Music PANAFEST or ‘Panafest’ Pan African Festival of Historical Drama PNDC Provisional National Defence Council PRAAD Public Records and Archives Administration Department (ak.a Archives’.) PRO Public Record Office, Kew, UK. RAL Research in African Literature, initially edited in Austin, subsequently moved to Bloomington. SMAD School of Music and Drama, Legon, part of the University of Ghana qualifications. SPA School of Performing Arts, name replaced ‘School of Music and Drama’ in 1977. Septemberfest Sunlight International Arts Festival, held during September at the National Theatre, in, for example,.