The Generation of Plays: Yoruba Popular Life in Theater

NEW CATALOG COPY (announcing paperback edition):
In The Generation of Plays, Karin Barber recounts the history of the Odin Adéjobi Theater Company and uncovers the pulse points of generation, production, and improvisation that merge when a Yorùbá popular drama is brought to the stage. This rich and detailed book opens a window into the social and cultural worlds of actors and audiences.

ORIGINAL CATALOG COPY:
"Karin Barber has given us a vivid picture of one of the most vital forms of modern African popular art. It is beautifully written and informed by a deep affection for the subject . . . . a major contribution to the cultural history of Nigeria." ―J. D. Y. Peel

From the 1940s to the 1980s, Yoruba popular theater was one of the most spectacularly successful theaters in Africa. Today, these traveling companies have virtually disappeared, largely as a result of economic hardship and the rise of video entertainment. In The Generation of Plays, Karin Barber recounts the history of the Oyin Adejobi Theatre company. Drawing on archival sources as well as extensive interviews and transcriptions of plays, Barber uncovers the pulse points of generation, production, and improvisation that merge when a Yoruba popular drama is brought to the stage.