Dialects and dynamics of religion in theatre: reflections on gender and sexuality in selected Zimbabwean theatrical performances

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Periodical article

Title:	Dialects and dynamics of religion in theatre: reflections on gender and sexuality in selected Zimbabwean theatrical performances
Author:	Chivandikwa, Nehemia
Year:	2010
Periodical:	Journal for the Study of Religion (ISSN 1011-7601)
Volume:	23
Issue:	1-2
Pages:	131-149
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Zimbabwe
Subjects:	drama Christianity African religions gender roles values
Abstract:	The relation between religious epistemologies and theatrical constructions deserve special recognition and focus. Focusing on Zimbabwe, this paper examines the way theatrical images of gender and sexuality reflect (and reflect on) the tensions, paradoxes and contradictions, but also the possibilities of convergence and enrichment, between Christianity and the traditional African epistemologies and practices. Innocent Dube's 'Africano-Americano' (2002) and Daniel Maphosa's 'Heaven's Diary' (2004) are used as typical case studies. The paper argues that these plays demonstrate how theatre is engaged in the process of at least challenging myths, rituals and dogma which oppress women. At the same time, there is tension between socioreligious ideological consciousness and the lived experiences of the characters in the two plays, which is a reflection of what is obtaining in the society in which the two plays function. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [ASC Leiden abstract]