An analysis of form and thematic pre-occupations of Mohammed Ben-Abdallah’s Drama

Abstract

Drama is artistic when it depicts life. It deals with man's experience which is the raw material for the playwright who is above all else a member of his particular society. He absorbs the culture of his society, takes in the language, observes the environment, discovers its idiosyncrasies and tries to reproduce them in his writings, especially in a format that connects with the aesthetic and social values of his audience. Mohammed ben-Abdallah is one Ghanaian dramatist who has developed a unique theatrical technique that easily addresses both the aesthetic and social yearnings and hiccups of society by re-inventing the history and indigenous knowledge of his society. This thesis examines the form and thematic pre-occupations of Mohammed ben-Abdallah’s drama and its impact towards theatre development in Ghana. The Fall of Kumbi and The Trial of Mallam Ilya were used to explore his dramatic form and how he radically exploits history and indigenous cultural practices by reading meanings into them and re-inventing history to comment on social, religious and political issues. Textual analysis and overlapping methodologies were used in ascertaining the uniqueness of his drama.