Global Theatre Anthologies: Ancient, Indigenous and Modern Plays from Africa and the Diaspora

Perhaps, in a decade from now, we will look back at this moment in time and wince at the fact that there was an evident and urgent need to have a broader and more representative curriculum. The work that's being done now, by publishers and exam boards and policymakers, is clearly long overdue but it's an important step forward in the sense that the canon or what's studied becomes a bit less pale, stale and male. This is where books like Global Theatre Anthologies are worth their weight in gold. Its subtitle, ‘Ancient, Indigenous and Modern Plays from Africa and the Disapora’ is both impressive and telling you everything you need to know.

This is a handsome, weighty and beautifully curated edition. Credit must go to editors Simon Gikandi and R. N. Sandberg for their play selection, their illuminating introduction and the selection of editions of playtexts with some context and introduction of their own. It can't have been easy to secure the rights for such a wide-reaching collection; the beauty is that you can hold, in one edition, an entire world of drama.

I'll hold my hands up. I was familiar with Wole Soyinka's harrowing, colonial-set Death and the King's Horseman, Athol Fugard's urgent study of white supremacy, Sizwe Banzi Is Dead and Derek Walcott's gorgeous, poetic Dream on Monkey Mountain. However, there are seven other fascinating plays here, well worthy of your time and attention. Particularly striking is The Masque of the Boa-Constrictor, billed as a ‘Yoruba Masquerade’ and Michael Gilkes modern Couvade. Unified by an international and broadly non-Western perspective, this is a rich and illuminating collection. It makes us consider sets of values and traditions which are different to our own and gives us huge insight into theatrical traditions both ancient and contemporary.

So, who is this for? That's probably the only real stumbling block with this issue. The best-known plays here have appeared on exam board set text lists over the years and would be fantastic for bright and capable A Level students. The remainder is exciting and rich with insight but unlikely to be seized upon by teachers and students. Some of the one-act plays are very short and, therefore, might be suitable for practical exploration or study. What's here is wonderful in terms of playwriting, stagecraft and editorial insight, but might be of limited use to many classroom teachers.