Lecturer in charge: Dr Harold McDermott [Room 3 – Old Arts Block]

An introduction to West Indian drama in English, with attention to sources, historical development, major writers and modes, as well as performance practices and the ideas which inform them. The study of the plays will consider the differences between the dramatic text as an object of literary study and the play text or script as a ‘blueprint' for performance.

Prerequisite: E10C
Instruction: 2 lectures, 1 tutorial per week

The course undertakes a historical survey of the development of theatre in the West Indies with reference to some of the most prominent playwrights, including Errol Hill, Derek Walcott, Trevor Rhone and Dennis Scott. A comparative study of three two-handers (Walcott, Rhone , Williams) will be followed by three contemporary plays ( Contemporary Caribbean Drama – Sistren, Hippolyte, Strachan) all in an attempt to answer questions like:

1. What makes a play West Indian?
2. How do indigenous, traditional forms influence theatre practice?
3. To what extent and how does the theatre respond to political issues in the nation(s)/region?

Evaluation: In-course test(s) 10%
2 coursework assignments 30%
Final 2-hour exam (2 questions) 60%

Prescribed Texts:

Rhone, Trevor. Two Can Play and School's Out (Heinemann pb) Walcott,
Derek. Remembrance and Pantomime (Faber pb)
Walters, Ericka & David Edgecombe (eds). Contemporary Drama of the Caribbean (The
Caribbean Writer's Research Publications, University of the Virgin Islands pb)

Highly Recommended Texts:

Stone, Judy. Theatre: Studies in West Indian Literature (Macmillan pb)