{"id":1162,"date":"2019-01-03T19:00:43","date_gmt":"2019-01-03T19:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/18\/?p=1162"},"modified":"2022-02-06T21:01:56","modified_gmt":"2022-02-06T21:01:56","slug":"tribute-to-professor-hans-thies-lehmann-on-the-occasion-of-his-investiture-as-the-2018-iatc-thalia-laureate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/18\/tribute-to-professor-hans-thies-lehmann-on-the-occasion-of-his-investiture-as-the-2018-iatc-thalia-laureate\/","title":{"rendered":"Tribute to Professor Hans-Thies Lehmann on the Occasion of His Investiture as the 2018 IATC Thalia Laureate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Emmanuel S. Dandaura<\/strong>*<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\nstand here today on behalf of the body of African theatre scholars and critics\nto salute you, Professor Hans-Thies Lehmann, for your contributions to the\nadvancement of theatre and performance scholarship. Your enduring ideas are\ncouched in your two groundbreaking publications: Postdramatic Theatre<\/em> (1999), and Tragedy and Dramatic Theatre<\/em> (2016), both of which are fundamental\nto a balanced understanding of the dramatic arts. You have, through these\nworks, awakened humanity to the proper appreciation of the diversity of\ndramatic traditions and approaches across cultures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As\nan African scholar, I recall that, in the 1950s, the few European critics and\nanthropologists who studied African theatre concluded that such indigenous\nperformances were anything but drama because they lack \u201clinguistic contents,\nplot, represented interaction of several characters, specialised scenery. . . .\u201d[1]<\/sup><\/a> African performances\nwere then described as \u201cquasi-dramatic phenomena,\u201d \u201cpre-drama\u201d or performances\nwith mere \u201cdramatic elements\u201d or \u201cparticles of drama.” The crux of their\nargument was that Greek Dionysian drama developed from ritual, mimesis,\nsuspense and the like. Thus, African performances do not qualify as drama until\nthey are made to render their stories in line with the Aristotelian dictates on\nthe well-made play. I must mention that few African scholars also shared this\nsubjective assessment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
From left to right: Peng Tao, Deepa Punjani, Margareta S\u00f6renson, Hans-Thies Lehmann, and Emmanuel Dandaura. Photo: Franco Bonfiglio<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

However,\nby the late 1960s, there emerged an alternative ideological construct that\nsince \u201cfunction determines the nature of theatre and drama in every culture,\u201d\nAfrican performances should not be expected to develop along Western dramatic\nprecepts. Coming over four decades after the above debates,[2]<\/sup><\/a> your book, Postdramatic Theatre<\/em>, offered a fresh\nprism. The ideas contained therein seek to liberate suppressed traditions from\nwhat you rightly termed \u201ca model of theatre (of art, of politics) which has\nproduced great works from Shakespeare to Ibsen, but is now mainly a problematic\nideology which I call dramatisation and which especially in politics hides\nreality.\u201d[3]<\/sup><\/a>\nYou opted for the term \u201cpostdramatic theatre\u201d because you saw the need to break\nthe hegemony of the dramatic tradition, which was suppressing and fast\nsupplanting alternative theatre traditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As\none of the beneficiaries of your revolutionary thought, African theatre, which\nwas hitherto considered \u201cnot dramatic,\u201d took on prominence as a body of unique\nand authentic theatre traditions. Interestingly, what crystalised in your\nwell-crafted writings as characteristics of the \u201cpostdramatic theatre\u201d comes\nthrough to the objective minded as a re-appraisal of the core values and\ntechniques of indigenous African theatre. Your \u201cpostdramatic theatre\u201d emphasizes\nthe ultimate impact of theatre performances on the audience over fidelity to\nthe playwright\u2019s text and centrality of dialogue, diction, syllogism and\nsuspense as drivers of drama. It does not pay particular attention to being\ndramatic, but, instead, focuses on performativity and celebrates individual\nimpulses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus,\nthe hitherto thin line separating theatre, reality and performance was removed.\nRather than serve as \u201cwillful suspension of disbelief,\u201d theatre functions as a\ncontinuum of day-to-day existence. In your \u201cpostdramatic theatre,\u201d the\nperformer is liberated as his engagement with the audience now transcends\ndialogue. It is intriguing that these are features of most African theatre\nperformances as well. Like most African theatre forms, \u201cpostdramatic theatre\u201d\nis eclectic. It embraces heterogeneous styles in its conception and performance.\nAlso, like your \u201cpostdramatic theatre,\u201d the typical African sees the ceremonial\naspect of theatre as important. This is because theatre in Africa is more about\nshared than communicated experiences. Similarly, the ordinary African sees life\nas fragmentary; therefore, the structure and content of his theatre often\nreflects this non-hierarchy in life. This again, is a central feature of your\n\u201cpostdramatic theatre.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
From left to right: Peng Tao, Deepa Punjani, Emmanuel Dandaura, Margareta S\u00f6renson, and Hans-Thies Lehmann (reading). Photo: Franco Bonfiglio<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The\nabove are not mere coincidences. They indicate the depth of research and extra\nefforts you have taken to synthesizing your remarkable contributions from\nvarious cultures and theatre traditions, including those very remote from your\nimmediate base in Germany. This, to me, is part of the character of great\nscholars. I see a complimentary duality here. Your well-thought-out submissions\nvalidate most African theatre traditions, in the same way that African\nindigenous theatre forms validate your widely acclaimed \u201cpostdramatic\u201d thought.\nIt is in this duality that your contributions resonate among African theatre\nscholars. Apart from your ideas being studied in most theatre schools in Africa\ntoday, an analysis of some of the contemporary performances in African\ndemonstrate conscious (in some cases, even unconscious) experiments with the\nideas you have articulated in your book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides\nPostdramatic Theatre<\/em>, your other\nbook, Tragedy and Dramatic Theatre<\/em>,\nis in my estimation, one of the most authoritative and thorough discourses on\ntragedy. It is gratifying to note that, in mid December 2018, scholars from\nover twenty African countries and parts of the Arab world will participate in\nan international scientific symposium dedicated to examining the impact of \u201cpostdramatic\ntheatre\u201d in Africa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\nis axiomatic to state that this is a rare honour reserved only for scholars\nwhose ideas have either disrupted existing knowledge, or have the potential to\nsignificantly impact future theories and practice in their fields. Your message\nis apt:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPostdramatic\ntheatre\u201d means also: finding back those traditions of theatre that have been\nsuperseded and suppressed by the dramatic tradition. I am certain that already\nin the near future the rediscovery and a new high esteem of these traditions\nwill lead to an unheard of outburst of creativity which may enter into\nunexpected liaisons with the dramatic.[4]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your\nexpectations are already manifest in the growing recognition of indigenous African\nperformances as authentic theatre traditions in their own right. This explains\nwhy, on behalf of my colleagues in Africa, I join the global body of theatre\ncritics and scholars to celebrate you this day as an eminent and internationally\nrecognised theatre scholar of the twenty-first century. That your book Postdramatic Theatre<\/em> has been translated\ninto more than twenty languages in less than two decades of its release further\njustifies your recognition as a worthy winner of the 2018 edition of the\ncoveted Thalia Prize. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congratulations!
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

[1]<\/sup><\/a> Ruth Finnegan, Oral Literature in Africa,<\/em> Oxford: the\nClarendon Press, 1970, 500.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2]<\/sup><\/a> Most of the debate by\nEuropean and African scholars on this matter are reproduced in Yemi Ogunbiyi\n(ed.) Drama and Theatre in Nigeria: A\nCritical Source Book<\/em>, Lagos: Nigeria Magazine, 1980.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3]<\/sup><\/a> Hans-Thies Lehmann\u2019s comments on postdramatic\ntheatre quoted here is contained in a goodwill message he sent to the 2018\nInternational Scientific symposium hosted December 11-12, 2018, as part of the\n2018 International Carthage Theatre Festival held in Tunis, Ministry of\nCultural Affairs, Tunisia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

[4]<\/sup><\/a> The same as 3 above. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n\"\"\n\n\n\n

*<\/a>Emmanuel S. Dandaura <\/strong>is a Festival Director and Professor of Participatory Communication and Performance Aesthetics with the Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Nigeria. He is President of the Nigerian section of the International Association of Theatre Critics and member of the International Executive Committee of the IATC. Dandaura has over 86 published articles in highly rated international academic journals and currently serves as editor of Nzeh Magazine<\/em>, Nigeria\u2019s flagship magazine dedicated to exposing Africa\u2019s Culture and Tourism destinations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Copyright \u00a9<\/strong> 2018 Emmanuel S. Dandaura
Critical Stages\/Sc\u00e8nes critiques<\/em> e-ISSN: 2409-7411<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This work is licensed under the
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Emmanuel S. Dandaura* I stand here today on behalf of the body of African theatre scholars and critics to salute you, Professor Hans-Thies Lehmann, for your contributions to the advancement of theatre and performance scholarship. Your enduring ideas are couched<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1163,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[61],"tags":[62],"class_list":["post-1162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-thalia-prize","tag-by-emmanuel-s-dandaura","","tg-column-two"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/18\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2019\/01\/Dandaura1.jpg?fit=550%2C364&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pam472-iK","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/18\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/18\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/18\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/18\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/18\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1162"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/18\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1162\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1663,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/18\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1162\/revisions\/1663"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/18\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/18\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/18\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/18\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}