Efua T. Sutherland: The Marriage of Anansewa
THE MARRIAGE OF ANANSEWAA BY EFUA T. SUTHERLAND AUTHOR’S BACKGROUND Efua T. Sutherland is a Ghanaian, she is an innovator and she founded an Experimental Theater in 1958 and her plays, in Akan were acted. She has experimented with the integration of traditional Africa forms and European theatrical practice. The Marriage of Anansewaa is an experimental drama, for the playwright deviates from western/European conventional forms. Among the works of Efua Sutherland are: Anansewaa and the Dwarf Brigade, a play developed from a folktale, and Edufa. The dramatist uses the traditional folktales of her people – Akan people – to teach morals. TEXTUAL BACKGROUND AND SETTING The Marriage of Anansewaa is from 'Anansesem' – a form of storytelling by the Akan-speaking people developed from ‘Anansegoro.’ The name of 'Anansesem' literally means Ananse story. Ananse means spider. Ananse appears to represent a kind of every man, artistically exagger...