| dc.description.abstract | This study examines the dramaturgies used in the representation of the female gender in
Kenyan drama. The study examines Kyalo‘s The Hunter is Back (2010), Imbuga‘s The
Return of Mgofu (2011) and The Green Cross of Kafira (2013), and Gitumbi‘s A New
Dawn (2012). The study sought to illustrate the representation of women in the selected
plays and examine the ideological persuasions used by the playwrights in the selected
plays. This thesis, therefore, interrogated the artistic strategies employed by the
playwrights in the representation of female characters in the selected texts. The
researcher adopted a qualitative research design. The four primary texts were
purposively sampled. A textual exegesis was conducted from close reading and content
analysis as the method of data collection and analysis. Primary texts were subjected to
close reading to provide data for analysis. The researcher also referred to secondary
sources to support her arguments. The study used a theoretical framework that
combined post-colonialism in general and gender theories in particular. This study finds
that the representation of women Kenyan drama still casts them as victims of cultural
burdens of traditional gender roles and constrained options in behaviour. The study
shows that dramaturgies can be effectively employed to imagine and redefine new
visions of women in Kenya today. The study recommends further research on
dramaturgy and its implication on women‘s representation to enhance understanding
women‘s experiences in contemporary Kenyan drama. | en_US |
