DRAMATURGIES OF FEMALE REPRESENTATION IN SELECTED KENYAN DRAMA

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.