Tayo Simeon Arinde, Oludolapo Ojediran, Oluwatimileyin Omoniyi & Abolade Olawale Fakayode  (2026)

African playwrights, relishing on the creative and artistic embellishments in their writings, have used creative ingenuity to present the cultural ethos of Yoruba people to the global world, especially those who are alien to cultural cosmology of the Yoruba people. In the same direction, play directors have also used the tools to bring to the fore of theatre audiences; entertainment, education and enlightenment. In this direction, the creative adventure of Ahmed Yerima, which captures some of these cultural mainframes are identified in the selected play-texts, Kutelu and Ikudeti (2020). This is with a view to showcasing the cultural ethos and the liminal dramaturgy of the Yoruba culture and their relevance to the existence of man in their terrestrial space. Arnold Berleant (2005) theory of cultural aesthetics is used in the paper to explicate the Yoruba ethos and liminal dramaturgy as exploited by Ahmed Yerima in the selected play-texts and how he has through the literary works construct the link that exists between reality and imagination of the cultural philosophy of the Yoruba people. The paper concludes that cultural ethos and liminal dramaturgy are tools that play directors can use to seamlessly articulate African dramatic expressions. Consequently, playwrights are encouraged to explore more cultural ethos and symbolic extractions to showcase African rich cultural heritage.

David Chapman Quayson, Divine Kwabena Atta Kyere-Owusu  & Sika Koomson  (2026)

Despite global advances in inclusive theatre, deaf individuals in Ghana remain largely excluded from the performing arts, a topic severely neglected in local scholarship. This qualitative study maps the barriers to deaf theatre in Cape Coast by engaging nineteen participants from the Cape Coast School for the Deaf and Blind, including students, staff, and hearing audience members. Grounded in the social model of disability and social inclusion theory, data from interviews and observations reveal five interconnected obstacles: financial constraints limiting resources and personnel; a lack of technical facilities and trained instructors proficient in deaf education and sign language; time pressures within school schedules; and deeply entrenched attitudinal barriers, where societal misconceptions frame deafness as an inability. Despite these challenges, the proactive formation of a student cultural troupe demonstrates resilience and a refusal to accept these barriers as fixed. This study makes significant contributions by addressing a critical gap in Ghanaian scholarship, which has prioritised education and health over cultural access. It provides the first empirically grounded analysis of its kind, operationalising the social model within the cultural realm and offering a diagnostic framework to guide intervention. The findings underscore an urgent need for dedicated funding, infrastructure investment, professional development, and advocacy to foster genuine inclusion.

Abdulmalik Adakole Amali & Adebayo John Badeji  (2025)

The concept of the “actor” in African masquerade performance fundamentally challenges Western theatrical definitions of acting, performance, and representation. In Eurocentric theatre traditions, the actor is understood as an individual performer who consciously impersonates a fictional character before an audience, maintaining a clear distinction between self and role. African masquerade performance, by contrast, operates within a cosmological, ritual, and communal framework in which the performer is not merely acting but is believed to undergo a process of spiritual and ontological transformation. This article interrogates the notion of the “actor” in African masquerade by examining its philosophical foundations, ritual logic, performance structures, and socio-cultural functions. Drawing on performance theory, ritual studies, and African aesthetics, the paper argues that the masquerade performer occupies a liminal position that transcends conventional actor-character binaries. Through a comparative theoretical analysis of the Yoruba Egungun masquerade tradition, the study demonstrates that African masquerade performance redefines acting as embodiment, possession, and mediation rather than representation. The article concludes that any serious theorisation of African drama and theatre must reconceptualise the “actor” to account for indigenous epistemologies, ritual authority, and communal meaning-making.

Francis Gbormittah (2025)

This paper examines the life, work, and enduring legacy of Anumnyam Anumnyam, a seminal figure in Ghanaian cultural expression whose contributions span music, literature, performance, curation, and cultural activism. Employing a qualitative case study design, this research draws on in-depth interviews with Anumnyam, archival analysis of his literary works and organizational records, and critical review of his artistic collaborations to construct a holistic portrait of his career. A protégé and collaborator of the legendary percussionist Kofi Ghanaba (Warren Gamaliel Akwei), Anumnyam embodies a dynamic synthesis of traditional African aesthetics and contemporary artistic practice. His partnership with Ghanaba, an architect of Afro-jazz who revolutionized the integration of African talking drums into spiritual and jazz idioms, anchors Anumnyam within the broader narrative of Ghanaian cultural resurgence and Pan-Africanist thought. Beyond performance, Anumnyam has been instrumental in shaping national cultural policy and literary development. His leadership roles in key institutions including the Ghana Association of Writers (GAW) and the Pan-African Writers Association (PAWA), underscore his commitment to fostering creative communities and advancing the professionalization of the arts in Ghana and across the continent. As a writer, Anumnyam has enriched Ghanaian letters through poetry, children’s folktales, and biographical narratives. These works reflect a sustained engagement with cultural preservation, oral tradition, and the reimagining of African stories for new generations. Drawing on in-depth interview analysis, this paper situates Anumnyam’s multifaceted career within the larger context of 20th- and 21st-century Pan-African cultural renaissance. It argues that Anumnyam serves as both a custodian of heritage and a catalyst for innovation, bridging the artistic, intellectual, and political dimensions of African identity in a postcolonial world.

Margaret Ismaila & Ernest Kwasi Amponsah (2025)

African theatre remains a dynamic cultural form deeply rooted in indigenous performance traditions while continuously evolving in response to historical, political, and technological forces. This study presents a scoping review of African theatre scholarship published between the years 2000 and 2025, employing the Arksey and O’Malley framework to map the breadth, scope, and trajectory of research in the field. Drawing on fifty peer-reviewed articles, books, and grey literature sourced from databases including JSTOR, Africa Journals Online (AJOL), Research Gate, and Google Scholar, the review examines the historical evolution of African theatre from precolonial origins through colonial disruption to postcolonial and contemporary developments. Key thematic trends identified include indigenous aesthetics and cultural identity, theatre for development and social change, political theatre and peacebuilding, gender and feminist perspectives, and the growing influence of digital technologies and hybrid performance spaces. The findings reveal a geographical concentration of scholarship in Anglophone West and Southern Africa, with notable gaps in Francophone, Lusophone, Central, and North African contexts. The study highlights the increasing importance of digital performance and interdisciplinary methodologies while underscoring persistent challenges such as limited funding, infrastructural constraints, and insufficient policy support. By synthesizing existing literature and identifying underexplored areas, this review contributes a comprehensive overview of African theatre research and offers directions for future scholarly inquiry, policy development, and practice.

Wisdom Taylor (2025)

Creative Arts education in Ghanaian Colleges of Education has not received the recognition it deserves due to societal perceptions that associate it solely with individuals deemed naturally talented. This misconception has contributed to a decline in student interest and institutional support, particularly following its merger with Physical Education in the curriculum. Additionally, inadequate structures and resources hinder the effective implementation of creative arts education, especially at Gbewaa College of Education. This study, therefore, examined the role of Creative Arts pedagogy in the professional development of student teachers, comparing those enrolled in Creative Arts courses with their counterparts from other disciplines during their teaching practice. Data were gathered through interviews and classroom teaching observations using a qualitative research approach. A sample of 20 respondents was drawn from both Creative Arts and Non-Creative Arts student teachers using a quota sampling technique; the results provided insights into the impact of Creative Arts courses on the teaching skills of the student teachers during their teaching practice. It was revealed that Creative Arts courses enhance student teachers’ creative and problem-solving abilities, adaptability, and capacity for differentiated learning, which are key components of Ghana’s inclusivity policy in education. The study recommended the need for curriculum planners to intensify the place of Creative Arts in the Curriculum by making it compulsory for all level 100s in the Colleges of Education in Ghana, and also called for institutional support and resource allocation to strengthen Creative Arts pedagogy in Gbewaa College of Education.

Cosmas Nimbaaru (2025)

Despite Ghana’s rich indigenous festivals and musical traditions, many remain under-documented and insufficiently integrated into formal educational frameworks, leading to the marginalisation of indigenous knowledge systems in cultural and music education. The Kakube Festival of the Nandom Traditional Area is a vibrant cultural event that embodies the community’s historical consciousness, musical heritage, and social values; yet its educational relevance has received limited scholarly attention. This study explores the origins, musical traditions, and educational relevance of the Kakube Festival, with particular emphasis on its role in cultural identity formation, social cohesion, and community development. Adopting a qualitative research approach, the study examines the festival’s distinctive musical traditions, including indigenous drumming, singing and dance practices, and analyses their functions in cultural transmission, socialisation, and communal participation. The findings reveal that Kakube musical performances do not only serve as artistic expressions but also as informal educational tools through which history, values and collective identity are communicated across generations. This study underscores the importance of repositioning local cultural practices as valuable resources for holistic education and sustainable community development in Ghana.

Eyankuaire Moses Darah (2025)

This study examines the attitudes of the Urhobo and Isoko people towards polygamy, with a focus on the cultural significance of the proverb, ‘Ohoro ?vo hwe osh?’, literally one virgin kills the penis. This phrase, rooted in traditional mythology, suggests that a man’s habitual sexual encounter with only one woman can lead to the devastating consequence of non-erection. This research investigates how this belief influences Urhobo and Isoko attitudes towards promiscuity in general and polygamy in particular, including their perceptions of marital fidelity, sexual purity, and male virility. Through a qualitative analysis of interviews and focus groups, this study provides insights into the complex cultural dynamics underlying Urhobo and Isoko attitudes towards sexual promiscuity.

Edward Nii Mac-Palm & Rebecca Atchoi Akpanglo-Nartey  (2025)

The English language has spread far and wide and has resulted in various varieties, each with a distinct linguistic characteristic. In light of this linguistic evolution, the need for codifying Ghanaian English has become very important. This study explores vowel variation in Ghanaian English (GhaE) from a sociophonetic perspective, with a focus on three vowel sets: GOOSE, NURSE, and TRAP. While utilizing acoustic analysis, the study investigates how vowel quality and duration vary based on participant’s social class and gender among some selected Ghanaian university students who speak English as a Second Language (ESL). Data were collected from twenty (20) participants at the University of Ghana, evenly distributed by gender and social class. Findings reveal that social class significantly affects both vowel quality and duration, with working-class speakers showing longer vowel duration and more centralised vowel qualities. The study contributes to the codification of GhaE and highlights the role of social class and gender in shaping linguistic forms in English as a Second Language (ESL) varieties.

Noble Nkrumah-Abraham (2025)

Libation, as an ancient cultural and spiritual ritual, has been a universal practice amongst most cultures and civilisations across the globe since time immemorial. It is generally characterised by offering wine, food portions or other specified liquids with the intention of invoking and soliciting assistance from spirit beings. Similarly, in the Ghanaian context, libation is a form of prayer or ritual that follows a standard procedure. Unfortunately, many authors, in their definition, have sidelined the main purpose of libatory ritual, which is the verbal utterances to merely the drink/food offering; thereby eschewing the verbal recitals, which is the emphasis. This is a great misrepresentation of this cultural heritage and sacred ritual. It further undermines the essence of the protocols involved in the procedure. This ethnographic study brings clarity to the appropriate terminology for defining libation to suit the socio-cultural Ghanaian context. It underscores that libation is not merely the arbitrary pouring of liquid/food offering to spirit beings, but a scripted, directed and guided art and tradition which is meticulously performed.