Congolese playwrights as cultural revisionists

The Central African sub-region has a well-developed literary history. Although such countries as Cameroon and Zaire have been the region’s literary vanguard, the Congo presents a rather fascinating case study given its size, population and its incredible contribution to national and African literature. Roger Chemain insightfully notes: ‘De toute l’Afrique dite “francophone”, le Congo compte le plus fort pourcentage d’écrivains par rapport à l’ensemble de la population au point qu’il peut prétendre à être l’un des “pôles” culturels de cette partie de l’Afrique, au même titre que le Sénégal ou le Cameroun, pourtant beaucoup plus peuples.’ ¹ Indeed, the Congo has produced some of the continent’s most innovative and daring political writings. In the theatre, a number of playwrights have attempted to take issue with post-colonial dictatorships and cultural assumptions inherited from African traditions and colonialism.