ABSTRACT
The art theatre as a category approaches theatre from the side of the artistic product, and focuses on the process of creativity; popular theatre as a category approaches theatre from the side of the audience and focuses on the process of consumption. The three Ghanaian plays which we are going to analyse in this chapter are Amavi by Jacob Hevi, The Marriage of Anansewa by Efua Sutherland and Anowa by Ama Ata Aidoo. Ama Ata Aidoo is primarily a writer, not just of plays, but of prose fiction and poetry. She too is a politically committed intellectual, and is concerned that Ghanaian society develops in a way that will most benefit the masses. Efua Sutherland is herself a socially committed playwright, keen to seen Ghanaian drama depicting Ghanaian social reality and cultural identity. Ghanaian theatre is lively and diverse; its scope is certainly not contained in the three plays that have been analysed.
