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African cultural productions of humour have increased even in the face of myriad economic foibles and social upheavals. For instance, from the 1990s, stand-up comedy emerged across the continent and has maintained a pervasive presence since then. Its specificities are related to contemporary economic and political contexts and are also drawn from its pre-colonial history, that of joking forms and relationships, and orality. Izuu Nwankw 's fascinating collected volume offers a transnational appraisal of this unique art form spanning different nations of the continent and its diasporas. The book engages variously with jokesters, their materials, the mediums of dissemination, and the cultural value(s) and relevance of their stage work, encompassing the form and content of the practice. Its ruling theoretical perspective comes from theatre and performance, cultural studies, linguistics, and literary studies.
About the author
IIzuu Nwankw¿ is a researcher, teacher, and writer. He translated Chinua Achebe's Things Fall into the Igbo language: Ihe Aghasaa (2007) and authored the books Yabbing and Wording: The Artistry of Nigerian Stand-up Comedy and Humour and Politics in Africa (co-authored with Daniel Hammett and Laura S. Martin).
Report
"By way of nuanced analyses of comic performances drawn from diverse national and cultural backgrounds this volume reveals in rich and fascinating detail the immense popularity of stand-up comedy in Africa. A must-read for anyone who wants to learn more about how jokes are staged, how mimicry is fused with mockery, and about what and why audiences laugh (not only) in Africa."-Professor Matthias Krings, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz
