Theatre and Drama in the Hot Zones of the Cold War: Selected Case Studies

Abstract

This chapter describes several exemplary sites of theatrical production in Africa and Latin America which interacted with conflicts emerging during the global Cold War. Scholars have approached many of the theatre practitioners involved in the production as revolutionaries-often within an anti-colonial nationalist context-yet their positions relative to the global Cold War have not been examined in depth. As the chapter explores, the artists sought to embody and enact ideological value systems aligned with Cold War struggles and depicted the ramifications of Cold War ideological battles in their nations and regions, contextualising the global conflict within local histories and theoretical frameworks in a move to educate and move audiences towards new horizons.