Efua Theodora Sutherland (born 27 June 1924 – 2 January 1996) was a

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

ian playwright, director, dramatist, children's author, poet, educationalist, researcher, child advocate, and cultural activist. Her works include the plays ''Foriwa'' (1962), ''Edufa'' (1967), and ''The Marriage of Anansewa'' (1975). She founded the Ghana Drama Studio, the Ghana Society of Writers, the Ghana Experimental Theatre, and a community project called the Kodzidan (Story House). As Ghana's earliest playwright-director, she was an influential figure in the development of modern Ghanaian theatre, and helped to introduce the study of African

performance A performance is an act or process of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Performance has evolved glo ...

traditions at university level. She was also a pioneering African publisher, establishing the company Afram Publications in

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

in the 1970s. She was a cultural advocate for children from the early 1950s until her death, and played a role in developing educational curricula, literature, theatre and film for and about Ghanaian children. Her 1960 photo essay ''Playtime in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

'', co-authored with Willis E. Bell, highlighted the centrality of play in children's development and was followed in the 1980s by her leadership in the development of a model public children's parks system for the country. Sutherland's pan-Africanism was reflected in her support for its principles and her collaborations with African and African diaspora personalities in a range of disciplines, including interactions with

Chinua Achebe Chinua Achebe (; born Albert Chinụalụmọgụ Achebe; 16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic who is regarded as a central figure of modern African literature. His first novel ''Things Fall Apart'' ( ...

Ama Ata Aidoo Ama Ata Aidoo (23 March 1942 — 31 May 2023) was a Ghanaian author, poet, playwright, politician, and academic. She was a Secretary for Education in Ghana from 1982 to 1983 under Jerry Rawlings's PNDC administration. Her first play, '' The Dil ...

Maya Angelou Maya Angelou ( ; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credi ...

W. E. B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in a relativel ...

and

Shirley Graham Du Bois Shirley Graham Du Bois (born Lola Shirley Graham Jr.; November 11, 1896 – March 27, 1977) was an American-Ghanaian writer, playwright, composer, and activist for African-American causes, among others. She won the Messner and the Anisfield-Wolf ...

Margaret Busby Margaret Yvonne Busby, , Hon. FRSL (born 1944), also known as Nana Akua Ackon, is a Ghanaian-born publisher, editor, writer and broadcaster, resident in the UK. She was Britain's then youngest publisher as well as the first black female book p ...

Tom Feelings Tom Feelings (May 19, 1933 – August 25, 2003) was an artist, cartoonist, children's book illustrator, author, teacher, and activist. He focused on the African-American experience in his work. His most famous book is ''The Middle Passage: White S ...

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. An early innovator of jazz poetry, Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harl ...

Martin Luther King Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights movement from 1955 until his a ...

and

Coretta Scott King Coretta Scott King ( Scott; April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006) was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader who was the wife of Martin Luther King Jr. from 1953 until his assassination in 1968. As an advocate for African-Ameri ...

Femi Osofisan Babafemi Adeyemi Osofisan (born June 16, 1946), known as Femi Osofisan or F.O., is a Nigerian writer noted for his critique of societal problems and his use of African traditional performances and surrealism in some of his plays. A frequent theme ...

Félix Morisseau-Leroy Félix Morisseau-Leroy (13 March 1912 – 5 September 1998) was a Haitian writer who used Haitian Creole to write poetry and plays, the first significant writer to do so. By 1961 he succeeded in having Creole recognized as an official language ...

Es'kia Mphahlele Es'kia Mphahlele (17 December 1919 – 27 October 2008) was a South African writer, educationist, artist and activist celebrated as the Father of African Humanism and one of the founding figures of modern African literature. He was given the ...

Wole Soyinka Wole Soyinka , (born 13 July 1934) is a Nigerian author, best known as a playwright and poet. He has written three novels, ten collections of short stories, seven poetry collections, twenty five plays and five memoirs. He also wrote two transla ...

and

Ngugi wa Thiong'o Ngugi or Ngũgĩ is a name of Kikuyu origin that may refer to: * Ngugi wa Mirii (1951–2008), Kenyan playwright *Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (; born James Ngugi; 5January 193828May 2025) was a Kenyan author and academic, who has ...

. Having in 1980 written an original proposal for a pan-African historical theatre festival in Ghana as a cultural vehicle for bringing together Africans around the globe, Sutherland was the inspiration behind the biennial Pan-African festival of theatre arts known as

PANAFEST The Pan African Historical Theatre Project now known as PANAFEST is a cultural event held in Ghana every two years for Africans and people of African descent. It was first held in 1992. The idea of this festival is to promote and enhance unity, Pan ...

, first held in 1992."History"
, Panafest website. Efua Sutherland died in Accra aged 71 in 1996.

Education and early career

She was born as Efua Theodora Morgue in

Cape Coast Cape Coast is a city and the capital of the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly, Cape Coast Metropolitan District and the Central Region (Ghana), Central Region of Ghana, Ghana. It is located about from Sekondi-Takoradi and approximately from Ac ...

, Gold Coast (now Ghana), where she studied teaching at St Monica's Training College in

Mampong Mampong is a town and the capital of the Mampong Municipal District, Mampong Municipal in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. As of 2012, the town has a population of 42,037 people. The town is home to the ''Mamponghene'', Nana Osei Bonsu II. Histo ...

.Heyman, Neil M.
"Sutherland, Efua (1924–1996)"
''Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia''. Encyclopedia.com. She then went to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

to continue her education, earning a BA degree at

Homerton College Homerton College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Its first premises were acquired in Homerton, London in 1768, by an informal gathering of English Dissenters, Protestant dissente ...

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

— one of the first African women to study there — and studying linguistics at the

School of Oriental and African Studies The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...

(SOAS),

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

.Busby, Margaret, "Efua Sutherland: Reaching out to young Africa" (Obituary), ''The Guardian'', 27 January 1996. Returning to Ghana in 1951, she taught first at Fijai Secondary School at

Sekondi Sekondi-Takoradi ( ) is a city in Ghana comprising the twin cities of Sekondi and Takoradi. It is the capital of Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan District and the Western Region of Ghana. Sekondi-Takoradi is the region's largest city as well as ...

, then at St. Monica's School (1951–54), and also began writing for children. She would later say: "I started writing seriously in 1951. I can even remember the precise time. It was at Easter. I had been thinking about the problem of literature in my country for a very long time. I was on teaching practice with my students once in a village and I got positively angry about the kind of literature that the children were being forced into. It had nothing to do with their environment, their social circumstances or anything. And so I started writing." In 1954, she married Bill Sutherland, an

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

and

Pan-Africanist Pan-Africanism is a nationalist movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all indigenous peoples and diasporas of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the Trans-Sa ...

, who in 1953 had moved to Ghana. They had three children – educationalist

Esi Sutherland-Addy Esi Sutherland-Addy is a Ghanaian academic, writer, educationalist, and human rights activist. She is a professor at the Institute of African Studies, where she has been senior research fellow, head of the Language, Literature, and Drama Section ...

, architect Ralph Sutherland, and lawyer Amowi Sutherland Phillips) – and she helped her husband in the establishment of a school in the Transvolta area.

Literary production

When the Gold Coast became the independent nation of Ghana in 1957, Efua Sutherland organised the Ghana Society of Writers (later the Ghana Association of Writers), which in 1960 brought out the first issue of the literary magazine ''

Okyeame ''Okyeame'' was a literary magazine founded by the Ghana Society of Writers in the post-Independence era, which saw the rapid rise of a new generation of thinkers, writers and poets in the country. The first issue of ''Okyeame'' appeared in 1960,J ...

'', with Sutherland eventually becoming editor.Gibbs, James
"Efua Sutherland: The 'Mother' of the Ghanaian Theatre"
in ''Nkyin-kyin: Essays on the Ghanaian Theatre'' (Cross/Cultures 98), Rodopi, 2009, p. 101. Sutherland experimented creatively with storytelling and other dramatic forms from

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

Ghanaian traditions. Her plays were often based on traditional stories, but also borrowed from

Western literature Western literature, also known as European literature, is the literature written in the context of Western culture in the languages of Europe, and is shaped by the periods in which they were conceived, with each period containing prominent weste ...

, transforming African

folktale Oral literature, orature, or folk literature is a genre of literature that is spoken or sung in contrast to that which is written, though much oral literature has been transcribed. There is no standard definition, as anthropologists have used va ...

conventions into modern dramatic theatre techniques. Many of her poems and other writings were broadcast on ''The Singing Net'', a popular radio programme started by

Henry Swanzy Henry Swanzy (14 June 1915 – 19 March 2004) was an Anglo-Irish radio producer in Britain's BBC General Overseas Service who is best known for his role in promoting West Indian literature particularly through the programme ''Caribbean Voices'' ...

,"Efua Sutherland"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''.Akidiva, Arbogast Kemoli
"Radio and Literature in Africa: Lee Nichols' Conversations with African Writers"
p. 229. University of Alberta dissertation, Spring 1997. and were subsequently published in his 1958 anthology '' Voices of Ghana''. The 1960 first issue of ''Okyeame'' magazine contains her short story "Samantaase", a retelling of a folktale. Her best known plays are ''Edufa'' (1967) (based on ''

Alcestis Alcestis (; Ancient Greek: Ἄλκηστις, ') or Alceste, was a princess in Greek mythology, known for her love of her husband. Her life story was told by pseudo-Apollodorus in his '' Bibliotheca'', and a version of her death and return from t ...

'' by

Euripides Euripides () was a Greek tragedy, tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to ...

), ''Foriwa'' (1967), and ''The Marriage of Anansewa'' (1975). In 1958, Sutherland founded the Ghana Experimental Theatre, which was based at the Ghana Drama Studio built by Sutherland and launched by President

Kwame Nkrumah Francis Kwame Nkrumah (, 21 September 1909 – 27 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He served as Prime Minister of the Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast from 1952 until 1957, when it gained ...

in 1963 with

Joe de Graft Joseph Coleman de Graft (2 April 1924 – 1 November 1978) was a prominent Ghanaian writer, playwright and dramatist, who was appointed the first director of the Ghana Drama Studio in 1962. He produced and directed plays for radio, stage and tele ...

as its first director. Sited in downtown Accra, the Drama Studio became a training ground for a range of theatre practitioners from all over Africa. In 1962, she joined the staff of the new School of Music and Drama, headed by

J. H. Kwabena Nketia Joseph Hanson Kwabena Nketia (22 June 1921 – 13 March 2019) was a Ghanaian ethnomusicologist and composer. Considered Africa's premier musicologist, during his lifetime, he was called a "living legend" and "easily the most published and best ...

. In 1963, when Sutherland took on the role of Research Associate at the Institute of African Studies,

University of Ghana The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It is the oldest public university in the country. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the British colony of the Gold Coast ...

, she brought along with her the Ghana Drama Studio, which became an off-campus training space, called the University of Ghana Drama Studio. Sutherland, in addition to her field research and teaching in African Dramatic Forms, was a core member of the team that conceptualised and established the School of Performing Arts. Also concerned with traditional storytelling and developing community theatre, she founded the Kodzidan (Story House) in Ekumfi-Atwia, Central Region, which was recognised worldwide as a pioneering model in theatre for development. Sutherland mentored and was in turn inspired by many of Ghana's accomplished writers, including

Kofi Anyidoho Kofi Anyidoho (born 25 July 1947) is a Ghanaian poet and academic who comes from a family tradition of Ewe poets and oral artists.

and

Meshack Asare Meshack Asare (born 1945) is a popular African children's author. He was born in Ghana and currently resides in Degenfeld, Germany. On 15 July 2014, he was announced as a finalist for the prestigious international award, the 2015 NSK Neustadt ...

. In the early 1970s, Sutherland co-founded the publishing company Afram Publications, which was incorporated in 1973, and in March 1974 began operating from her private studio in "Araba Mansa", her compound at Dzorwulu, Accra. Sutherland remained involved in Afram's editorial work until her death.

Cultural activism and pan-Africanism

Sutherland's work attracted the attention of creatives from the global African world. Maya Angelou's fifth volume of memoirs ''

All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes ''All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes'', published in 1986, is the fifth book in African-American writer and poet Maya Angelou, Maya Angelou's seven-volume autobiography series. Set between 1962 and 1965, the book begins when Angelou is 33 ...

'' testifies to the emotional support and entrée into Ghanaian society afforded her in the 1960s by Efua Sutherland who became a close friend. Sutherland had met Dr W. E. B. Du Bois when she led the Ghana delegation to the 1958 Afro-Asian Writers Conference in

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

(now the capital of

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

). She was to personally intervene, at his death in Accra, Ghana in 1963, to support Mrs Shirley Du Bois. In the 1980s Sutherland was instrumental in establishing the W.E.B. Du Bois Memorial Centre for Pan African Culture and mausoleum at the Du Bois' Accra home. In 1980, Sutherland wrote a paper entitled "Proposal for a Historical Drama Festival in Cape Coast", underscoring the significance she attached to connections between Africa and its Diaspora. This inspired the venture that came to fruition as the state-sponsored PANAFEST, the first Pan-African Historical Theater Festival, which was held in Cape Coast,

Elmina Elmina ( Fante: ''Edina'') is a town and the capital of the Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abirem District on the south coast of Ghana in the Central Region. It is situated on a bay on the Atlantic Ocean, west of Cape Coast.Straight line distances ...

and Accra, Ghana, from 12 to 19 December 1992, under the theme "The Re-emergence of African Civilization".

Advocacy for children

Sutherland presided over Ghana's ratification of the

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (commonly abbreviated as the CRC or UNCRC) is an international international human rights treaty which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of ch ...

(the first country to do so) and chaired the National Commission on Children from 1983 to 1990, a period that marked the most vigorous and comprehensive child advocacy on a national scale in the history of Ghana. In this capacity, she steered a number of innovative programmes, including a Child Education Fund to support underserved communities, the Mobile Technical Workshop extending science learning to poor or rural children, and the securing of land to seed model child-centred park and library complexes around the country. She laid the groundwork for the Mmofra Foundation, active since 1997 as a civic organisation dedicated to enriching the cultural and intellectual lives of all children in Ghana."About"
, Mmofra Foundation. In 2012 the ''Playtime in Africa Initiative'', inspired by her eponymous 1961 book, was launched to revitalise child-friendly public space advocacy. Her final most significant work at the Institute of African Studies, Legon, was her Children's Drama Development Project, which was aimed at developing materials, methods and staff for programmes of creative dramatics in and out of school. Sutherland was invited by

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

to join a worldwide network of scholars to consider a code of human rights for the protection of children. Florence Laast, founder of Accra's St Martin de Porres School, speaking of how her own life had been impacted by Sutherland's mentorship, described her as "one of the greatest thinkers of our time" who believed that "the home is our first classroom, and our parents the first teachers".

Legacy

* Following the 1992 construction of the

National Theatre of Ghana The National Theatre of Ghana was opened in 1992 in Accra, the capital of Ghana, to spearhead the country's theatre movement by providing a multi-functional venue for concerts, dance, drama and musical performances, screenplays, exhibitions and ...

on the site occupied by the Drama Studio, a replica of the Studio was constructed on the campus of the University of Ghana as part of the facilities of the School of Performing Arts. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the university, the Studio was renamed the Efua Sutherland Drama Studio. Efua Sutherland Children Park

* A 12-acre space in central Accra reserved as a children's park in central Accra through the advocacy of Efua Sutherland and it is named after her."Founder"
, Mmofra Foundation. * Efua Sutherlandstraat is one of a number of streets in an area of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

The Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, named after significant women writers and activists. * Active since 1997, Mmofra Foundation was established by Efua Sutherland in her final years and is dedicated to enriching the cultural and intellectual lives of all children in Ghana. For over 20 years, thousands of children have benefited from its literary, nature-sensitive and creativity-oriented programmes. * A green cultural space/park called Mmofra Place in the Dzorwulu area of Accra is open to children of all backgrounds, thanks to the estate of Efua T. Sutherland. * Efua Sutherland Hall is a student hall of residence at Ashesi University, Berekuso, Ghana. * ''The Legacy of Efua Sutherland: Pan African Cultural Activism'', a volume in her honour was published in 2007, edited by Anne V. Adams and Esi Sutherland-Addy. Contributors are: Anne Adams,

Kofi Anyidoho Kofi Anyidoho (born 25 July 1947) is a Ghanaian poet and academic who comes from a family tradition of Ewe poets and oral artists.

, Sandy Arkhurst, William Branch,

, John Collins, David Donkor, James Gibbs, Comfort Caulley-Hanson, Biodun Jeyifo, Robert July, Mabel Komasi, Florence Laast, John Lemly, Jurgen Martini, Michael McMullan, Penina Mlama,

, Sandra Richards, Amowi Sutherland Phillips,

Ola Rotimi Olawale Gladstone Emmanuel Rotimi, best known as Ola Rotimi (13 April 1938 – 18 August 2000), was one of Nigeria's leading playwrights and theatre directors. He has been called "a complete man of the theatre – an actor, director, choreograp ...

, Margaret Watts, Henry Wellington, and Vivian Windley. * Writer, poet, lecturer and diplomat Abena P. A. Busia devoted a chapter to Efua Sutherland ("To the Roadmaker: Fragments of a Meditation") in her volume of poems ''Traces of a Life: A Collection of Elegies and Praise Poems'' (Ayebia Clarke Publishing, 2008). * Sutherland was honoured with a

Google Doodle Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running annual Bu ...

on 27 June 2018, which would have been her 94th birthday.

Works briefly annotated

Sutherland experimented creatively with storytelling and other dramatic forms from

Ghanaian traditions. Her plays were often based on traditional stories, but also borrowed from

, transforming African

conventions into modern dramatic theatre techniques. Many of her poems and other writings were broadcast on ''The Singing Net'', a popular radio programme started by

, and were subsequently published in his 1958 anthology '' Voices of Ghana''. The 1960 first issue of ''

'' magazine contains her short story "Samantaase", a retelling of a folktale. Her best known plays are ''Edufa'' (1967) (based on ''

'' by

), ''Foriwa'' (1967), and ''The Marriage of Anansewa'' (1975). In ''Edufa'' the

eponym An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

ous character seeks to escape death by manipulating his wife, Ampoma, to the death that has been predicted for him by

oracle An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divination. Descript ...

s. In the play, Sutherland uses traditional Ghanaian beliefs in

divination Divination () is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic ritual or practice. Using various methods throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a should proceed by reading signs, ...

and the interaction of traditional and European ceremonies in order to portray Edufa as a rich and successful modern person who is held in high esteem by his people. The play uses traditional ritual and symbolism, but the story is told in the context of Edufa's capitalistic abandonment of his moral commitment to his wife, while his wife and the other women favour the morality of the past. In ''Foriwa'' the eponymous character, who is the daughter of the

queen mother A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the monarch, reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also ...

of Kyerefaso, and Labaran, a graduate from northern Ghana who lives a simple life, bring enlightenment to Kyerefaso, a town that has become backward and ignorant because the town's elders refuse to learn new ways. ''Foriwa's'' main theme is the alliance of old traditions and new ways. The play has a national theme to promote a new national spirit in Ghana that would encourage openness to new ideas and inter-ethnic cooperation. ''The Marriage of Anansewa: A Storytelling Drama'' (1975) is considered Sutherland's most valuable contribution to Ghanaian drama and theater. In the play, she transmutes traditional

Akan Akan may refer to: People and languages *Akan people, an ethnic group in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire *Akan languages, a language group within the wider Central Tano languages *Kwa languages, a language group which includes Akan *Central Tano language ...

tales of Ananse Spider (''Anansesem'') into a new dramatic structure, which she calls ''Anansegoro''. ''Nyamekye'' (a version of ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...

''), one of her later plays, shows how she was influenced by the folk opera tradition. Sutherland was also an author of works for children. These works included two

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

rhythm plays, ''Vulture! Vulture!'' and ''Tahinta'' (1968), and two pictorial essays, with photographs by

Willis Bell Willis may refer to: Places United States * Willis, Florida, an unincorporated community * Willis, Kansas, a city * Willis, Michigan, an unincorporated community * Willis, Nebraska, an unincorporated community * Willis, Oklahoma, an unincorpo ...

(1924–2000): ''Playtime in Africa'' (1960) and ''The Roadmakers'' (1961). Many of her short stories can be described as rhythmic prose poems. ''Voice in the Forest'', a book of the folklore and fairytales of Ghana, was published in 1983. ''Playtime in Africa'' has been described "a groundbreaking book on Ghana's play culture", which Sutherland considered important for in developing young minds and bodies."Imagining a Better Future – Playtime in Africa"
PlayGroundology, 30 April 2012. Not only was it published three years after Ghana's independence it was the first documentation of children's play culture in Ghana. The book presented the nuances of children's lives to forefront of society and it also ushered in an indigenous movement in writing for children, along with publishing and development through drama for children. A ''Voice in the Forest'' is a text that powerfully portrays the political, economic, and social complexity of colonialism and cultural relativism in Ghana in regards to children. The text is a retelling of an Akan folktale and deals with traditional cultural values through the role of the trickster figure. It tells the story of a man named Bempong who unknowingly discovers a Samanta, a wood nymph, and brings her back to his village. Initially Bempong believes the Samanta is a lost girl, wandering alone through the forest. For the first half of the story the Samanta refuses to speak. It is not until Bempong cuts off her hair, in an effort to tame her outgrown hair, that Bempong realizes this girl is a Samanta, a wood nymph—"a creature of strange magical powers". Finding her voice in a moment of anger, the Samanta curses the village, leaving them with no food until she has her hair back. The hero of the book is Afrum, Bempong's son, who is regarded as the village fool. Sutherland's choice to celebrate the fool is a part of a longer lineage of uses of the trickster figure in African literature.

Honours

In 2020, at an event marking

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8 March, commemorating women's fight for equality and liberation along with the women's rights movement. International Women's Day gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive righ ...

, Sutherland was honoured by

3Music Awards The 3 Music Award is Ghanaian people, Ghanaian music awards ceremony held annually since 2018 to celebrate Ghanaian music. It was established by the 3Music Network with TV3 Ghana, Media General TV3 as broadcasters. The Multimedia Group Limited, ...

for her achievements in the entertainment industry. In March 2024, the estate of Efua Sutherland launched a centenary celebration of her life and legacy in Accra, unveiling plans to commemorate the year in which she would have turned 100."Efua T. Sutherland's centenary celebration , Women of valour #iwd2024"
8 March 2024, via YouTube.

Selected bibliography

* with Willis E. Bell, ''The Roadmakers: a picture book of Ghana''(for children). Accra: Ghana Information Services / London: Newman Neame, 1961, 1963 * with Willis E. Bell, ''Playtime in Africa'' (for children), New York: Atheneum, 1962 * ''Edufa'' (play), Longman, 1967 * ''Foriwa: A Play in Three Acts'', Accra-Tema: State Publishing Corporation, 1967 * ''Tahinta'' (1968) * ''Vulture! Vulture! and Tahina: Two Rhythm Plays'', Tema: Ghana Publishing House, 1968 * ''Odasani'' (play), Accra: Anowuo Educational Publications, 1969 * with Willis Bell, ''The Original Bob: The Story of Bob Johnson, Ghana's Ace Comedian'' (play), Accra: Anowuo Educational Publications, 1970 * ''Anansegoro: Story-Telling Drama in Ghana'', Accra: Afram, 1975 * ''The Marriage of Anansewa'' (play), London: Longman, 1977, 1980; Washington, DC: Three Continents Press, 1980 * ''The Voice in the Forest: A Tale from Ghana'', Philomel Books, 1983

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sutherland, Efua 1924 births 1996 deaths 20th-century dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Ghanaian poets 20th-century Ghanaian women writers 20th-century Ghanaian writers Academic staff of the University of Ghana Alumni of Homerton College, Cambridge Alumni of SOAS University of London Book publishers (people) Book publishing company founders Ghanaian children's writers Ghanaian dramatists and playwrights Ghanaian expatriates in the United Kingdom Ghanaian feminists Ghanaian pan-Africanists Ghanaian publishers (people) Ghanaian women children's writers Ghanaian women poets Ghanaian women short story writers People from Cape Coast Women book publishers (people) Women dramatists and playwrights