The function of the narrator in Hubert Sishi's Imilando YakwaZulu

Abstract

One of the characteristics of Hubert Sishi's radio plays is the frequent occurrence of a narrator. In this article the role of the narrator in Sishi's plays is assessed against the background of the controversy on the desirability of such a performer in a radio drama. Reference is made to the theorem that ‘africanistic dramas’ should be acknowledged as a sub-category within the particular generic field. Such a point of departure, however, necessitates a revisitation of some principles to which even African radio drama is supposed to conform, one of which is the elimination of the narrator.