Lack of inventiveness or experimentation has characterized the state of Ethiopian theatre for a long time now. Starting from the first Ethiopian playwright is Tekelhawariat Teklemariam. He is the author and producer of the first play in the country known as Yawrewoch Comedy (Animal Comedy) sometime between 1916 and 1921. This play is considered the first African original play.
It is also a fabulist drama inspired by La Fontaine, the French satirist known for his fables often portraying human behaviors wrapped in animal characters. In other words, La Fontaine used the technique of personification in order to lampoon human behavior through the intermediary of animal characters. In this way, we can say that Teklehawariat was also the first dramatist who introduced satire in Ethiopian drama.
However, the development of theatre in Ethiopia did not strictly follow Tekelhawariat’s approach or technique to the end. “Following Teklehawariat, several other playwrights contributed to the development of Ethiopian theatre, including Yoftahe Negussie, Melaku Begosew and Eyoel Yohannes. The development of modern drama continued with prominent dramatists like Tsegaye Gebre Medhin, Mengistu Lema, Tesfaye Gessesse, Abate Mekuria, Debebe Eshetu and Wegayehu Negatu. These are the dramatists that have shaped modern theatre in Ethiopia whose legacy continues to define the nature and direction of Ethiopian drama to this day.
Modern Ethiopian drama did not emerge from a vacuum. It has a strong traditional foundation and its modernization is based not on wholesale importation from Europe but on the individual experiences of playwrights who had the opportunity to study in Europe. The establishment of the Ethiopian National Theatre in 1956 is considered the culmination of this process of modernization.
It is therefore clear that unlike in other African countries that went through the colonial experience, Ethiopian drama has kept its own unique identity and national character although it has heavily borrowed from European playwrights like Ibsen, Shakespeare and others. No doubt that the single most important European playwright who has influenced Ethiopian theatre is British dramatist and poet William Shakespeare.
Until recently, or until the Ethiopian revolution of 1974, Ethiopia has remained a very conservative and traditional polity or political entity. This conservatism was evident in all walks of national life and shaped its politics, society, economy and the arts. The appeal Shakespearean plays enjoyed in Ethiopia were probably due to the conservative political tradition with the monarchy at its core.
When Tsegaye started to translate these plays into Amharic, he was most probably influenced by the similarities of political systems between Great Britain and Ethiopia. That was also why Tsegaye was attracted by Shakespeare’s criticism of the abuses and violence inherent in the British political system in order to use it as a microscope to examine its Ethiopian counterpart. Last but not least, that was also why despite the sophistication and difficulties inherent in Shakespeare’s plays, the Ethiopian audience was attracted to it because it not only had universal appeal but also served as a mirror reflecting the prevailing political realities in Ethiopia.
The indelible influence Shakespeare has in Ethiopian theatre is represented by Tsegaye Gebre Medhin who was the quintessential dramatist who not only adopted Shakespeare to the Ethiopian stage but also wrote and staged his own plays not really inspired by the bard of Avon without Shakespearean influence rather veering towards Moliere. While Tsegaye’s transition from the tragic to the comic was obvious in plays resembling Moliere’s play entitled “Tartuffe” and which he translated, Manyazewal Endeshaw’s emergence as maybe the lone wolf of the absurdist or experimental tendency in Ethiopian drama.
Although innovation or modernization was rare in the history of Ethiopian theatre, the second half of the 20th century has witnessed the emergence of a rare brand of what we may call post-modernist experimentations through playwrights like Manyazewal Endeshaw. This is what Wikipedia says about this particular phenomenon. Ethiopian theatre, while largely realistic in its presentation, has seen the influence of the theatre of the absurd, particularly in the 20th century.
Manyazewal Endeshaw’s play, “Engida” (Guest) for example is seen as an absurdist work that questions societal structures and the meaning of life through repetitive actions and a focus on the inner experience of characters.
While not a dominant force, The Theatre of the Absurd’s presence in Ethiopian theatre reflects a broader exploration of existential themes and a departure from purely realistic portrayals. We should bear in mind that Theatre of the Absurd is not an Ethiopian invention. It was born in Europe right after the end of the Second World War.
What is Theatre of the Absurd? According to available information, Theatre of the Absurd is a dramatic genre characterized illogical plots, nonsensical dialogue and pessimistic view of the human condition, often reflecting the sense of meaninglessness and alienation. This theatre genre emerged in the 1950s and 1960s primarily in Europe and as a response to the post-World War -II philosophical ideas and existentialism. “Plays of absurdity challenge traditional logic and reason, portraying life as inherently illogical and without inherent purpose”
Ethiopian playwrights are not yet fully aware of the potentials of Theatre of the Absurd as a toll of dramatic exploration of the human condition in their respective societies or communities. This genre of dramatic writing obviously requires philosophical reflection or a philosophical-dramatic perception of the world on the part of the playwrights. This talent comes either naturally or through education or readings and the urge to look at life from a different perspective.
Even in Europe, the number of playwrights who adopted the absurdist technique are few in numbers. Samuel Beckett has written his famous, “Waiting for Godot” in the absurdist tradition. Eugene Ionesco has produced “Rhinoceros”, Jean Genet wrote “The Maids” and “The Balcony” and the English Harold Pinter wrote “The Birthday Party” and “The Caretaker” in the same tradition.
Manyazewal Endeshaw must be the only Ethiopian dramatist who tried to write in the same genre. This does not however mean that other dramatist will not write in this genre in the future. Human existence is becoming more and not less absurd every time we look at it seriously.
According to available information, “Ethiopian theatre history is rich and varied, encompassing both traditional performance styles and the development of modern theatre. Like any African country, Ethiopia has a long tradition of oral storytelling, folk plays and religious ceremonies that incorporate music, dance and dramatic elements. It is clear that this tradition is rich and varied.
As a multiethnic country, Ethiopia has still untapped artistic resources buried within diverse communities. What we are talking about here is only about drama written in Amharic. Where are the dramas in other languages? They are not yet written. You can imagine the linguistic potentials available for exploring the traditions of these communities and express them in the form of drama.
Why don’t people write plays in Oromiffa, Tigrigna, and in the other languages now that there are opportunities to learn from the experiences of playwrights who worked in Amharic? Is that because of the absence of interest, talent or sheer laziness? The answers to these questions are not mysterious. It is time now to find answers to these questions in order to explore the potentials available in our societies for dramatic productions in various languages.
There are many potential playwrights who can work in the other languages but there are few of them who believe that they can do it and who would take the first steps towards building a multiethnic drama history in Ethiopia. Yet, they need encouragement, incentives, self-confidence and hard work to excavate the potentials buried under many layers of time and history.
Lemn Sissay, a British-born Ethiopian poet and playwright has recently wrote an absurdist play based on the classic short novel by Franz Kafka entitled, “The Metamorphosis” Young playwrights can translate and use this play as a model for learning to produce their own works in this tradition.
First they will have to read and digest the novel. They can translate it in group in order to produce an authentic version of the play. This requires a great deal of passion and hard work. They can even adapt it to Ethiopian conditions so that it would easily be understood by Ethiopian audiences.
BY MULUGETA GUDETA
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD WEDNESDAY 23 JULY 2025
