Theatre and the Use of Technology: The Case of Ghana

Abstract

This paper examines the use of technology in the theatre. The crux of the paper, however, is the minimal use of technology in the Ghanaian theatre and what accounts for it, and above all how the effective use of technology can help improve and make the theatre appealing to sophisticated 21st Century Ghanaian audiences. The industrial and cultural revolution that took place between1850 and 1950 brought with it some technological and scientific breakthroughs. But as W. B. Worthen notes in the Wadsworth Anthology of Drama that; “the acceleration of technological change altered the fabric of daily life, creating new forms of living, working, and relating to one another, and new ways of measuring life”73. As theatre reflects society, all these technological advancements also affects theatre and its development throughout the world. It is imperative at this point to define technology as used in this context. Read Bain, an American sociologist in 1937, wrote that, “technology includes all tools, machines, utensils, weapons, instruments, housing, clothing, communicating, and transporting devices and the skills by which we produce and use them.”74 From Bain‟s definition, technology does not only refer to the material body such as machines and tools, it can be virtual (like today‟s computer software) and also be used as a v mean a communication like theatre. If theatre reflects life, then technology being a part of human life is a must in the theatre. This assertion saw the evolution of stage machinery s which are “devices designed for the production of theatrical effects, such as rapid scene changes, lighting, sound effects, and illusions of the supernatural or magical”75 Throughout the history of theatre, technology has been an important part of performance. Christopher Baugh asserts that technology was used “as a means to shift and change scenic appearance, and as visual rhetoric, spectacle and show.” 76 From Bough‟s assertion it clear that technology is not an end in itself, but a means to an end. Shifting and changing scenic appearance will need the aid of machines, as a visual rhetoric it aids in making the composition of the set as spectacular, persuasive and realistic as possible.