Efua Sutherland facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Efua Sutherland
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| Born |
Efua Theodora Morgue
27 June 1924 Cape Coast, Gold Coast
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| Died | 21 January 1996 (aged 71) |
| Nationality | Ghanaian |
| Education |
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| Occupation | Playwright-director, author, poet, educator, cultural activist, child advocate |
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Notable work
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Playtime in Africa (1961) New Life in Kyerefaso (1960) Edufa (1967) The Marriage of Anansewa (1975) |
| Spouse(s) | Bill Sutherland |
| Children | Esi Sutherland-Addy, Ralph Sutherland, and Amowi Sutherland Phillips |
Efua Theodora Sutherland (born June 27, 1924 – died January 21, 1996) was an important writer, director, and educator from Ghana. She wrote plays, poems, and stories, especially for children. She also worked hard to support children's rights and culture.
Efua Sutherland started many important groups. These include the Ghana Drama Studio, the Ghana Society of Writers, and the Ghana Experimental Theatre. She also created a community project called the Kodzidan (Story House). She was one of the first Ghanaian playwrights and directors. She helped shape modern Ghanaian theatre and brought African performance traditions into university studies. She also started a publishing company called Afram Publications in the 1970s.
From the 1950s until she passed away, Efua was a strong supporter of children. She helped create school lessons, books, plays, and films for and about Ghanaian children. Her 1960 book Playtime in Africa showed how important play is for children's growth. Later, in the 1980s, she led efforts to create public children's parks across Ghana.
Efua Sutherland believed in Pan-Africanism, which means uniting people of African descent worldwide. She worked with many famous African and African diaspora figures. These included writers like Chinua Achebe and Maya Angelou, and leaders like Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King. In 1980, she suggested a festival to bring Africans together through theatre. This idea led to PANAFEST, a big Pan-African theatre festival that started in 1992.
Efua Sutherland passed away in Accra, Ghana, in 1996 at the age of 71.
Contents
Learning and Early Work
Efua Theodora Morgue was born in Cape Coast, which was then called the Gold Coast (now Ghana). She first studied teaching at St Monica's Training College in Mampong.
Later, she went to England to continue her studies. She earned a degree from Homerton College at Cambridge University. She was one of the first African women to study there. She also studied languages at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London.
When she returned to Ghana in 1951, she taught at Fijai Secondary School and then at St. Monica's School. Around this time, she also began writing for children. She once said she felt angry that children were forced to read books that didn't relate to their lives in Ghana. This made her want to write stories that children could connect with.
In 1954, she married Bill Sutherland, an African American who believed in Pan-Africanism. They had three children: Esi, Ralph, and Amowi. Efua also helped her husband start a school in the Transvolta area.
Creative Works and Theatre
When the Gold Coast became the independent nation of Ghana in 1957, Efua Sutherland helped create the Ghana Society of Writers. This group later became the Ghana Association of Writers. In 1960, they launched a literary magazine called Okyeame, and Efua eventually became its editor.
Efua loved to experiment with traditional Ghanaian storytelling and dramatic forms. Her plays often used old stories but mixed them with modern theatre techniques. Many of her poems and writings were heard on a popular radio show called The Singing Net. They were later published in the book Voices of Ghana (1958).
Some of her most famous plays include Edufa (1967), Foriwa (1967), and The Marriage of Anansewa (1975). Edufa is based on an ancient Greek play, but Efua gave it a Ghanaian twist.
In 1958, Efua founded the Ghana Experimental Theatre. This led to the Ghana Drama Studio, which was opened by President Kwame Nkrumah in 1963. The Drama Studio became a place where theatre artists from all over Africa could train. In 1962, she joined the new School of Music and Drama. She also became a researcher at the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana in 1963. She brought the Drama Studio with her, making it a training space for the university.
Efua also cared about traditional storytelling and community theatre. She founded the Kodzidan (Story House) in Ekumfi-Atwia. This project was known worldwide as a great example of using theatre for community development. She inspired and was inspired by many other Ghanaian writers, like Ama Ata Aidoo.
In the early 1970s, Efua helped start a publishing company called Afram Publications. It began operating in 1974 from her studio in Accra. She stayed involved with Afram's books until she passed away.
Famous Plays Explained
Efua Sutherland's plays often blended old Ghanaian traditions with new ideas.
- Edufa: This play is about a rich man named Edufa who tries to avoid death. He uses traditional beliefs and rituals to trick his wife, Ampoma, into dying instead of him. The play shows how modern life and old traditions can clash.
- Foriwa: This story is about Foriwa, the daughter of a queen mother, and Labaran, a simple graduate. They bring new ideas to their town, Kyerefaso, which has become stuck in old ways. The play encourages people to be open to new ideas and work together across different groups in Ghana.
- The Marriage of Anansewa: This play is one of Efua's most important works. She took traditional Akan Ananse Spider tales (Anansesem) and turned them into a new type of play called Anansegoro.
Efua also wrote books for children. These included two animated rhythm plays, Vulture! Vulture! and Tahinta (1968). She also created two picture books with photos by Willis Bell: Playtime in Africa (1960) and The Roadmakers (1961). Many of her short stories were like rhythmic poems. Her book Voice in the Forest (1983) shared Ghanaian folklore and fairytales.
Playtime in Africa was a very important book. It was the first time children's play culture in Ghana was documented. It showed how important play is for children's minds and bodies. The book also helped start a movement for writing, publishing, and developing drama for children in Ghana.
A Voice in the Forest retells an Akan folktale. It tells the story of Bempong, who finds a Samanta, a magical wood nymph, and brings her to his village. At first, the Samanta doesn't speak. But when Bempong cuts her hair, she gets angry and curses the village. The hero of the story is Afrum, Bempong's son, who is seen as the village fool. Efua chose to celebrate the "fool" character, which is common in African stories that use a trickster figure.
Cultural Work and Pan-Africanism
Efua Sutherland's work caught the attention of many creative people around the world. The famous American writer Maya Angelou wrote in her book All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes about how Efua helped her feel at home in Ghana in the 1960s. They became close friends.
Efua also met Dr. W. E. B. Du Bois, an important American civil rights leader, at a writers' conference in 1958. When Dr. Du Bois passed away in Accra in 1963, Efua helped his wife, Shirley Du Bois. In the 1980s, Efua was key in setting up the W.E.B. Du Bois Memorial Centre for Pan African Culture in Accra.
In 1980, she wrote a paper suggesting a historical drama festival in Cape Coast. She believed it was important to connect Africa with its people living in other parts of the world. This idea led to PANAFEST, the first Pan-African Historical Theater Festival. It took place in Ghana in 1992, celebrating African civilization.
Helping Children
Efua Sutherland played a big role in Ghana's support for children. She led Ghana's agreement to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Ghana was the first country to do this! From 1983 to 1990, she chaired the National Commission on Children. During this time, she led many new programs for children across Ghana.
These programs included:
- A Child Education Fund to help children in poor communities.
- The Mobile Technical Workshop, which brought science learning to children in rural areas.
- Securing land for model children's parks and libraries across the country.
She also laid the groundwork for the Mmofra Foundation, which started in 1997. This group works to improve the cultural and intellectual lives of children in Ghana. In 2012, the Playtime in Africa Initiative was launched, inspired by her 1961 book. It aims to create more child-friendly public spaces.
Her last major work at the Institute of African Studies was the Children's Drama Development Project. This project aimed to create materials and methods for creative drama programs for children in and out of school. UNICEF also invited Efua to join a global group of experts to create human rights guidelines for protecting children.
Legacy and Impact
Efua Sutherland's work continues to inspire people today:
- The National Theatre of Ghana was built where the Drama Studio used to be. A copy of the Studio was built at the University of Ghana and named the Efua Sutherland Drama Studio.
- A 12-acre public space in central Accra, reserved as a children's park through her efforts, is named after her.
- A street in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, is named Efua Sutherlandstraat, honoring her as a significant woman writer and activist.
- The Mmofra Foundation, which Efua started, has been active since 1997. It has helped thousands of children in Ghana through literary, nature, and creativity programs.
- Mmofra Place, a green cultural space in Accra, is open to children of all backgrounds, thanks to Efua T. Sutherland's estate.
- Efua Sutherland Hall is a student residence hall at Ashesi University in Ghana.
- A book honoring her, The Legacy of Efua Sutherland: Pan African Cultural Activism, was published in 2007. It includes writings from many important people she influenced.
- Writer Abena P. A. Busia dedicated a chapter to Efua Sutherland in her 2008 book of poems, Traces of a Life.
- On June 27, 2018, which would have been her 94th birthday, Google honored her with a special Google Doodle.
Images for kids
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Efua Sutherland Children's Park. Located near the centre of Accra, this 12-acre public space was secured by Efua Sutherland as a park for all children in the 1980s.
See also
In Spanish: Efua Sutherland para niños
