This project originated in an international conference, “New Stage Idioms: South African Drama, Theatre and Performance in the Twenty-first Century,” held at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium, from May 11–13, 2017. Most of the essays collected in this anthology were first presented at the conference while others were subsequently commissioned especially for this volume. As the co-organizers of this conference, we would like to thank the following funding agencies for their support: the National Fund for Scientific Research-Belgium (F.R.S.-FNRS), the “Faculté de Lettres, Traduction et Communication” of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), the Department of Languages and Literatures of the Université Libre Bruxelles (ULB), the “Philixte” Research Centre, as well as the Weisgerber Foundation. We also extend our thanks to Eveline Haberfeld and Vanessa Demeuldre, who carefully took care of the conference logistics. Annick Englebert admirably devised the conference poster, which she subsequently developed into this book’s cover. We are indebted to Greg Homann for his valuable scholarly advice in the compilation of this anthology. We are very grateful to Samuel Pauwels for his meticulous editorial assistance. We also wish to thank the two anonymous readers for their insightful comments, which helped us strengthen this book’s arguments. Ms Christa Stevens, our acquisitions editor at Brill, efficiently guided us through the production process. This project would never have reached the publication stage without Geoffrey V. Davis’s enthusiastic response to the conference, which he attended as a South African literature scholar. He strongly encouraged us to submit the volume for possible publication in his “Cross/Culture. Readings in Post/colonial Literatures and Cultures in English” series. Geoff unexpectedly passed away at the end of 2018. This book is naturally dedicated to his memory.
Marc Maufort and Jessica Maufort
Brussels, June 2019