Femi Osofisan is an internationally lauded playwright, scholar, poet, novelist, actor, director, songwriter, and activist and Professor Emeritus of Theatre Arts at the University of Ibadan. Osofisan was awarded the Thalia Prize in 2016. He has published five novellas, six volumes of poetry, and more than 50 plays.

African Theatre: Women is a refreshingly original collection of essays. Offering detailed information on a wide range of theatrical traditions as well as in-depth studies of individual playwrights, the book covers material from the entire continent ... As with the other titles in the African Theatre series, African Theatre: Women introduces readers to a fascinating variety of theatre projects and practices from the entire continent ... If a single message emerges from the volume, it is that the category of 'African women' is polyphonic rather than monolithic, infused with a multitude of traditions and ambitions.

• Editorial Jane Plastow - 'I will not cry': women's theatre in the Algerian diaspora by Laura Chakravarty Box - Challenging the master: resisting 'male' virtues of the ancient Egyptian goddess Isis in the theatre of Tawfik al-Hakim & Nawal al-Sa'dawi by Dina Amin - Of Suwa houses & singing contests: early urban performers in Asmara, Eritrea by Christine Matzke - Contextualising women's theatre in Kenya: Mboya's Otongolia & Mwachofie's Mama ee by Mike Kuria - Portraits of women in contemporary Ugandan theatre by Mercy Mirembe Ntangaare - Drama in her life: interview with Adeline Ama Buabeng by Esi Sutherland-Addy with Adeline Ama Buabeng - Visibility, eloquence & silence: women & theatre for development in Ghana by Esi Dogbe - Contemporary Nigerian theatre: the plays of Stella Oyedepo by Chris Dunton - Who can silence her drums?: an analysis of the plays of Tess Onwueme by Omofolabo Ajayi - Noticeboard compiled by James Gibbs - Playscript: Glass House by Fatima Dike with brief introduction by Marcia Blumberg - Book Reviews