Illegible Will

More about the book

Engaging with South African and black diasporic performance, the book explores the absence of black women's agency within historical archives. By analyzing diverse materials like court documents and photographs, the author reveals how the will of both well-known and obscure figures can be reconstructed through critical imagination. Case studies, including the Miss Landmine Angola pageant, connect contemporary culture to historical narratives, illustrating how performative acts can uncover unrecorded histories and situate South African performance within a broader diasporic context.