Performing privilege, playing with power: ambidlala as a decolonial reflexive methodology in post-apartheid South Africa

This article introduces the concept of ambidlala as a reflexive methodology for play studies and performance art practice. Developed through doctoral practice research, where I critically examined my own past performance practice that took place in a post-apartheid South Africa, and its relationship to privilege, race and implicit violence, ambidlala combines ‘ambi’ (both) and ‘dlala’ (play in isiZulu) to create a reflexive methodology addressing ambiguity, privilege, and power in post-apartheid contexts. By investigating play theory's colonial roots and their enduring impact on African scholarship and art, the article exposes how play studies have often perpetuated inequality through othering and classification. Ambidlala emerges as a tool for acknowledging the complexities of race, class, and power in postcolonial African settings, contributing to ongoing efforts to decolonize knowledge production and artistic practice across the continent.