Like many African countries and cultures, each ethnic group in Ghana has a tradition of oral storytelling, including myths and legends about their religious figures and the beginning of the universe. Folktales, like one Aidoo based Anowa on, are particularly important ways of both entertaining and imparting values. One type of folk story is the "dilemma tale," which presents social and moral issues in a way which provokes discussion of the topics raised. In many ways, Anowa is a dramatized dilemma tale that Aidoo modified in a modern way.

While there is an emphasis on performance in the oral transmission of folktales, Ghana has a more modern theatrical tradition. Beginning in the late nineteenth centuries, commercial theater shows and troupes traveled throughout Ghana, coming into their own after World War II. Part of so-called "concert parties," three or more comedic actors in a troupe used stock...