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Title: | Issues and development in contemporary Nigerian drama and theatre practice |
Author: | Yerima, Ahmed![]() |
Year: | 2011 |
Periodical: | African Performance Review (ISSN 1753-5964) |
Volume: | 5 |
Issue: | 1 |
Pages: | 36-44 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Nigeria |
Subjects: | drama theatre |
About person: | Adedapo Abayomi Olorunfemi Adelugba![]() |
Abstract: | In his thesis of 1964, Dapo Adelugba sets the tone for a Nigerian theatre that, because of its closeness to other theatre practices all over the world, will be relevant to its immediate audience; be ideologically meaningful to those who would practice it and those who would watch it; and, finally, a theatre that would document the history of its people, while at the same time pointing towards a better sociopolitical alternative for the future.This paper examines how well Nigerian dramatist and theatre practitioners have measured up to this philosophy. It shows that Nigeria since 1964 has outgrown the country that Adelugba refers to. Because of changes in socioeconomic and political development, new demands have been made on the type of drama and theatrical practice that must emerge to satisfy contemporary audiences. This is why the first major challenge for drama and theatre development in Nigeria is its dramaturgy. Other challenges include the negative attitude to drama and theatre practitioners in society, lack of training and education, the non-articulation of Nigerian arts policy and, in particular, the current preference for transnational media, electronic media, and the internet. Bibliogr. [ASC Leiden abstract] |