Drama and Theater as an Effective Instrument of Education and Social Transformation in the Society
CHAPTER ONE
REAMBLE TO STUDY
The theatre is known to have been alive to the socio-political realities of its time; a kind of court where the economic, social, religious and political issues of the society are outlined, evaluated and judged to bring about a better society, the theatre, it’s practitioners, and in fact, all the fine artists, are all vanguards of social change in their respective capacities – keeping watchful eyes and attentive ears on the happenings in the society.
In Nigeria, for instance, virtually all the new generation playwrights are committed to issues of social and political concerns of our time. The relevance of any play is dependent upon how well it is able to address the pressing issues of the playwright’s society. Hence, the radical dramatist is merely a respondent to such issues of social essence.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
One cannot successfully discuss the concept of radicalism in the Nigerian theatre without mentioning the antecedents that gave rise to it. The concept of drama and theatre in Nigeria, in Africa and indeed in the rest of the world, for instance, derives from the rituals and ceremonies, festivals and such other types of indigenous forms of entertainment usually brought together in an ensemble performance. The advent of the colonial masters brought in Western civilization and formal education which helped groom some Africans in acquiring the art of writing. Performances which were hitherto in oral forms began to be documented in script form. The Alarinjo Traveling Theatre Championed by J.A. Adedeji and Hubert Ogunde and the Yoruba Traveling Theatre pioneered by Duro Ladipo among others were some of the immediate outcomes of this interplay between the indigenous art forms and those of the colonial masters. The thematic contents in their performance were based on love, fantasy, clash of culture, traditions and values, dramatic biographies of their favourite heroes as well as some straight-forward didactic pieces. Yemi Ogunbiyi rightly said that “the Nigerian theatre and drama originated with the Nigerian, embodying his first pre- occupations, his first struggles, successes, set backs and all” (3). The emergence of the contemporary radical theatre movement in Nigeria dates back to the early 70’s. This period witnessed the arrival of such literary icons as James Eneh Henshaw, John Pepper Clark Bekederemo, Wole Soyinka, Ola Rotimi, Obi Egbuna, among others. These breed of Nigerian dramatists were born into a much tensed political atmosphere, into an era when the social and economic value suffered a total breakdown. Their works seemed to be a kind of revolt against the colonial imports which they saw as unacceptable. Their major preoccupation was to redirect the minds of the people towards Nigeria’s lost cultural values.
CHAPTER THREE
LIMITATIONSTO RADICALISM IN THE NIGERIAN THEATRE PRACTICE
Since its inception in the early 70’s, the radical theatre movement has had to haggle with a number of challenges threatening its very existence. The theoretical framework that informed the emergence of the Nigerian radical theatre is such that visualizes the artistic projections of the dramatist from the perspective of his relevance to the struggle for a more democratically dynamic society. According to Draisen Magaden:
The approach adopted by the radical theatre movement of this era is such that identifies a direct relationship between the theatre and social struggle, and relates the artistic concept of radicalism to the realization of an egalitarian society devoid of acrimonious class struggle(2).
The radical theatre preaches revolution and social reformation, but it has achieved little or nothing practical in its quest for a transformed society.
Although Dauda Musa and Victor Anyagu hold that:
The radical theatre has contributed to the development of radical thoughts in the literary and academic lives of Nigerians. The hitherto marginalized ethnic minorities are now conscious of their rights and are therefore agitating for recognition (due to the influence of the theatre) (86).
Yet, the radical theatre movement has not been able to achieve a wholesome success as expected. This is due to some challenges confronting its practice in Nigeria.
Most Nigerian dramatists with the radical mien find it difficult to draw a line of divergence and (or) convergence between their constituencies and their audience. Ideally, the constituency of the radical ideologue should be the oppressed masses, the voiceless, labourers, the studentry, the peasants, craftsmen, the unemployed graduates, the destitute and other such groups whose socio economic positions are pitiable- a situation which informs the major thematic focus of the radical theatre. By way of definition also, his audience are those who watch his productions. It would be more productive if the audience and the constituency of the radical dramatist are one and the same.
Unfortunately in the Nigerian situation, the audience happens to be the bourgeois theatre patrons, the academic theatre goers and the paying audience who can afford the cost. The audience and the constituency of the radical dramatist which ought to be one and the same now turn out being two radically different groups in terms of their ideologies and socio economic status.
Language medium is one factor that poses a great barrier to the success of the radical theatre movement in Nigeria. Plays are written and presented mostly in English and other foreign languages. Unfortunately, the percentage population of Nigerians who are literate enough in those languages and who can access theatre productions is only about 30% (UNESCO 2007).
CHAPTER FOUR CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
SUMMARY/CONCLUSION
In summary, this work has attempted to explore the advent of the drama and theatre movement in Nigeria in the light of the problems it has encountered over time and the promises it holds as a functional tool for education and social transformation in the society. The radical theatre in Nigeria has had to haggle with quite a myriad of limiting factors, including lack of theatre orientation, poverty, illiteracy, ethnic and religious fanaticism as well as excessive government influence. However, despite all these limitations, the Theatre has undoubtedly proved to be a dynamic art form whose developmental trend is dependent upon the dictates of the society. The society sets certain standards by which the individuals expected to abide, but when such standards are not acceptable, there is need for a resistant measure. The theatre is therefore duty bound to react to the situation at such times of need. The Theatre has an enviable potential for creating awareness amongst the people by inculcating in them the spirit of responsibility of nationalism, of patriotism and of oneness. It exposes the individual to self examination. The individual is a constituent part of the larger society. A change in the attitude of the individual will invariably result in a change in the overall attitude of the larger society. Here the relevance of the radical. Theatre in bringing about this much needed change cannot be over-emphasized. No wonder Domba Asomba opines that “the theatre has the persuasive power to evoke, to rejuvenate, reconstruct and redirect the mind for positive thinking” (318).
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