CHANGES IN THE NIGERIAN THEATRE WITH SPECIAL ATTENTION TO FOUR POST ...

429 Pages·2016·13.12 MB·English

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CHANGES IN THE NIGERIAN THEATRE
WITH SPECIAL ATTENTION TO FOUR
POST - SOYINKAN PLAYWRIGHTS
A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the
University of London
By
Ahmed Parker Yerimah
Department of Drama & Theatre Studies
Royal Holloway College.
ProQuest Number: 10097578
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ABSTRACT
The thesis examines the main conventions governing
traditional Nigerian entertainment and the development
of these conventions under influences from Western drama.
Wole Soyinka*s development of these conventions is con­
sidered along with his influence on present day play­
wrights. The main section of the thesis is concerned
with the further evolution of Nigerian theatrical con-
ventions by four playwrights; Zulu Sofola, Wale Ogunyemi,
Femi Osofisan and Bode Sowande.
The discussion is presented in ghree parts. In
the first chapter, there is a recapitulation and evalua-
tion of the conventions which emerged from traditional
Nigerian entertainment by the late 16th and early 19th
centuries. The second section consists of two chapters:
the first is concerned with the period when there was
strong western influence on modern Nigerian drama through
the University College at Ibadan, the chapter on Wole
Soyinka that follows is concerned with the further evolu­
tion of theatrical convention in his drama, the third
and major section of the thesis examines the present day
development of Nigerian theatrical convention through
an analysis of the te cliniques of the four playwrights;
Zulu Sofola, Wale Ogunyemi, Femi Osofisan and Bode
Sowande.
The material in the thesis includes accounts of
interviews with Soyinka, and the four playwrights.
It is hoped that this material which has not previously
been collected will prove valuable to students of
modern Nigerian drama. The aim of the thesis is to
provide knoledge, analyse conventions and techniques and
stimulate interest in Nigerian drama, particularly, that
developed after Soyinka*s successes in the sixties.
k -
DEDICATION
For Musa,
Sadetu,
lyabo, Adisa
and Abdul-Gafar.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My sincere regards and thanks go to Professor
Katharine Worth, for her help and initial decision
to give me a place at the Royal Holloway College. I
must thank Dr. Gerard Moran for his endless care for
my work, his interest and encouragement has been most
rewarding. And finally, my thanks go to lyabo my
wife, who read through the thesis.
6
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ABSTRACT 2
DEDICATION "
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ^
INTRODUCTION ®
1, The changing forms of Conventions
of the Nigerian Theatrical Enter- 22
tainments
Folk entertainment .......... 23
Ritual entertainment ....... 26
Administration plays ......... 62
Rise of the Yoruba Professional theare... 63
University College, Ibadan ........ . 76
Players of the Dawn ................... 79
University Travelling Theatre .....
ol
Ogunmola Palm Wine Drinkard ..... 91
2, Wole Soyinka and the Development of 100
Nigerian Drama
Soyinka in England ............. io4
Traditional influence ............... 105
Early plays .... ................
3, Post-Soyinka Playwrights, Conventions and
New Forms
The Civil War and Soyinka ...... . 153
The emergence of new Pqaywrights ............ 154
I4.. Zulu Sofola 176
Early background ............ . 177
Concept of Social Tragedy ........... 17g
Wedlock of The Gods ............... 192
King Emene...... ........................... igg
* «m y m»
Page
5. Wale Ogunyemi 239
Early Background ................. 240
Epic drama-African moderation and
modification ............... 244
Ijaye W a r ................................ 245
Kiriji 269
6. Bode Sowande 287
Early Background ........... 288
Politics and the Playwright ............. 290
The Night Before ........ 291
Farewell to Babylon .......... 294
7. Femi Osofisan 332
Early Background ............... 333
Use of Myths in modern Nigerian drama ... 33?
Morountodun ........ 3^3
Once Upon Four Robbers .......... 333
CONCLUSION ......... 373
BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................ 333
APPENDICES ................ ^33
INTRODUCTION
Theatre is a major part of man's
civilization, and this is why theatre
has never ceased to develop. Every
developing theatre has a tendency
to explode, and it is this explosive
element which has made theatre part
of llfe.l
Ronald Harwood's succinct description of the develop­
ment of theatre can be applied to the specific case of
the development of drama in Nigeria. The main body of
my thesis is an examination of one such 'explosion' within
Nigerian drama; one which has led to significant changes
in the country's theatrical conventions and one which has
created the need for a reappraisal of Wole Soyinka's
position within Nigerian drama. One must hastily add
that the re-examination embarked upon in this thesis does
not entail a devaluation of Soyinka's prowess as an
accomplished African playwright; the intention is to see
him in a context formed by the newer playwrights who have
emerged in Nigeria in recent years.
The main reason for embarking on this study here
in England first occurred to me when I arrived in 1981
to begin my post-graduate studies at University College,
Cardiff. It was with a slight sense of embarrassment
that I realised that the literary scholars I met knew
nothing about contemporary Nigerian playwrights of whom
I myself am one. I felt that there was a need for a
study such as this, if only to emphasise a continuity
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in the process of history and to re-awken the literary
interest of Europe in African literature, particularly
Nigerian drama, I became engulfed in the persistent
search for a means through which I could initiate a re-
introduction of critical approaches to Nigerian drama.
It is therefore with a sense of relief that I am able
to put my thoughts into words in this thesis.
Most research and published works on Nigerian drama
concentrate almost entirely upon its historical develop­
ment, In this light, there is no need for any further
historical accounts in this study, but there is a need
for an examination of theatrical conventions. And as
the study does not centre on the social and anthropolo­
gical history of the Nigerian people, it will emphasise
the theatrical elements in these conventions rather than
the social elements to which they are obviously related.
The main task of this study therefore, is to examine the
changes in recent Nigerian dramatic conventions and the
influences of Western drama and its conventions upon
Nigerian drama, to examine Soyinka's contributions to
Nigerian drama which emerges from a mixture of both
Western and indigenous theatrical practices and finally
to examine four post-Soyinka playwrights: Zulu Sofola,
Vale Ogunyemi, Bode Sowande and Femi Osofisan. In the
examination of these four playwrights, there will be an