The Ogunde Theater was largely a family-run business, and all the wives and children took part in the productions at one time or the other. It combined a brilliant sense of mime, colourful costumes, and traditional drumming, music, and folklore. Introduction to the Drama of Ahmed Parker Yerima, DRAMATIC AND POETIC ENACTMENT OF DÀBÍÀRÀ IN EGÙNGÚN PERFORMANCE, The Contemporary Yoruba Film Industry and the Question of (National) Identity, Oral Art and the Challenges of Definition. Your email address will not be published. ( Emphasis added) But while many scholars agree with Ogunbiyi, especially since what he says of Nigerian theatre and drama is true for all cultures including the Western culture, so many did not see these religio-ritual displays as drama. History of human settlement in Nigeria, Africa. Some of the children were actors and actresses, while others were drummers, singers and ticket sellers. Types of Directors Interpretive directors translate the play from page to stage as faithfully and accurately as possible Creative directors often add concepts, designs, or interpretations on top of the playwright's words that were never intended by the playwright Evolution of the 3. History of Distribution cinema in Nigeria . In 1962, Ulli Beier co-founded another Mbari Mbayo club, though with another meaning different from the Igbo ‘creation” proposed by Achebe with Yoruba’s “when we see, we shall be happy” meaning with Dramatist Duro Ladipo and South African Mphalele in Osogbo, where Ladipo staged his plays and mentored other artists like Twins seven, and in 1963, the Eastern region branch of the Mbari club was founded. Theatre and Politics: Robert Serumaga – The Pantheon of Uganda’s Theatre in the ’70s 21st December 2020 How Theatre Can Help Young Nigerians Who Are Living With HIV 9th December 2020 21st Century Dreamin’: Theater — a Major Job Sector 28th November 2020 Which is to say, that Nigerian theatre and drama originated with the Nigerian himself, embodying his first preoccupations, his first struggles, successes, set-backs and all. Prominent members of the club include Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Okigbo, J.P. Clark, Mabel Segun, Demas Nwoko, Arthur Nortje, South African Ezekiel Mphahlele, Frances Ademola, Sudanese El Salahi among others. Drama was institutionalized in the classical period of the Greek culture in the city-state of Athens with the imitation of two Greek muses of Thalia-the muse of comedy depicted by the laughing face masks worn by actors and Melpomene-the muse of tragedy depicted by the weeping face mask and competitions were held annually in festivals unto Dionysus-the Greek god of religion and myth and of later period of wine, religious ecstasy, fertility, and drama. In this lesson, learn about the history of the young country of Nigeria, which gained independence from Britain in 1960. 5D Cinema 9ja. Disciples Film and Television Institute. Such rituals are manifested in religious festivals of the Yoruba group as the Egungun, Sango, Oro, Obatala, Ifa, Oshagiyan; among the Hausas in form of the pre-Islam and Arabian Bori spirit medium, Saro dance, Dodoo and Yakamanci; the Bornu puppet dance of the Kanuri group; the Mmous and Ekpe festivals among the Igbos; the Egwu festival among the Igala; Akume in Tiv group, Edjo of the Urhobos etc. Today In Nigerian History: Ojukwu Fled Biafra Into Exile In Ivory Coast. This Is The Reason Wole Soyinka Was Declared Wanted in 1965. Crime History. Discoveries. Ogunde married more than ten wives and had many children. Here we take a look at several theatre companies and individuals who continue to contribute to the Nigerian theatre … African theatre - African theatre - Southern and South Africa: The Chikwakwa Theatre—an open-air theatre created at the University of Zambia in 1971—symbolized the ambition of new young Zambian playwrights to both celebrate and comment upon the nation’s independence and to draw upon the cultural resources of the people. The roots of African theatre in ritual, seasonal rhythms, religion and communal communication are roots common to world theatre, but whereas it may be argued that European theatre, for instance, is at so great a distance from its functional roots as to be almost unaware of them, African theatre – even at the beginning of the twenty-first century – remains directly and immediately related to them. Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link. The pioneer of this culture is Hubert Ogunde, other troupes of this era include, Kola Ogunmola, Duro Ladipo, Oyin Adejobi, Moses Olaiya and Funmilayo Ranco. HISTORY OF CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA, HISTORY OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY IN NIGERIA. Our approach is rooted in the use of art, including drama, music, puppetry, and reflective drawing as well as narrative approaches – recreational art. Man matrimony and sex in Nigerian drama. Theatre in Nigeria. The Mbari clubs consolidated the post-independence evolution of drama in Nigeria and together with the roles of Veterans like Hubert Ogunde, Kola Ogunmola, Oyin Ladipo, Moses Olaiya they created a robust drama and theatre culture in Nigeria, but the impact was short-lived with the break out of the civil war in 1967.if(typeof __ez_fad_position != 'undefined'){__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-peakng_com-leader-1-0')}; Post civil war period saw the emergence of radical playwrights with socialist leanings in the late 1970s, a break from the traditional liberal-conservative group of the pre-civil war. Nigeria’s Theatre Scene, People and Places. Children’s Theatre Festival hosts thousands of Children in Nigeria in a theatre space to use art methodologies for social change. To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to upgrade your browser. Alarinjo theatre developed out of this. A few examples of children's theater are, Cinderella, The Little Princess, and Land of the Dragon. Nigeria: Interpreting African Operatic Drama As Western-Style Musical Theatre. Playback Nigeria is a registered art-based organization dedicated to using interactive arts for psychosocial support, community interaction, enhancement, development, and capacity building. Alarinjo theatre had masked actors, was performed in Oyo Yoruba kingdom courts, and developed a guild system to pass on secrets. Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. The National Theatre is an architectural masterpiece and a cultural landmark located at Iganmu, in the heart of Lagos. were prominent in the Greek classical drama history. 1845 – The first building in Nigeria was built in Badagry, Lagos State. A type of theater that specializes in performances that are family friendly, and target young audiences. In the early 19th century war broke up the guilds and theatre passed to traveling groups and companies. 1 talking about this. On this day every year, children are granted a holiday while several social activities are centered on them. Terra Kulture is a name that is synonymous with theatre in Nigeria. Nigeria, being a multi-religious and traditional society, have different festival ceremonies across the country. 1851 – Kano one of the largest city in Africa made 10 million sandal pairs and 5 million hides for export every year. With such a bleak present, how can the drama culture hold itself against the rapidly evolving society? First established by the United Nations in 1964, the day remains important in the lives of many Nigerian kids. Greek dramatists such as. Your email address will not be published. The term “drama” has its roots in the Greek word meaning for “I do” which depict action. It also existed as secular forms of Egungun among the Yoruba, Ikaki of the Kalabari, the Kwah Hir puppet dance of the Tiv. Such writers include Femi Osofisan, Bode Sowande, Tunde Fatunde, Olu Obafemi and Kola Omotoso. Performance are centered on social issues affecting children in Nigeria from Security, Education, Health, Violence and other social setbacks. If you were a young anti-imperialist, you followed the works of Nigerian travel theatre groups; Agbegijo and Alarinjo. Even though the Yoruba was the first major tribal group in the nation, the kingdom of Nri was the first established monarchy in the history of Nigeria. The decline of the Greek culture and the rise of the Roman empire transferred the mantle of drama development to the Latin culture and through them, drama was spread across the whole extent of the empire. By the early 50’s when the nation was caught in nationalistic fever, the drama started becoming more of a page and the arrival of James Ene Henshaw, pioneered this culture. from whom the word Thespian “a fancy word for an actor” was derived. Required fields are marked *, Drama was institutionalized in the classical period of the Greek culture in the city-state of Athens with the imitation of two Greek muses of Thalia-the muse of comedy depicted by the laughing face masks worn by actors and Melpomene-the muse of tragedy depicted by the weeping face mask and competitions were held annually in festivals unto Dionysus-the Greek god of religion and myth and of later period of wine, religious ecstasy, fertility, and drama. These stories derive from folk tails, fairy tails, real life issues, and many historical events. 1914 – Formation of Nigeria under Governor Frederick Lugard. The prominent pioneers of this Roman drama culture were, The Medieval period saw the church adopting what she called “Liturgical drama” that involves responsive singing of two groups which dramatized biblical events and spread the culture across Europe. The rise of these Troupe was influenced by the Christianization of the Western region of Colonial Nigeria, as the Roman Catholic Church introduced a form of theatre which includes hymns, recitations, and farce to portray its messages to a mixed audience of the educated elites and non-educated natives. Numerous ancient African civilisations settled in the region that is known today as Nigeria, such as the Kingdom of … Covering an area of about 23,000 square meters and standing well over 31 meters tall, the multipurpose National Theatre was established for the preservation, presentation and promotion of Arts and Culture in Nigeria. Nri was the originator of the Igbo culture which was a major influential group in the region after its establishment in 948 AD. Directed toward a local audience, it uses Nigerian themes, ranging from modern-day satire to historical tragedy. Malcolm X’s Visit To Nigeria … These secular forms are purely for entertainment.if(typeof __ez_fad_position != 'undefined'){__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-peakng_com-box-4-0')}; The Colonial period of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century saw the introduction of the European operas in the Lagos colony among the educated elites, and in Abeokuta and Ibadan but it was predominantly European focused but evolvement of the more literary form of indigenous drama started by the secularization of the religious Egungun to become Egungun Alaare (secular masquerades)- a masked performer who is predominately given to entertainment. 1851 – Treaty Between Great Britain and Lagos. It is Leisure Mall, beside Shoprite, located at the Adeniran Ogunsanya, in Surulere, … An approach to children’s theatre … The rise of these Troupe was influenced by the Christianization of the Western region of Colonial Nigeria, as the Roman Catholic Church introduced a form of theatre which includes hymns, recitations, and farce to portray its messages to a mixed audience of the educated elites and non-educated natives. The Mbari clubs consolidated the post-independence evolution of drama in Mask making and its uses in children’s theatre: a case study of university of Port Harcourt children. The theatre at Terra has organised many stage plays, musicals and dance performances including Saro the Musical, Fela & the Kalakuta Queens and Wakaa the Musical. Time will definitely tell. A case study of wives revolt by JP Clark and Broken calabash by Tess Akaeke Onwueme. Established by Bolanle Austen-Peters in 2003, Terra Kulture is an Art and Culture centre. Nigeria’s theatre scene has definitely taken off with Nigerian stage actors and actresses finding global success in London and New York. The impact of the western culture on Colonial Nigeria led to the evolvement of Alarinjo (touring theater performers) from the masked secular masquerades in the 1940s.This culture combine mine, colorful costume, music, traditional drumming, and folklore. Drama is a genre of literature in which an action is imitated in dialogue or pantomime by actors, this dialogue is broken into scenes or acts. May 27 is traditionally the Children’s Holiday in Nigeria. Children's literature The beginning of written Nigerian children’s literature, according to Virginia W. Dike of the Department of Library and Information Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, coincided with the attainment of independence in 1960. Those with a taste for Nigerian storytelling could watch stars like Duro Ladipo literally light up stages. Nigerian theatre, variety of folk opera of the Yoruba people of southwestern Nigeria that emerged in the early 1940s. There were separate guilds for musicians, mask carvers, and actors. At this time, the kingdom of Nri was unique because the rulers governed the people through the use of political, economic and religious authority and didn’t need to u… Children's novels get a meagre amount of review space, but when it comes to writing about children's theatre, every column inch must still be fought for and over. The Mbari clubs consolidated the post-independence evolution of drama in Nigeria and together with the roles of Veterans like Hubert Ogunde, Kola Ogunmola, Oyin Ladipo, Moses Olaiya they created a robust drama and theatre culture in Nigeria, but the impact was short-lived with the break out of the civil war in 1967. The Best of Nigerian TheatreBB: 26D85D09 Disciples Film and Television Institute is a redefined acting … 2. Ogali. The adaptation of the Alarinjo culture led to the evolvement of professional folk opera troupes. The prominent playwrights of this period include Wale Ogunyemi, and the first female playwright Zulu Sofola and Tess Onwueme. 497 likes. The decline of the Greek culture and the rise of the Roman empire transferred the mantle of drama development to the Latin culture and through them, drama was spread across the whole extent of the empire. 1959 – The new Nigerian currency was introduced. That’s all about The History Of Drama In Nigeria. No wonder the pioneers of the Professional theater group started from the church. The post-colonial drama culture shifted to Ibadan as early as 1960 among the university based elitists led by accomplished playwright and theater practitioner, Wole Soyinka of the University of Ibadan who was commissioned to write the nation’s independence play he titled “A dance in the forest” other educated playwrights such as J.P. Clark, Ola Rotimi arose around the same time .In 1960, he formed the Orisun theater group and the 1960 Masks.if(typeof __ez_fad_position != 'undefined'){__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-peakng_com-large-leaderboard-2-0')}; The formation of the Mbari Club-a cultural center for African writers, artists and musicians by Ulli Beier-a German Jewish Lecturer at the University of Ibadan, in 1961marked the beginning of another phase in the Nation’s drama and theater evolution. This Club also serves as an open air performance venue where Soyinka “The trials of brother Jero” and Clark” song of a goat” were premiered. Prominent dramatists across cultures, ages and philosophies include. The sub-genres of Drama include the Comedy, Tragedy, Tragicomedy, Farce, Melodrama, Musical Comedy and closet comedy. 4. The prominent pioneers of this Roman drama culture were Plautus and Terence.if(typeof __ez_fad_position != 'undefined'){__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-peakng_com-medrectangle-4-0')}; The Medieval period saw the church adopting what she called “Liturgical drama” that involves responsive singing of two groups which dramatized biblical events and spread the culture across Europe. The pioneer of this culture was the Roman Catholic French order of priests in 1867 and this culture was further developed by the rise of independent African church in the turn of the 20th century, who introduced a form of indigenous theatre performed in the church for her natives. They date back as far as the 5th century BC, when communities living around the southern slopes of the Jos plateau make wonderfully expressive terracotta figures - in a tradition known now as the Nok culture , from the Nigerian village where these sculptures are first unearthed. Brian Way, who founded the Theatre Centre in 1953, was an early practitioner, and influenced the team, including Gordon Vallins, who established TIE at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry in 1965. Nigeria contains more historic cultures and empires than any other other nation in Africa. The challenges of drama evolution in contemporary Nigeria is the dearth of professional playwrights and the piracy menace and dearth of theater performance and performers, as the technological shift to digital film production had eroded the drama culture and depleted its rank, though we still boast of some veterans, most of the pioneers are late and the new playwrights are too few to fill in the gaps left by the Hubert Ogunde, J.P Clark among others, we have some prominent playwrights such as Sefi Atta, Africa Ukoh, and the stage drama had been limited to few unpopular groups. It is therefore not unlikely that the origin of Nigerian drama and filmmaking lies in the very many different traditional and religious festivals, functions and rituals that are found in practically all the Nigerian cultures. You can download the paper by clicking the button above. These secular forms are purely for entertainment. No wonder the pioneers of the Professional theater group started from the church.if(typeof __ez_fad_position != 'undefined'){__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-peakng_com-banner-1-0')}; The evolution of drama was not limited to the Western region only, as some educated returnees in the Eastern region, unlike their western counterparts, chose to the page drama by publishing novellas which are an adaptation of the Europe classics, Prominent among such include Thomas Orlando Iguh and O.A. post-colonial drama culture shifted to Ibadan as early as 1960 among the university based elitists led by accomplished playwright and theater practitioner, Wole Soyinka of the University of Ibadan who was commissioned to write the nation’s independence play he titled “A dance in the forest” other educated playwrights such as J.P. Clark, Ola Rotimi arose around the same time .In 1960, he formed the Orisun theater group and the 1960 Masks. The word “drama” found its way into the English vocabulary by Williams Shakespeare, who replaced the term “play or game” with it. Today In Nigerian History. Some original names or spellings of Igbo towns and villages. Children’s Day is a commemorative date celebrated annually in honor of children, whose date of observance varies by country.. Children’s Day began on the second Sunday of June in 1857 by Reverend Dr. Charles Leonard, pastor of the Universalist Church of the Redeemer in Chelsea, Massachusetts: Leonard held a special service dedicated to, and for the children. CTFAbuja2019 is a Theatre for Children, By Children and About Children. It is easily accessible from every corner of the city. History of Nigeria can be traced to prehistoric settlers (Nigerians) living in the area as early as 11000 BC. Greek dramatists such as Thespis from whom the word Thespian “a fancy word for an actor” was derived, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Menander, and Aristophanes were prominent in the Greek classical drama history. Drama is traditional to Nigeria as its manifestations predate the colonial era. It also existed as secular forms of Egungun among the Yoruba, Ikaki of the Kalabari, the Kwah Hir puppet dance of the Tiv. The children’s theater began to focus on the problem of the teen-ager’s moral and social outlook, as in Serezha Strel’tsov by Liubimova, Brother of a Hero by Kassil’, and Buried Treasure by Shvarts, as well as on his capacity for heroic deeds, for example, They Were Militant by … Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer. The drama had been manifesting in sacred religious rituals across the ethnolinguistic groups that existed before the advent of Nigeria. The pioneer of this culture was the Roman Catholic French order of priests in 1867 and this culture was further developed by the rise of independent African church in the turn of the 20th century, who introduced a form of indigenous theatre performed in the church for her natives. The History of Nigeria can be traced to settlers trading across the middle East and Africa as early as 1100 BC. Prominent dramatists across cultures, ages and philosophies include Seneca, Hirovistha, Adam de la Halle, Christopher Marlowe, Aphran Behn-the first female professional dramatist, Henrik Ibsen, Bertolt Brecht, Rabindranath Tagore, Nawab Majid Ali Shah and host of others.