Drama and Theatre In Nigeria: A Critical Source Book

Description

“Unquestionably a welcome aid to Nigerian theatre scholarship… In sum, this book, quite evidently, is a rich source for the study of Nigerian drama, especially useful because it encompasses a provocative divergence of views. Deserving of particular commendation is Ogunbiyi’s long Introduction (Part I), a surefooted and scholarly synthesis of the disparate issues tackled by all the contributors. For these reasons at least, the book deserves a prominent place in the library of students of Nigerian drama.”

— OYEKAN OWOMOYELA (Late), Ryan Professor of African Literature University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska

“This book is the most comprehensive and authoritative study of drama and theatre in Nigeria. It is an excellent compendium of essays contributed by leading theoreticians, academic critics and professionals of the performing arts in Nigeria… Although the focus of the essays is on Nigeria, the theoretical and technical insights explored in them are relevant and valid for the appreciation of the African and global heritage of drama and theatre. These features explain why more than three decades after the first edition of the book was published, its scholarly and historical value has not diminished…. The fifty-page introductory essay by Dr. Ogunbiyi provides a historiographical overview of the genres and their evolution from the antiquity to contemporary times, from oral and folk theatres to the modern and written varieties.

This book is a rich harvest of vigorous and diligent research by one of Africa’s renowned critics and teachers of the performing arts. The book has been a treasured companion of students, researchers and theatre professionals. It has generated intense debates and discourses on aesthetic theory, ideology, craft and modes of presentation. Since it was first published in 1981, more studies have been conducted on various aspects of Nigerian drama and theatre. Yet, the originality and radical thrust of the essays paraded in this book are yet to be surpassed by other studies. This confirms the foundational status of the anthology. It remains a landmark work of theory and criticism for which Yemi Ogunbiyi’s name will endure through the ages.”

YEMI OGUNBIYI studied English Literature at the University of Ibadan. Thereafter, he obtained a doctorate in Dramatic Literature from the New York University in the United States of America. After his return to Nigeria, he taught at the then University of Ife, Ile-Ife, where he contributed extensively to scholarly journals and also acted briefly as Head of the department of Dramatic Arts. He later took up a career in the mass media and became the Managing Director of the Nigerian Daily Times. He is now the Executive Chairman of Tanus Books, a book publishing firm that specialises in the production of school text-books and teaching materials. Dr. Ogunbiyi is married with children.