Theatre Directing and the Use of Multimedia in Nigerian Theatre: A Study of Segun Adefila’s Production of “Omo Dumping”
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18533/journal.v7i6.1395Keywords:
Directing, Multimedia, Production, Theatre, NigeriaAbstract
Live theatre in Nigeria is in a declining state because of the absence of patronage from Nigerian audiences. A lot of reasons have been advanced for this phenomenon such as the rise of the television and video mediums, the security situation in the country, poor quality of productions due to inadequate fund etc. However, a major cause of the current state of live theatre in Nigeria is as a result of the old fashioned style of interpreting plays that many Nigerian directors are stuck with, and their inability to adopt a media friendly play production approach that aligns with the present social realities of the time. The contemporary Nigerian audience is technology savvy, and would love to see technological traits in theatre productions. As such, Nigerian directors are challenged to employ a media friendly approach in their play interpretations. The foregoing is the aim of this study as this research examines the art of directing and the use of multimedia in Nigerian theatre, using Segun Adefila’s production of “Omo Dumping” as a case study. The study employs the case study and content analysis research approaches of the qualitative research method to realize set objectives, and adopts Hans-Thies Lehmann’s theory of “Postdramatic Theatre” as its theoretical framework. The study observed that the use of multimedia in the production of “Omo Dumping” added more visual impact to the story and enriched the production’s aesthetic vocabulary.It therefore recommends that Nigerian directors embrace the use of multimedia in their productions.
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