African Theatre in Performance

<p>In this lively and varied tribute to Martin Banham, Layiwola has assembled critical commentaries and two plays which focus primarily on Nigerian theatre - both traditional and contemporary. <br><strong>Dele Layiwola</strong>, <strong>Dapo Adelugba</strong> and <strong>Sonny Oti</strong> trace the beginnings of the School of Drama in 1960, at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, where Martin Banham played a key and influential role in the growth of thriving Nigerian theatre repetoire and simulaneously encouraging the creation of a new theatre based on traditional Nigerian theatre forms.<br>This comparative approach is taken up in Dele Layiwola's study of ritual and drama in the context of various traditions worldwide, while Oyin Ogunba presents a lucid picture of the complex use of theatre space in Yoruba ritual dramadar <br>drama.<br>Harsh everyday realitites, both physical and political, are graphically demonstrated by Robert McClaren (Zimbabwe) and Oga Steve Abah (Nigeria) who both show surprising and alarming links between extreme actual experiences and theatre creation and performance. <br>The texts of the two plays - <em>When Criminals Turn Judges</em> by Ola Rotimi, <em>The Hand that Feeds the King </em>by Wale Ogunyemi, are followed by Austin O. Asagba's study of oral tradition and text in plays by Osofisan and Agbeyegbe, and Frances Harding's study on power, language, and imagery in Wole Soyinka's plays.</p> Introduction to the Series Acknowledgements List of Plates Introduction by Dele Layiwola 1. Professor Martin Banham: A Personal Tribute - Dapo Adelugba 2. Broken Mirrors: Art and Actuality in Zimbabwean Theatre - Robert McClean 3. When Criminals Turn Judges - Ola Rotimi 4. Epoch and Echo: Stage Lyrics of Martin Banham Days at Ibadan - Sonny Oti 5. Stage and Staging in Yoruba Ritual Drama - Oyin Ogunba 6. The Role of Community Theatre in Health Education in Nigeria - Oga Steve Abah 7. The Hand That Feeds the King - Wale Ogunyemi 8. Orality and the Text: Trends and Prognosis in Osofisan's Another Raft and Agbeyegbe's The King Must Dance Naked - Austin O. Asagba 9. Soyinka and Power: Language and Imagery in Madmen and Specialists - Frances Harding 10. Is Ritual Drama a Humanistic Methodology? Thoughts on the New Theatre - Dele Layiwola 11. For Martin Banham - Tony Lopez Notes on Contributors Index