A compendium of interviews with the late Ola Rotimi, who is perhaps Nigeria's foremost dramatist of the twentieth century. This edition brings together interviews which Rotimi has given over the past thirty years, some of which were published in occasional journals, and some of which have never previously been published. The interviewers are for the most part leading scholars in the fields of African literature and the dramatic arts: Bernth Lindfors, Onuora Ossie Enekwe, Margaret Floarin, Eldred Titus Green and Bassey Uwatt. The interviews present Rotimi's views on a range of subjects. As a whole, the collection reflects the development in his work and thought over time, and in light of the changing social and political and cultural context. Some subjects addressed are: African identity, academic influences and artistic ambition; the literary heritages of his tragedies, comedies and historical plays; socio-political context and socio-political drama; the craft and form of drama; Nigerian drama, language and authenticity; theatre and teaching in Africa and North America; and the dramatist's commitment to Africa and the Third World.

Numerous books have been written on the art of directing from the classical to contemporary times. Many of these works have concentrated on different facets of the discipline of directing such as the definition, history, and development of directing, as well as the qualities, functions, and types of directors. However, areas of directing that have not received much scholarly attention include works that serve as manuals for budding directors and studies that reflect the theory and practice of directing in Africa, especially from Nigerian theatre practitioners. While studies on directing, such as Wainstein’s 'Stage Directing: A Director’s Itinerary' (2012), Dean and Carra’s 'Fundamentals of Play Directing' (2009), and Johnson’s 'Visions Towards a Mission: The Art of Interpretative Directing' (2003), provide general insights on the art of directing plays, Emasealu’s 'The Theatre of Ola Rotimi: Production and Performance Dynamics' (2010) and Uwatt’s 'Playwriting and Directing in Nigeria: Interviews with Ola Rotimi' (2004), document the directorial practice of the Nigerian director, Ola Rotimi. Aside from documenting the directing techniques of key Western directors, this book’s advantage over existing works is that it documents the directorial styles of Ola Rotimi and other West African directors, as well as the directorial techniques of directors from South, North, and East Africa. It also traces the evolution of the theatre stage, examines the directorial implications of the arena, proscenium, thrust, traverse and African traditional theatre stage orientations, and engages the notions of blocking, movement, directorial concept and directorial approach. In particular, this book aspires to contribute to the discourse on play directing with perspectives from African theatre. It also fills gaps in previous studies by delving into the notions of theatre and directing, the director’s history, qualities, and tools. It examines types of directors, functions of the director, directing principles, and key Western and African theories of performance. It also evaluates the history of the theatre stage, the characteristics, benefits and drawbacks, and directorial implications of the arena stage, proscenium stage, thrust stage, traverse stage, African traditional theatre stage, the use of blocking, movement, and the meaning of directorial concept and directorial approach.

Summary The Nigerian theatre milieu is trapped in a cobweb of strangulating strings. Little wonder, therefore, that its growth has been impaired over the years. The numerous multi-tribal thrusts in Nigeria disallow the full growth and development of theatre forms and trends. The university and other degree-awarding institutions engaged in theatre studies, have not carved out uniquely distinguishing styles that can be said to be theirs. The Nigerian theatre makers themselves are not style-driven and technique-creating. An ideal repertory of form can hardly be identified with them in a sustainable manner. The National Theatre set up as a symbol of the nation's cultural pride, now stands as a totem for the nation's creative shame; The state-owned Cultural Centre Boards are devoid of objectives in focused cultural promotions. Many graduates of the arts-prefer other creative businesses. A few die-hards are bedeviled by frustrating dilemmas as businessmen refuse to patronise theatre because they consider it a wasteful venture, while international agencies shun it because of its profit-making outlook.

Numerous books have been written on the art of directing from the classical to contemporary times. Many of these works have concentrated on different facets of the discipline of directing such as the definition, history, and development of directing, as well as the qualities, functions, and types of directors. However, areas of directing that have not received much scholarly attention include works that serve as manuals for budding directors and studies that reflect the theory and practice of directing in Africa, especially from Nigerian theatre practitioners. While studies on directing, such as Wainstein's 'Stage Directing: A Director's Itinerary' (2012), Dean and Carra's 'Fundamentals of Play Directing' (2009), and Johnson's 'Visions Towards a Mission: The Art of Interpretative Directing' (2003), provide general insights on the art of directing plays, Emasealu's 'The Theatre of Ola Rotimi: Production and Performance Dynamics' (2010) and Uwatt's 'Playwriting and Directing in Nigeria: Interviews with Ola Rotimi' (2004), document the directorial practice of the Nigerian director, Ola Rotimi. Aside from documenting the directing techniques of key Western directors, this book's advantage over existing works is that it documents the directorial styles of Ola Rotimi and other West African directors, as well as the directorial techniques of directors from South, North, and East Africa. It also traces the evolution of the theatre stage, examines the directorial implications of the arena, proscenium, thrust, traverse and African traditional theatre stage orientations, and engages the notions of blocking, movement, directorial concept and directorial approach. In particular, this book aspires to contribute to the discourse on play directing with perspectives from African theatre. It also fills gaps in previous studies by delving into the notions of theatre and directing, the director's history, qualities, and tools. It examines types of directors, functions of the director, directing principles, and key Western and African theories of performance. It also evaluates the history of the theatre stage, the characteristics, benefits and drawbacks, and directorial implications of the arena stage, proscenium stage, thrust stage, traverse stage, African traditional theatre stage, the use of blocking, movement, and the meaning of directorial concept and directorial approach.

Summary The Nigerian theatre milieu is trapped in a cobweb of strangulating strings. Little wonder, therefore, that its growth has been impaired over the years. The numerous multi-tribal thrusts in Nigeria disallow the full growth and development of theatre forms and trends. The university and other degree-awarding institutions engaged in theatre studies, have not carved out uniquely distinguishing styles that can be said to be theirs. The Nigerian theatre makers themselves are not style-driven and technique-creating. An ideal repertory of form can hardly be identified with them in a sustainable manner. The National Theatre set up as a symbol of the nation's cultural pride, now stands as a totem for the nation's creative shame; The state-owned Cultural Centre Boards are devoid of objectives in focused cultural promotions. Many graduates of the arts-prefer other creative businesses. A few die-hards are bedeviled by frustrating dilemmas as businessmen refuse to patronise theatre because they consider it a wasteful venture, while international agencies shun it because of its profit-making outlook.

It’s the nineties and in Lagos, Nigeria, the “Nollywood” film industry is exploding. Ayamma dreams of leaving her job at her parents’ travel agency and becoming a star. When she auditions for a new film by Nigeria’s hottest director, tension flares with his former leading lady—as sparks fly with Nollywood’s biggest heartthrob

The papers in this volume focus on fiction and theatre in their traditional forms as well as in their encounters with novel and innovative forms and avenues of dissemination. As a cultural practice that emerged from a process of protest and contestation of hegemony, it is understandable that one main concern in African literature and literary criticism is the resistance against the emergence of marginalizing centers in formerly or currently marginalized societies with regard to discourses, aesthetics and media of creation. These new centers that sometimes undermine the strategic/tactical exploitation of the relative advantage procured by each medium run the risk of leading to new forms of stratification that mitigate the import of African and African diasporic literatures. The collection of essays therefore seeks to analyze the representation of pertinent socio-political and historical questions in a variety of postcolonial texts from Africa and the African diasporas, notably the Caribbean islands and the United States of America. However, far from re-writing of history in a way that cedes to conservative worldviews, creative writers and critics simultaneously attempt to chart ways forward for socially all-inclusive futures. In the context of colonial and neo-colonial legacies that seem to forestall any sense of individual and collective self-fulfillment, contributors to this volume examine the pertinence of African fiction and theatre in imagining new vistas of re-conceptualizing the postcolonial condition in ways that re-galvanize the belief in an enabling future.

Building on earlier works on the African video film movement this book discusses: The Dynamics of Finance in the Nigerian Traveling Theatre; Christian Morality Plays in Nigeria; Television Docudrama as Alternative Records of History; Nigerian Tele-Drama and Propaganda; Money and Mercantilism in Nigerian Historical Plays; History of the Ori Olokun Theatre; and The Socio-Economic Construct of the Nigerian Home Video Film.