From Text to Performance – The Director Vs The Playwright: The Nigerian Experience

Abstract

Arguably, a performance is the formalisation of a playtext. Invariably, the director activates this formalisation animating or interpreting of the script. The last few decades have seen director‟s “invent” and “re-invent” playtexts, especially since it has been argued that the director‟s main task should be to understand his author, seek and not impose style but rather to unearth the form within. This, in fact, generates the thrust of this paper: the question of the relationship between play and performance is at the centre of contemporary theatre practice and theory. Thus, the paper questions this relationship against the backdrop of selected performance within the Nigerian landscape. Significantly, Nigerian theatre essentially happens in academic institutions. Indeed, this study explores the works of modern Nigerian directors, their approaches to playtexts and the bold attempt to forge and create a new language for the Nigerian stage. The paper further interrogates the thin line between text and performance while bringing to the fore the “actors” involved – playwrights and directors. The paper submits that the variables involved in the production process invariably create this seemingly dizzying difference in their relationship. The paper maintains that the director is at “liberty” to tamper with any script or playtext, even when one admits that this creative journey must always begin with a text or script.