Yorùbá Theatre Practice and Nollywood
Yorùbá theatre practice has an extensive background which is
deeply entrenched in the Yorùbá people's traditional approach to
ritual and entertainment. The development of theatre in
Yorùbáland from travelling actors to the contemporaneous
practice of the culture in the film medium is an intriguing phase
of maturity of the Yorùbá theatrical tradition. Nollywood has
made the whole world a stage for Yorùbá theatre. By extending
the performance space beyond the physical stage of the
auditorium, Nollywood is what may be considered the current
and future of Yorùbá theatre. The demand for relevance and a
focus on the interests of today's audience all play a significant
part in the shift of Yorùbá theatre from stage to film medium.
Nollywood has helped Yorùbá theatre practice by preserving
Yorùbá stories for widespread popular acceptability and global
attention. Yorùbá theatre is an exposition of Yorùbá tradition and
culture, thus it might be helpful to understand the worldviews
held by the people who created it in order to better appreciate
how it is practiced today, as well as the contributing factors that
shape how the practice of this theatre is showcased in what is
now known as Nollywood. This paper aims to point out how
significant it is to understand the theatre that was developed in
Yorùbáland and how the culture comes across in the film
adaptations of Akínwùmí Ìṣọ̀ lá's Ṣaworoidẹ and Ẹfúnṣetán Aníwúrà.