Political Configuration in the Dramaturgy of AbdulRasheed Adeoye

Abstract

Colonial and postcolonial African dramaturgy was influenced by the politics of the society in which they were created. They reflected the political upheavals, corruption, socio‐political decadence and laxity portrayed by political leaders. In fact, these dramas such as the works of the radical Ngugi Wa Thiong’o, Wole Soyinka, Femi Osofisan, Bode Sowande, Sam Ukala, and Benedict Binebai amongst others were/are political constructs. However, one postmodern dramaturge who has fully explored the social and the political in his works in theory and praxis, is AbdulRasheed Adeoye. The authenticity of his theatre does not only stem from the political consciousness of his creative works, but also, his crystallization of a dramatic theory, he termed Neoalienation theory. How unique is this theory, and how relevant are the themes and content of his works to the political situation of present‐day Nigeria? To this end, this study critically investigates the poetics of politics in the dramaturgy of AbdulRasheed Adeoye. It further examines Adeoye’s neoalienation theory, in consonance with Bertolt Brecht’s Epic Theatre, and the political configurations of Adeoye’s dramaturgy.