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PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS AND THEATRE SEMIOTICS IN SELECTED NIGERIA
THEATRES’ PRODUCTIONS OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN PLAYS
A PhD PROPOSAL
By
Mohammed-Kabir, Jibril Imam
Background of the Study
The study focuses on the analyses of African plays produced on selected Nigerian educational
theatres. It is however, hypercritical to note that performance analysis does not move alone but
carries the play (text) along with its hermeneutic study. It is a truism that performances are
absorptions of plays just as plays are absorptions of other plays and oral performances. This is in
line with the current discourses on Afro-postmodernism, which is one of Africa’s evolving
performance theories that can emancipate the African nation from the whims and caprices of
modernism, post-colonialism, mono-culturalism and Western postmodernism tendencies.
Following this trend, Canice Chukwuma Nwosu argues that: “there is need for the African
theatre scholar to evolve African postmodernism’s critical theories that will articulate the theory
of African postmodernism and create enabling environment for the emergence of African
postmodern theatre form” (49). On the other hand, semiotics is seen as one of the postmodernist
theories that have been seen as the science that studies signs and their signifying system, thus the
productions of symbols and meanings. However, communicative potentials of semiotics seems
limited because it is culture bound. Theatre for long has been seen and known for its holistic
approach that gives attention to the all inclusive characteristics of the entire process. Theatre
combines all the elements of varied geographical, historical and ideo-aesthetic elements for the
sole purpose of communicating effectively. Corroborating this, Gowon Doki asserts that: “…the
thrust of a theatre performance is communication” (1). To buttress the meaning of
communication Brilhart defines it as “a process whereby symbols generated by people are
received and responded to by people” (3). In the same vein Mohammed-Kabir opines that:
“Communicating effectively has been the concern of theatre both in the Western and African
world. This is because the role or place of communication in the social worldview can never be
undermined” (1). Thus, how can the theatre be described as an art form, what are the
characteristic components of the theatre? Therefore theatre cannot be defined with a checklist of
its components parts. Mohammed-Kabir J. Imam outlines some of these components as: what
make the theatre a composite arts or spectacular is the assemblage of all the theatrical ensembles
or departments such as directing, design, costume, and make-up, light, colour and all the
elements of production…the relationship of all these theatrical ensembles listed above that brings
about aesthetics in the theatre (1). In applauding the theatre performance we observe critically
and perform that, which is essentially an interpretative act. Thus we read theatre’s elementsmovements, gestures, props, words, costumes, lights, designs, postures, auditorium, play (text),
audience participation, reaction and codification of meanings as signs and absorbing them to
foremostly signifying the production of performance’s identity. Mark Fortier conceives of this
and says:
Much happens and many elements are at work on a theatrical stage: bodies, breathing,
light, sound, movement, language and the material accidents and minutiae of existence.
The range of such elements and their combinations are in many ways specific to theatre
as an art form and cultural phenomenon. How is theatrical reality best understood? …
How does the nature of this reality limit the possibilities of theatre? (17).
Culturally, because of much that happen and those elements that are at work on theatrical stage
the audience interpretative role goes entirely beyond recognizing theatre as a category. But the
audience as an integral element is engrossed in, and actively manufacturing meanings theatrical
events can offer. This makes this researcher to pontificate a “Viewers-Response Retention
Theory” (the audience creating meaning from a play production through and beyond the
meanings created by the playwright and the director and his crew members) because of the active
role the audience plays in making meanings from the performance of plays on stage.
Etymologically, it entails the use of cultural experiences by the spectators or the audience.
Therefore, the theory of text enables theatrical engagements or experiences function as a whole
and as symbolic unity, thus creating varied meanings for adequate communicative purposes. The
current study intends to examine these numerous theatre signs and the signifying systems
through critical analyses of performances on stage, noting the interrelatedness and
interconnectedness between texts and performances of the play texts selected for this study. This
study would be incomplete and would be in futility without theoretical framework/basement. The
theoretical thrust of this work would be Pierce semiotics and Saussure’s semiology. However,
other theories like Charles Langer’ theory of symbols and other relevant sign theories would be
reviewed for adequate presentation.
Aims and Objectives/Purpose
The study aims at identifying the problems inherent in performance analysis and intends to
propose theatre semiotics as a way out. Hence, the aim is to bridge the gap between readers of
the play texts and viewers of the performances of the same plays (texts) on stage. Furthermore,
the researcher aims aid directors “reading” of such plays for production; especially, such plays
with creative interpretation; signs and signification, symbols, images, metaphors as
communication codes. Also, it aims at clarifying the contention that performances are
absorptions of plays just as plays are absorptions of other plays and oral performances.
Therefore, the sole purpose of the current study is intended to examine these numerous theatre
signs and the signifying systems through critical analyses of performances on stage, noting the
interrelatedness and interconnectedness between texts and performances of the play texts
selected for this study. The overall objectives of this study are to gain familiarity with theatre
semiotics and its significance in play performance. To also the determine characteristics of the
audience towards interpreting the signs and symbols in the performance. Corroborating this,
Kothari, opines that: “The main aim of research is to find out the truth which is hidden and
which has not been discovered as yet” (2). However, he contends that: “Though each research
study has its own specific purpose…” (2). Finally, the research is intended at provoking and
generating further works and study by researchers in this area of study.
Methodology
The researcher however, adopts the various stage productions of the selected plays as primary
data while books, journals articles, internet, encyclopedia, newspapers, magazines will serve as
secondary source. Other approaches like: content analysis, interviews will be conducted for the
directors of various play productions on the aforementioned performances with emphasis on
theatre semiotics or in the other word by this researcher “semio-aesthetic”-the marriage of
semiotics and aesthetics as they interlace in elements and meanings. Premised on the above, the
study adopts mixed research methodology as its research method. The Literary approach and the
Artistic approach by Sam Ukala would be used. By literary methodology Ukala means: “written
and printed library and archival sources…such as plays, novel and poems” (13). By artistic
methodology he says: “is for artistic creation and interpretation: writing for the stage, the screen,
the radio…” (15). Also, Adogbo and Ojo’s Hermeneutical Phenomenology which they say:
“means science of interpretation, which seeks to bring to light the primordial nature of a
phenomenon or the very “essence” of the object or subject under study” (10).
Expected Outcomes
The study concludes that analyzing performance through theatre semiotics involves a
comparable and compelling process. This is because theatre proffers meaning not solely in its
unconcealed utterances that is the character’s words and actions, even in the author’s message
but meaning can be found in the very form in which the utterances are conveyed. Therefore
meaning whether in the theatre or elsewhere, is always culturally specific. The study
recommends that theory like semiotics which is culturally grounded in linguistics should be
critically adopted for scripting and performance analysis to permit appropriation of meanings to
play as text and etymologically as performance in the face of the Afro-postmodern discourses.
Again, the study does not agree with the scholars who find a disconnect between the texts and
performances. The researcher aligns himself with critics who have opined stylistically that there
is no disconnect or lacuna between the text and the performance. More so, because of the active
role of the audience in making meanings from play productions on stage, this makes this
researcher to hold forth a “Viewers-Response and Retention Theory” as an alternative to Mark
Fortier’s Readers-Response and Reception Theory (Readers other than the author or creator
contribute to the meaning of a work of art) because of the active role the audience plays in
making meanings from the performance of plays on stage through theatre semiotics; other than
the meanings created by the playwright and the director. Etymologically, it entails the use of
cultural experiences by the spectators or the audience in reading meanings to the play in
performance on stage.
Works Cited
Adogbo, Michael P. and Ojo, Crowder E. Research Methods in the Humanities. Lagos:
Malthouse, 2003.
Brilhart, John. Effective Group Discussion. Dubuque: W.M.C. Brown Publishers, 1986.
Doki, Ama G. Ama G. Traditional Theatre in Perspective: signs and Signification in Igbe,
Girinya and Kwagh-hir. Makurdi: Aboki Publishers, 2006.
Fortier, Mark. Theory Theatre: An Introduction. New York: Routledge, 2000.
Kothari, C. R. Research Methodology Methods and Techniques. (Second Revised Edition) New
Delhi: New Age International (P) Ltd., 2004.
Langer, Susanne K. Philosophy in a New Key: A Study of Symbolism of Reason, Rite and Art.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1942.
Mohammed-Kabir, Jibril I. “Cultural Aesthetics and Aesthetic Motif in the Production of Emmy
Idegu’s The Legendary Inikpi. Unpublished B.A Project Submitted to Kogi State
University, Anyigba: 2008.
Mohammed-Kabir, Jibril I. “Semiotics in Intertextual Interpretation in Emmy Idegu’s Omodoko
and Sunnie Ododo’s Hard Choice”. Unpublished M.A Thesis Submitted to Nnamdi
Azikiwe University, Awka: 2014.
Nwosu, Canice Chukwuma. Postmodernism and Paradigm Shift in Theory and Practice of
Theatre. Onitsha: Eagleman Books, 2014.
Peirce, Charles Sanders. Collected Writings (Vol. 8.). (Ed. Charles Hartshorne, Paul Weiss &
Arthur W, 1981.
Saussure, Ferdinand de. Course in General Linguistics (trans. Roy Harris). London: Duckworth,
1983.
Singh, Yogesh Kumar. Fundamental of Research Methodology and Statistics. New Delhi: New
Age International Publishers, 2006.
Ukala, Sam. Manual of Research and of Thesis Writing in Theatre Arts. Second Edition. Ibadan:
Kraft Books Limited, 2006.