Jos Journal of Media and Communication Studies

Vol. 1 No. 1 April, 2014

Theatre for Development and the Development of Theatre in

Nigeria: A Critique of the New Didactic Heresy
By
Dantala Daniel Yohanna Garba
Department of Mass Communication
University of Jos, Jos, Nigeria

Abstract
Plays as pieces of dramatic composition or production are often discussed and
evaluated purely from the perspective of theatrical performance. Drama can also be
analyzed and evaluated on the basis of their literary form, style, or subject matter. The
aim of the paper is to apply this latter form of analysis to the new genre of drama
generally known as Theatre for Development in Nigeria.
The paper identifies two features which are definite problematics the main
subject matter and intended audience of these plays as well as the almost wholly didactic
nature of the scripts in this new genre. The literary landmines in the controversial field of
developmental communication, as well as issues of didacticism which are as old as Plato,
are discussed. The paper asserts that even though the contention between proponents of
didacticism and those of Art for Arts sake may not have yielded any clear victor,
falling into the didactic heresy may lead us back to a certain prudery and philistinism
which are uncharacteristic of, and wholly unsuitable for literary creations of our time and
age.
The author attempts to look in some detail at these two problematics, with the
hope of evaluating the contributions, whether positive or negative, of this new genre to
the development of theatre in Nigeria.
Introduction
Dramatic works written for performance on the stage, radio, or television are
considered as a literary genre. According to classical theorists, lyric poetry, epic poetry
and drama constitute the three fundamental genres of literature. As is often the case,
plays as pieces of dramatic composition or production can be discussed and evaluated
purely from the perspective of theatrical performance. However, as a serious literary
genre, drama is one of the categories of artistic works that can also be analyzed and
evaluated on the basis of their form, style, or subject matter. The aim of this paper is to
begin to apply this latter form of analysis to the new type, kind or indeed genre of drama
which falls under the broad context of Theatre for Development in Nigeria.
The New Genre
In modern literary theory, the three ultimate genres correspond to their modern
day equivalents and can be divided into fiction (novel, short story, epic), drama (whether

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in prose or verse), and poetry (centering on what corresponds to the ancient lyric
poetry) (Wellek and Warren, 1982:227). While fiction and poetry may have evolved
away from their perfomative epic and lyric poetry antecedents - poems and novels being
eye-read ... for the most part, drama has remained, as among the Greeks, a mixed art,
centrally literary ... but involving also spectacle - making use of the actors skill and the
play directors, the crafts of the costumer and electrician. (Wellek and Warren,
1982:229) These three ultimate genres are now properly thought of as literary modes,
each of which can be subdivided into their various forms, species or genres.
The general field of drama ranges from tragedy to melodrama, (and) from high
comedy to farce. (Nicoll, 1943:172) These specie or groupings focus on outer and inner
form of the works as the basis of differentiation. Based on the writers attitude, purpose,
subject matter as well as intended audience, it is possible to conceive of todays popular
Theatre for Development plays as belonging to a specie or genre that is unique and
problematical in some ways.
Firstly, considered at the level of performance as intervention (Illah, 2003) the
authors, directors and producers of these plays display a degree of altruistic
egalitarianism that is uncharacteristic of creative artists. However suspect this may be, it
is not necessarily a sticky issue. The second unique feature, and a definite problematic, is
the main subject matter and intended audience of these plays. These probably reflect the
noble attitudes and purpose behind these Theatre for Development productions.
However, the entire domain of developmental communication has been so engulfed in
raging controversy from such different perspectives that any creative writer venturing
into it will be literally walking into a terrain full of theoretical and ideological landmines.
The third unique feature, which is also a serious problematic, is the almost wholly
didactic nature of the scripts in this new genre. This is another literary minefield which is
as old as Plato. Even though the contention between proponents of didacticism and those
of Art for Arts sake may not have yielded any clear victor, falling into the didactic
heresy may lead us back to a certain prudery and philistinism which is uncharacteristic
of, and wholly unsuitable for literary creations of our time and age. The concern of this
paper is to look in some detail at these problematics, with the hope of evaluating the
contributions, whether positive or negative, of this new genre to the development of
theatre in Nigeria.
Didacticism through the Ages
The conviction that the main function of poetry is to teach was already
established in ancient Greece before the time of Plato.
Gilbert (1943) points out that:
Poetry occupied a high place in Greek education because it was believed
that from it children learned about the gods, poetical characters were
worthy of imitation, and that many subjects, such as generalship, were
admirably taught by Homer. Plato pointed out that Homer often
represented the gods as immoral, that the complaining and weeping of
Achilles is not to be imitated, that no man was ever chosen general
because he was educated through poetry (Ibid, p166).

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Plato was said to have banished Homer from his republic. In a similar vein,
Aristotle in his Poetics considered poetry as an aesthetic phenomenon, without regard to
its didactic qualities. He abandons the notion that the characters of tragedy are subjects
for imitation (Ibid, p166).
The Roman emphasis on the edification motive is best exemplified by Lucretius'
De rerum natura which was an account of Epicurus' atomic theory of matter. Its
combination of moral urgency, intellectual force, and precise observation of the physical
world makes it one of the summits of classical literature. Lucretius sought to free
humanity from the fear of death and of the gods, which he considered the main cause of
human unhappiness, and his material was designed to instruct and convince rather than
please. Indeed, Lucretius was reputed through this classic to have written the charter of
the didactic theory, comparing the art of literature to the practice of coating medicine
with honey so that children may swallow them for their good in spite of their bitter taste
(Gilbert 1943:166). Unlike his near contemporary, Horaces position on the didactic
motive was balanced by his assertion that the poet is to teach, to please, or to do both
(Ibid). This outstanding lyric poet and theorist stated in his Ars Poetica that the best
poems edify as well as delight; the secret of good writing being wisdom (implying
goodness). Horace thus emphasized that a good poet needs both teaching and training to
give of his best (Grant, 2004). Many writers through the ages have conformed to these
didactic expectations. A prominent example is the Italian poet, prose writer, literary
theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker and one of the great figures of world
literature, Dante Alighieri (1265 1321). However, other writers such as Wordsworth
(Lyrical Ballads) and Shelly (Prometheus Unbound) have argued otherwise, vehemently
rejecting didacticism in its entirety, with Poe (The Poetic Principle) referring to the
position of Lucretius and his varied followers as the heresy of the didactic.(Gilbert
1943:167)
It is not, however, the intention of this author to dwell on the different
conceptions of the nature and function of literature. The following passage is apt in this
regard:
If one goes far enough back... one can reach a time when literature,
philosophy, and religion exist undifferentiated: among the Greeks,
Aeschylus and Hesiod would perhaps be instances. But Plato can already
speak of the quarrel between the poets and the philosophers as an ancient
quarrel and mean by it something intelligible to us. We must not, on the
other hand, exaggerate the difference made by doctrines of art for arts
sake at the end of the nineteenth century or more recent doctrines of
posie pure. The didactic heresy, as Poe called the belief in poetry as
an instrument of edification, is not to be equated with the traditional
renaissance doctrine that the poem pleases and teaches through pleasing.
(Wellek and Warren, 1982:29)
In the protracted dialectics on the purpose of art, Shepley (1943) points out that
the term didactic appears to have several levels of meaning. Didacticism may refer to two
related but different questions: (1) should the writer try to teach? (2) Should the work of
art be instructive? At another level, the term could be: (1) used subjectively as a

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derogatory term; (2) to mark an all embracing category; or (3) to describe a kind or
category of work. Wellek and Warren (1982) state that in their reformatory zeal, certain
older advocates of pure literature (posie pure) identified the mere presence of ethical
or social ideas in a novel or a poem as the didactic heresy. They point out that
literature is not defiled by the presence of ideas literarily used, but it is the authors
practical intent (whether for propaganda, incitation to direct, immediate action) or
scientific intent (such as provision of information, facts, additions to knowledge) which
determine whether a piece of work may be classified as pure literature or part of the socalled didactic heresy (Wellek and Warren, 1982:239).
Anatomy of a Didactic Play
Contemporary Nigerian dramas which fall under the broad category of Theatre
for Development can be analysed in terms of the two questions posed by Shepley, as well
as classified according to the three levels of meanings identified above. Didacticism is a
concept that is neither new nor unexamined in Nigerian theatre studies. Nwamuo (2006)
probably best encapsulates the current Nigerian academic position on the issue of
didacticism when he argues that the large amount of money spent to get the product
(drama presentation) ready, must be recovered as the days of art for arts sake, originated
by Edgar Allan Poe, is no more, (Nwamuo, 2006:8, my parenthesis). He goes on to add
that people go to live theatre performances to get education while being entertained, to
develop the appetite for art and to appreciate the human artistic experience, (Ibid, p.9,
my emphasis). While Nwamuos position may reflect the view of most Nigerian
dramatists regarding the issue of didacticism in literature, this author believes that the
new genre of Theatre for Development carries didacticism to a whole new level that must
arouse our concern for their possible impact on the development of theatre in Nigeria as a
whole. Indeed, the unconcealed practical intent of these authors is propaganda, not in
terms of misleading publicity or deceptive or distorted information, but in terms of
information and publicity aimed at promoting or spreading a policy, idea, doctrine, or
cause. Thus, their success is not necessarily a measure of the aesthetic quality of the plays
they write and perform, but rather a factor of how successful they are in inducing
immediate desired action through incitation and provision of information and facts to
their target audiences. When dealing with issues of gender, youth and reproductive health
education especially in view of current concerns about the HIV and AIDS pandemic,
such plays are, therefore, ethically pedantic, generally lacking in tension or drama, dull
and boring, as well as being puritanical and dogmatic.
Ironically, some enthusiasts see these very shortcomings as noteworthy, praising
the minimalism in costumes and make-up, the contrived dialogues which focus mainly on
the pedagogic points, and plot, character and dramatic action which are suppressed except
where they promote the essential teaching aims of the drama. Such artificial actions never
appear spontaneous and are very much unlike reality.
The Perils of Patronage or Encouragement
It takes a lot of creative imagination to write and produce a play which will give
high aesthetic satisfaction to the viewer or listener. This creativity relies on the

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adroitness, craft, cunning, dexterity, expertise, know how, and skill of the dramatist.
Proudly, our nation has not failed to produce such great writers in the past. However, as
far as creativity and aesthetic quality in drama are concerned, the current impetus given
to Theatre for Development productions by the high level of external funding from
government and private donors based in the United States and Britain must be seen as the
dark cloud that it is, and there are no silver linings. The ingenuity and inventiveness of a
creative writer can only barely disguise the crude didacticism required to create the type
of message-laden plays that will attract such funds from abroad. Is the creative
imagination of a whole generation of our playwriters being unwittingly sacrificed at the
altar of Theatre for Development? It is the argument of this author that the ability of our
writers to use their imagination to develop new and original ideas especially in the artistic
context of drama is being restricted by the lucre of donor dollars. This argument must
not, however, be construed as an indictment on the character of writers in the new genre.
Literary patronage originated as far back as pre-Homeric times.
Writing on the encouragement of literary production, Harris (1943) showed that
patronage from the rich segments of society was critical for the physical well-being and
continued productivity of authors. These patrons encompassed both benevolent rulers and
malevolent tyrants and dictators. Noblemen and aristocrats provided patronage and
encouragement to writers for a variety of reasons including genuine personal love for the
literary arts as well as inducement for personal praise-singing:
... Patronage proceeded in a fairly direct line to the Hellenistic period and
the interest in learning and literature that was fostered by the Ptolemies at
Alexandria. Rome accepted the Greek heritage. Roman aristocrats
encouraged literature, for its own sake, or because it gave them an
opportunity to have their achievements celebrated in verse. (Harris,
1943:189)
Both the state and religious institutions also provided support for literature in
various degrees; and patronage means, of course, control and supervision, (Wellek and
Warren, 1982:100).
In the large, the later history is the transition from support by noble or
ignoble patrons to that afforded by publishers acting as predictive agents
of the reading public... In England, the patronage system apparently
began to fail early in the eighteenth century. For a time, literature,
deprived of its earlier benefactors and not yet fully supported by the
reading public, was economically worse off. (Wellek and Warren,
1982:99).
The contemporary Nigerian dramatist is faced with a daunting economic
challenge. Nwamuo (2006) paints a gloomy picture of this petro-dollar republic which
wallows in the superlatives and speaks of the high level of corruption, the absence of
the rule of law, honour, integrity and good planning (constituting) drawbacks in the
machinery of governance, (Nwamuo, 2006:5). This situation has impacted negatively on
the growth of theatre audiences:
Owing to certain problems of underdevelopment such as irregular water
supply, poor power supply, poor maintenance of theatre buildings and

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fear of vandalisation of public property, most theatre conveniences or

rest-rooms are almost always locked up throughout the performance
period. The theatre administrator therefore plans a theatrical event to
have a full house, maximize profit but makes no allowance for an
intermission. In consequence, some members of the audience abandon
the performance, and go home when their bladders begin to ache. Some
put up with the inconvenience but swear never to come back. (Nwamuo,
2006:24)
Nwamuo contends that the result of this obvious neglect of the vital aspect of
audience engineering is that theatre audiences are usually thin except on occasions when
a big shot, or a government big-whip is coming to the event. They are thin because of
insecurity, the threat of the home-video, poor quality productions, indiscipline in the
society and low level of awareness.(Nwamuo, 2006:24) The resultant decline in
audience fee income accruing to dramatists has meant that Nigerian writers and producers
have had to look elsewhere for funds to enable them continue in the profession.
Conclusion
Dollar funds from foreign donor agencies seem particularly attractive as they
enable plays to be written and performed specifically for specialised, captive and usually
non-fee paying audiences. However, the dangers of reliance on this form of patronage are
two fold.
Firstly, the crude didacticism which many of these Theatre for Development
productions encourage impacts negatively on the aesthetic quality of our drama
productions. A crop of talented Nigerian dramatists at the prime of their creative years
find themselves writing mostly unaesthetic pedantic plays instead of exploring new and
imaginative topics and treatments that will raise the nations theatre profile in the
international arena.
Secondly, since these foreign donor funds enable expensive drama productions to
be staged free of charge to target audiences, theatre audiences seem to have lost their
primacy. Relegated to a second-class status, the role of the audience in determining and
rewarding excellence in theatre productions has been severely eroded. This may not be
good for the development of theatre in Nigeria.

REFERENCES
Gilbert, Allan H., 1943, Didacticism, in Joseph T. Shepley, Encyclopaedia of World
Literature, The Philosophical Library, New York pp. 166-168
Grant, Michael, 2005, Horace, in Encylopaedia Britannica 2005 Deluxe Edition CDROM

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Harris, Brice, (1943) Encouragement of Literary Production, in Joseph T. Shepley,

Encyclopaedia of World Literature, The Philosophical Library, New York
pp.188-190)
Illah, J. S., Preface to Tor Iorapuu, 2003, Had I Known, DAT & Partners, Lagos.
Nicoll, Allardyce, Drama, in Joseph T. Shepley, 1943, Encyclopaedia of World
Literature, The Philosophical Library, New York pp. 172-173.
Nwamuo, Chris, 2006, Theatre Audience Engineering in Nigeria: Paradigm and
Syntagm, Inaugural Lecture, University of Calabar Press.
Shepley, Joseph T., 1943, Encyclopaedia of World Literature, The Philosophical Library,
New York
Wellek, Rene and Austin Warren, 1982, Theory of Literature, Pelican Books

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