Abstract
Sequel to the outlaw of theatre from the church in the Medieval era, Christian theatre moved from the church to the trade guilds and even beyond but never ended. In Nigeria, the same cycle had been repeated following the introduction of Christian theatre into the church through the window of the Church Missionary Society, followed by early dramatists such as Hubert Ogunde, who temporarily succeeded to infuse theatre into Cantatas but soon deviated from the church centred themes and secularised Christian theatre. Hence, the emergence of Mike Bamiloye and his others in the later parts of the 20th century with Christian theatrical productions which toured around the country under the umbrella of the Mount Zion Faith Ministries (MZFM) which would soon become the household name for Christian theatre and film productions in Nigeria. Although the MZFM diverted into film a few years later, the 21st century saw the inauguration of her Christian theatre arm named Zion Royal Theatre (ZRT) targeted at churning out phenomenal Christian theatrical productions on the contemporary stage. This is a descriptive study which chronicles the events leading to the emergence and progressive practice of Christian theatre in Nigeria by the ZRT. It identifies the point of departure from the old and the styles of practice for the new. In-depth interviews were conducted with stakeholders in Christian theatre practice in Nigeria coupled with other secondary sources to enhance the literature review. ZRT proves to draw a viable connection to the rebirth of regular Christian theatre in Nigeria with regards to Christian themes, techniques and method of dramatising biblical stories to contemporary audiences.
Author Information
Olumide Oki, Mount Zion Institute of Christian Drama, Nigeria
Olalekan Olatunji, Mount Zion Institute of Christian Drama, Nigeria
Paper Information
Conference: ECAH2024
Stream: Arts - Performing Arts Practices: Theater
This paper is part of the ECAH2024 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Oki O., & Olatunji O. (2024) The Rebirth of Christian Theatre in Nigeria: The Zion Royal Theatre in Perspective ISSN: 2188-1111 – The European Conference on Arts & Humanities 2024: Official Conference Proceedings (pp. 267-277) https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2188-1111.2024.22
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2188-1111.2024.22
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