ABSTRACT
Scholars of African theatre have at different times and levels attempted uncovering the indigenized technique that pervades the African theatrical space, efforts have been made to apply these ideologies and philosophies to promote the African essence. The effort to restructure or remodel a standard practice comes with humongous intellectual exercise especially the propagation of acceptable theories and frameworks to strengthen the base of the intended structure. The Evolutionary, Divine and Relativist arguments draws hugely on the religious overtone for a historical context, on the other hand Performance, Ritual, Participatory, Oral tradition and Storytelling, African Aesthetic, Hybridity and Syncretism theories tends to give credibility thrust on the form, content and interpretation, While the Ubunty philosophy reigns as the sum of genuity and definition of traditional African theatre. With specific study on the persona of Austin Asagba, the validity of these philosophies, ideologies and techniques are appreciated as used to define a structural identity for African Theatre. The first chapter forms the basis of introduction, ushering us into the literature review and taking a critical look at the subject matter properly. A critical analysis of Austine Asagba’s thoughts and ideas on the subject of African theatre and the indigenization techniques employed in his lectures and articles formed the basis of our discussion in chapter four. While chapter five concludes this project work with recommendations. This dissertation is intended to contribute to knowledge by documenting the rich and diverse theatrical traditions of Africa, highlight the influence of African theatre on global performance, analyze the role of theatre in social and political change, examine the interplay between traditional and contemporary forms of African theatre, explore the intersections of African theatre with other artistic disciplines, Identify and analyze the unique aesthetics and performance conventions of African theatre, and finally, highlight the contributions of not very influential African theatre scholars and practitioners.
