THE STAGE DIRECTOR AND THEATRE SPACE: EJEKE’S DIRECTORIAL STYLE AS PARADIGM

ABSTRACT

The incessant rate at which productions fail in Nigerian theatres has informed this research due to lack or loss of concepts and visions for the production. This research is an attempt to re-orient contemporary directors on expectation, roles and responsibilities in play production as well as inject the need for a home-grown directorial approach into the Nigerian theatre space through documentation of the approaches, visions and concepts of Nigerian directors. The study thus focused on the directorial concepts and visions of Solomon Ejeke. The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a collective form of reception. However, within the execution process, the director is crucial in conceptualizing, realizing and translating the themes of the play to the audience. The research was anchored on the Auteur theory of directing which is based on the assumption that the director is the controlling force in the structure of a dramatic production. The study employed the content analysis approach of the qualitative research and the interview method for the collection of its primary data. To this end, a selected production by Ejeke was analyzed. The researcher adopted the use of library and other referable sources like the internet to extract information that supports and build the theoretical and conceptual framework of the research. Also firsthand information was got from interview with Solomon Ejeke on his approaches, concepts and visions in productions. Findings showed that Ejeke’s approach is guided by the Gordon Craig Theory; the Laissez-faire Theory, and the Via-media Theory”, which advocate respectively for strong discipline in the theatre, the actor/performer as the real artist of the production and the liberation of the director to mediate between the actors and the phenomenon in the play. These enable him take full control of his productions while retaining the interest of his audience. Among other things, the study recommended the Ejeke approach to Nigerian directors since this investigation raised awareness of budding directors on the fact that his approach eliminates the phenomenon of audience boredom during productions.