STAGING POLITICS AS A MOTIF FOR CULTURAL ACTION: A DIRECTORIAL ARGUMENT FOR NWABUEZE’S THE DRAGON’S FUNERAL

Abstract

Playwrights world over and through the ages have responded to dominant socio-political, economic and religio-cultural issues in their environment with varying verses of revolutionary stunts. While dramatic literature is in search of its audience, some theatre directors have paved the way and have touched the sensibilities of their audience with spectacular performances that burlesqued with the people’s customary traditions and socio-cultural conflicts. Emeka Nwabueze is one such playwright who has consistently satirized the Nigerian socio-political climate as exemplified in A Parliament of Vultures When the Arrow Rebounds and The Dragon’s Funeral. This research advocates for the staging of topical issues to bring to the fore the lapses in governance and the need for cultural action. Methodical analysis of the stage Performance of The Dragon’s Funeral served as the research approach while the concept of Revolutionary Aesthetics explored the significant contributions of theatre to society. The researcher’s findings reveal that staging politics is a loud visual strategy that will effortlessly create socio-political awareness among the people of Nigeria, and especially, the rural dwellers.