THE CONCEPT OF DRAMA AS EXPLORATORY PARADIGM IN LOCK-UP INSTITUTIONS: CASE STUDY OF THE NEUROPSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL, ARO, ABEOKUTA, NIGERIA

Abstract

It is delightful to note that the practice of Theatre for Development (TfD) has moved beyond education, enlightenment/propagation as experimented by Augusto Boal and Paulo Freire. It is equally on record that several scholars of drama/theatre have now devoted substantial attention to TfD as a potent tool of awareness creation and information dissemination on topical issues like HIV/Aids, Cancer, Hepatitis B, Maternal Mortality etc. This has achieved tremendous success probably as a result of many donor agencies coming on the scene, which invariably led to the emergence of several Non-Governmental Organizations. (NGOs). The commitment to inform and enter-educate a wider audience probably geared Nollywood to churn out several home videos based on the aforementioned themes. However, the therapeutic use of TfD in lock-up institutions, especially psychiatric hospitals, has suffered both practical and scholastic neglect in Nigeria in respect of both stage and screen media. The academia and Nollywood are guilty of this neglect in different degrees. This paper, therefore, investigates and demonstrates the efficacy of therapeutic drama as employed in the neuropsychiatric hospital, Aro, Abeokuta, Ogun State, juxtaposing the performance of drama therapy on the stage and screen, while emphasizing the inter-relationship between drama and therapy, through practical engagement with the patients.