PRIVATE/PUBLIC FACILITY MANAGEMENT POLICIES AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR THE GROWTH OF THE NIGERIAN THEATRE

Abstract

The gross shortage of performance space for both the teaching and the practice of the art is one of the major problems confronting the contemporary Nigerian theatre. Where such facilities exist, it is either that they do not conform to the basic international standards, or they are multipurpose halls being merely adapted for theatrical performances. Although the concept of a performance venue is as old as theatre, scholars and professionals seem to have different perspectives of what should be the ideal venue for theatrical performances. For instance, Sarah Stanton and Martin Banham (1996) are of the view that

Theatre buildings are not essential for theatre performances: The roots of drama lie in the interaction between actor and audience.

Such a position takes us back to the rudimentary stage of theatre practice, which is now clearly anachronistic, in the light of the technological advancement of the modern world. In the beginning. where theatre was unable to find the required performing space, it improvised around available facilities. It was not until 1893, when the Glover Memorial Hall was declared open by Governor McGregor, did a venue built with live theatre in mind (at least to an extent) emerge in old Lagos. More than a century afterwards, and in spite of the completion of the National Arts Theatre in Lagos, in 1976, the problem still persists, such that Olu Akomolafe (1981) could observe that

about the greatest shortcoming in the Nigerian theatre scene today is the unavailability of adequate playhouses (431)