Theatre for Development as a Non‐formal Method of Education in Nigeria

Abstract Theatre for Development (TFD) has emerged in Nigeria, as it has in many other parts of Africa, as an alternative practice to mainstream theatre. It has, therefore, developed as an interaction with ordinary people. TFD has, in consequence, become a vehicle as well as a strategy in the way it uses indigenous forms as elements of its practice. It has, however, acknowledged the presence of the mainstream and integrated aspects of it into its practice. The appeal and ability of TFD to analyse and strategise for action, and its democratic structure, put ordinary people in control from the stage of problem identification through to community action. It is these aspects of participation, analysis and questioning which allow us to discover an interconnection between TFD and Drama in Education (DIE). Like TFD, DIE is engaged in the exercise of critical reinterpretation of social issues by and with children. In essence, therefore, both practices are about interrogating society.