Stanislavsky in Nigeria: convergences and counterpoints in actor training and practice

Nigeria boasts a significant number of talented actor, directors and theatre scholars who work on the cutting edge of a creative sector that gave rise to Nollywood, often described as the second largest film industry in the world. Without prejudice to multifarious approaches to performance training and practices that are indigenous to Nigeria, Stanislavskian principles remains, by far, the most recognised and acknowledged approach to contemporary actor training and practice in the country.

In this chapter, we reflect on the many ways in which those working in educational and theatre training institutions, as well as on the stage, throughout the country are engaged in applying and transmitting Stanislavsky's principles through their work. The chapter looks at the transmission of Stanislavsky's principles for actor training to Nigeria from the mid-Twentieth Century, and how it has been taught, propagated and sustained since introduction to Nigeria theatre training and practice. The case studies examined in this chapter reveals the fertile grounds found for Stanislavsky in Nigeria. At the same time, they reveal the many convergences and counterpoints evident in Stanislavsky's interaction with the Nigerian cultural environment as they transform, appropriate and sometime challenge conventional ways of thinking about Stanislavsky's legacy.