Eco-Dramaturgy and the Interdependence of Nature, Structure, and Meaning In Nigerian Dance-Drama

Abstract

This chapter addressed the absence of structured eco‑dramaturgical analysis in Nigerian dance‑drama and the wider lack of African‑centred ecological performance scholarship, highlighting the urgency of frameworks that treat performance as ecological knowledge. It examined how ecological meaning was constructed in four documented Nigerian dance‑dramas and developed an African‑rooted eco‑dramaturgical model. Data were drawn from a carefully selected, organised, and quality-controlled collection of 42 peer‑reviewed articles, 11 monographs, 18 book chapters, 27 critical performance reviews, and 9 published interviews with 46 Nigerian choreographers, directors, and dramaturgs, all produced between 1990 and 2025. Using a qualitative, interpretive design, the study analysed this material through a multi‑layered eco‑dramaturgical framework focusing on nature, structure, and meaning. The analysis showed that ecological meaning emerged through the interdependence of natural imagery, dramaturgical architecture, and semiotic interpretation, demonstrating that ecological consciousness was embedded in performance mechanics rather than added as a theme. The works embodied ecological ethics through movement, rhythm, spatial design, and cosmological symbolism, revealing African conceptions of environmental interdependence. This article contributed an African‑centred eco‑dramaturgical model, advanced debates in African performance studies, and expanded environmental humanities by positioning Nigerian dance‑drama as ecological knowledge and a cultural resource for sustainability discourse.