ISSN 2360-7998
Abstract
Accepted 9th December, 2019.
The study critically looks at the socio-political, psychological and conflicts arising from Oil and Gas Operations in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria.. This paper therefore aims at (re)presenting theatre side-by-side other disciplines within the context of conflicts and crises management. The fallout of oil and gas operations in the area is a topical and highly volatile issue in the country since 1990s, especially as this resource is the economic mainstay of the nation until late 2014 when the sales and demand for crude oil began to dwindle. In order to proffer solution, the issue has been over-flogged through debates, playlets, seminars, video clips and so on. On one such workshops of crises management with the theme: ‘the fallout of oil and gas operations in the Niger Delta area: community point of view’ this writer was invited as a guest speaker. The first question raised the first year of my attendance borders on ‘the role of theatre personnel in crises management’, especially when they are neither social scientists nor economists?’ These questions is a reminder of the arguments on the relevance of theatre to the society during Plato and Socrates’ era; which one could have said to be non-consequential today, especially with the advent of films and home videos. The play titled ‘The Pen’ was staged by unskilled performers without rehearsal or knowledge of what was to unfold and it led to a heated discourse that helps to confirm that theatre through drama can be used for conflict resolution. In conclusion this paper is a report and analysis of the “The Pen” as a proof that TfD can be used as tool in handling topical issues as predominant in crises prone areas as the Niger Delta.
Keywords: TfD, Niger Delta Crises, the Pen.