Theatre for Community Development and the “Tyranny” of Advanced Media Technology

Abstract

This article grapples with the question of the existence of theatre for community development (TfD) in a world that is saturated with advanced media technology. The impulse to interrogate the relationship between theatre for development and a world largely driven by advanced media technology arises from the assumed original purpose of TfD, which indeed was to communicate development to marginalised societies and communities that were then excluded from the ambits of literacy and modern communication media. More importantly, the philosophy and ideology of deploying this theatre was predicated on its perceived potential to facilitate active involvement and participation of the assumed beneficiaries of development. The question that this article grapples with, therefore, is one of the continued relevance of this particular theatre practice in an era where media technology has become so sophisticated and complex, with seemingly limitless possibilities to catalyze audience participation and involvement and more so to reach large audiences previously left out of its reach. The article argues that though TfD seems to be vulnerable in this age of digitalized and advanced media technology, it is still resilient and continues to play a significant role in postcolonial Africa where huge populations are still unable to benefit from advanced media technology for communication.