The Aesthetics of Postcolonial Resistance in Selected Nigerian Plays: An Empirical Analysis of Dramatic Strategies

This study empirically analyses the aesthetic strategies of postcolonial resistance deployed in selected Nigerian plays, drawing on a corpus of dramatic texts produced between 2015 and 2024. Postcolonial theatre theory has identified resistance aesthetics as a defining characteristic of African dramatic practice, yet systematic empirical analysis of how such aesthetics manifest across different regional theatrical traditions within Nigeria remains limited. The research applies a mixed qualitative framework combining dramatic textual analysis with performance ethnography to examine ten plays by playwrights from five geopolitical zones. Criteria for selection include explicit engagement with colonial legacies, thematic preoccupation with identity and cultural autonomy, and staging of power asymmetries. The study finds that postcolonial resistance aesthetics in Nigerian drama operate through four primary strategies: linguistic subversion, mythic re-appropriation, carnivalesque reversal, and spatial disruption of theatrical convention. The research reveals significant regional variation in the deployment of these strategies, reflecting the distinct colonial histories and performance traditions of different Nigerian communities. The study fills a gap in existing scholarship, which has largely focused on canonical playwrights rather than the broader landscape of contemporary Nigerian dramatic writing. The research concludes that postcolonial resistance aesthetics continue to evolve in response to neo-colonial economic conditions and recommends longitudinal tracking of these developments. Keywords: postcolonial resistance, Nigerian drama, aesthetic strategies, dramatic analysis, resistance theatre.