Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary Nigerian Playwriting: Emerging Voices and Shifting Boundaries

This study examines how gender and sexuality are represented and problematised in the works of emerging Nigerian playwrights, investigating the shifting boundaries of dramatic representation in contemporary theatre. Recent years have seen a new generation of Nigerian dramatists engage more explicitly with questions of sexual identity, gender non-conformity, and queer experience, creating tension between artistic expression and the country's legal and social constraints on LGBTQ visibility. The research analyses dramatic texts and production records from ten emerging playwrights operating across Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Abuja between 2018 and 2024, applying gender performance theory and critical sexuality studies as analytical frameworks. Data were supplemented by interviews with the playwrights regarding their intentionalities and the reception of their work. The study finds that emerging Nigerian playwrights are developing sophisticated dramaturgical strategies for engaging with gender and sexual diversity, including allegorical displacement, inter-cultural performance reference, and deliberate narrative ambiguity. The research fills a significant gap in existing scholarship on sexuality in Nigerian drama and concludes that the theatrical engagement with gender and sexuality in Nigeria reflects a broader cultural contestation over the boundaries of permissible public discourse. Keywords: gender representation, sexuality, Nigerian playwriting, emerging playwrights, performance theory.