Developing a Community Theatre Programme for Comparative Drama Education in Kano State

Community theatre offers an accessible and culturally resonant vehicle for introducing comparative drama from different world traditions to non-academic audiences, and its deliberate design for comparative purposes in Kano State represents a significant but underexplored professional opportunity. This study developed a community theatre programme for comparative drama education, drawing on Hausa traditional theatre forms and their counterparts in other West African and world drama traditions. A programme design methodology was employed, combining formative consultations with community theatre practitioners, cultural workers, and secondary school teachers in Kano Municipal, Nassarawa, and Garun Mallam LGAs, alongside review of comparative drama education programmes from South Africa, Ghana, and Jamaica. The consultations identified strong community enthusiasm for drama as education but very limited awareness of drama traditions beyond Hausa and Hausa-Yoruba popular theatre. The designed programme includes six theatrical units: Hausa traditional drama (Wasan Kara'atu) in dialogue with Yoruba popular theatre, with further units introducing Ghanaian concert party theatre, Egyptian and Sudanese dramatic traditions, and accessible extracts from Greek and Indian dramatic forms. Performance guides, discussion materials in Hausa and English, and community facilitator training modules are included. Expert review by eight drama educators and community theatre practitioners confirmed the programme's feasibility. The study recommends a 12-month pilot in three community centres in Kano, with performance outcome evaluation at the end of each thematic unit.

Keywords: community theatre, comparative drama, Kano State, drama education, North West Nigeria