Analysing the Gap in Studies of Nigerian Theatre’s International Touring and Global Reception

Nigerian theatre, particularly the work of Femi Osofisan, Wole Soyinka, and the Yoruba popular theatre tradition, has had a significant international touring presence over recent decades, yet the global reception of this theatre and its implications for comparative drama scholarship have not been systematically analysed. This study analysed the research gap in studies of Nigerian theatre's international touring reception and identified the scholarly implications of this gap for comparative drama studies. A systematic literature review and gap analysis methodology was employed, searching seven databases for publications from 2010 to 2024 addressing the international reception of Nigerian theatre. Forty-nine publications were identified. Results showed that 78.6 percent of studies addressed the content and aesthetics of Nigerian theatre for an academic audience assumed to be already knowledgeable about West African culture, without examining how specific international productions were received by non-Nigerian audiences. International audience reception studies of Nigerian theatre are present in fewer than 10 percent of publications. The comparative dimension of Nigerian theatre's global reception, examining how it has been placed in relation to South African, Kenyan, or Caribbean theatre in international programming, is absent from the identified literature. The study identifies six priority research gaps and proposes a reception study methodology for documenting international audience responses to Nigerian theatrical touring productions. The findings are recommended for integration into drama and performance studies programmes at universities in the South West zone, where Yoruba theatre's international prominence makes this gap most immediately relevant.