A Theoretical Framework for Understanding the Relationship Between Digital Technology and Live Performance Aesthetics in Contemporary Nigerian Theatre

The integration of digital technology into contemporary Nigerian stage performance has generated new aesthetic questions about liveness, presence, and the human-machine relationship in performance, and developing an original theoretical framework for understanding this digital-live performance relationship provides a significant contribution to both Nigerian theatre studies and global digital performance theory. This study developed an original Theoretical Framework for Digital-Live Performance Aesthetics in Contemporary Nigerian Theatre. A constructive theoretical methodology was employed, combining systematic review of digital performance theory (77 publications from 2019 to 2024), empirical research with 40 Nigerian theatre practitioners working with digital technology, and analysis of 20 digitally integrated productions from 2018 to 2024. Systematic review confirmed that existing digital performance theories (Auslander, Dixon) inadequately accounted for the specific ways digital technology operates in resource-constrained performance contexts, the distinct aesthetic priorities of Nigerian audiences in relation to technological spectacle, and the intersection of indigenous performance conventions with digital mediation. Empirical research revealed that Nigerian practitioners used digital technology primarily for remediation (translating traditional performance aesthetics into digital form) and for audience reach extension (live streaming for diaspora audiences) rather than for the technology-as-performance-subject approaches dominant in Western digital theatre. The original framework proposes five aesthetic relationships between digital technology and live performance: remediation aesthetics, extension presence, hybrid temporality, spectatorial framing, and cultural memory digitisation. Expert review by 20 digital performance scholars confirmed the framework's original contribution. Recommendations include integrating digital performance aesthetics into Nigerian drama curricula and establishing a Nigerian Digital Theatre Research Network.