Assessment of Documentary Theatre Production and Social Impact in Plateau State

Documentary theatre uses real testimonies, archival records, and verbatim accounts to dramatise social realities, and assessing its production practice and social impact in Plateau State provides evidence for conflict-sensitive arts programming. This study assessed documentary theatre production practices and measured social impact in Plateau State, North Central Nigeria, examining three documentary productions staged between 2020 and 2023 addressing the Jos ethnic and religious conflicts. A professional assessment methodology combined production analysis using documented scripts and recordings, structured interviews with 20 production company members and 40 audience members from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds, and a pre-post audience attitude questionnaire measuring intergroup perception and reconciliation intent. Results showed that all three productions drew mixed-ethnic and mixed-religious audiences, representing unusual inter-community contact. Post-production attitude surveys showed significant increases in perspective-taking scores (p < 0.001) and modest but significant improvements in reconciliation intent (p < 0.05). Producers reported significant challenges navigating community sensitivities in testimonial selection. Two productions faced objections from community members who felt their experiences were inadequately represented. The study concludes that documentary theatre in Plateau State has meaningful social impact potential but requires careful community consultation in production development. Recommendations include structured consultation protocols for documentary theatre involving conflict-sensitive content, multi-stakeholder advisory panels, and sustained audience follow-up programming extending engagement beyond single performances. Keywords: documentary theatre, social impact, Plateau State, conflict, peacebuilding arts