Performing Democracy: Theatre, Civic Pedagogy, and Democratic Culture in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic (1999-2024)

This dissertation analyses the relationship between theatrical performance, civic pedagogy, and the development of democratic culture in Nigeria's Fourth Republic, covering the period from the return to civilian rule in 1999 to 2024. Theatre has historically served as a space for the development of democratic consciousness, civic debate, and political imagination, and the specific conditions of Nigeria's Fourth Republic, characterised by fragile democratic institutions, electoral contestation, and mobilised civil society, have produced a rich body of politically engaged performance. The research constructs a comprehensive empirical and theoretical account of how theatre has participated in democratic culture formation in Nigeria over this twenty-five year period, drawing on archival research, interviews with practitioners and civic organisations, and analysis of one hundred and twenty productions and performance interventions. The dissertation develops an original theoretical framework of civic performance ecology, which accounts for the interconnected relationships between state political culture, civil society organisations, theatre institutions, and audience publics that shape the democratic function of performance in Nigeria. An original theoretical contribution is the dissertation's concept of rehearsed democracy, drawing on Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed to theorise how participatory performance creates experiential frameworks for democratic practice among participants. Keywords: performing democracy, civic pedagogy, Nigerian Fourth Republic, democratic culture, political theatre.