Theatre and Environmental Justice: Dramatic Advocacy for Niger Delta Communities Affected by Oil Pollution

This study examines theatre as a vehicle for environmental justice advocacy in Niger Delta communities affected by oil pollution, analysing how dramatic performance has been deployed to amplify community grievances, challenge corporate and government negligence, and build solidarity among affected populations. The Niger Delta's environmental crisis, driven by decades of oil extraction, pipeline vandalism, and gas flaring, has generated significant human rights and environmental justice concerns. Theatre practitioners and community organisations in Rivers, Delta, and Bayelsa states have increasingly turned to performance as a mode of non-violent resistance and documentation. The research analyses five theatrical productions and three community performance interventions produced between 2019 and 2024, applying environmental humanities, political ecology, and performance studies frameworks. Data were gathered through production analysis, community interviews, and engagement with environmental NGO programme reports. The study finds that theatre has served as an effective tool for making the embodied experience of environmental degradation visible and emotionally resonant to wider publics, including international human rights organisations. The research concludes that environmental justice theatre in the Niger Delta represents a significant and undertheorised field of socially engaged performance practice. Keywords: environmental justice, Niger Delta, oil pollution, advocacy theatre, community performance.