‘DON’T BLAME IT ON COMEDY’- LAFUP

Lafup performs comedy before a 5000 crowd in Lagos

About a week ago, in one of my Ogas’ Event Management company in Opebi, I found myself in the usual mood of arguments and talks.That type that comes up without prior planning ones there is booze and chops.  This was a bit unusual because the talks were not on government, corruption and all but on Stand-up comedy and how it has misrepresented by professional and academics alike.  Some academics feel stand-up comedy has killed or is killing the theatre culture in Nigeria. On the other hand, a few comedians attempt infusing drama to their comedies with the conceit of reviving the “dead” theatre culture in Nigeria.  In my opinion, both parties are wrong, rather, the attempt is to revive live drama as a genre of theatre not theatre as a complex whole.

Popular theatre standards in Nigeria have largely been determined by the Yoruba travelling theatre movement led by the troupe founder and leader Hubert Ogunde whose area of expertise was Yoruba tragedy; and Moses Olaiya (Baba Sala), whose forte was comedy. The emergence of the media, took a great shine away from live theatre culture in Nigeria and not comedy or stand-up comedy as the case may be.

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