Pandering to the Pandemic: Perks, Problems and Prospects from the 2020 Eko Theatre Carnival Experience

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic was sprung upon the globe in 2020, and up till now the world still reels from its aftershocks. Without doubt, theatre is one of the worst hit sectors in the global economy. This is because the COVID-19 induced protocols and lockdown policies are hostile to the nature and practice of theatre. In Nigeria, theatre workers were ill-prepared for the effects of the onslaught of the dreaded virus on their livelihoods, and they struggle to adapt to their current stark realities. However, the Eko Theatre Carnival (ETC) 2020 braved the storm and presented itself in what Segun Adefila- the festival director, coins a ‘Real_Tual’ format. This coinage of the words ‘real’ and an abbreviated ‘virtual’, basically refers to a blend of the minimized live and maximized virtual performances. In this paper, I investigate what the previous editions of the Eko Theatre Carnival were like, what has changed, and plans for future editions as the festival adapts to the new world order. For this study, I employ the participant observation method to collate data, and I adopt Adefila’s ‘Real_tual’ approach to interrogate the pros and cons of distributing theatre presentations through digital means. The paper explores the challenges and prospects of performing during the pandemic, and what the future of theatre in Nigeria looks like. This study finds that digital media skills, creative collaborations, and promoting virtual theatre presentations are features of the new normal in producing theatrical performances for global consumption.