History as a Source of Dramaturgy: A Study of Obaseki and Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi

Abstract

There is a sustained interplay between history and dramaturgy that has remained central to dramatic scholarship across cultures. Playwrights have persistently turned to the past not merely to reproduce historical events but to interrogate their meanings for present and future societies. In African drama, recourse to history functions as a potent artistic and ideological strategy through which dramatists challenge colonial historiography, reclaim cultural memory, and interrogate the moral and political implications of leadership. This paper examines history as a source of dramaturgy through a comparative analysis of two historical plays, Pedro Obaseki’s Obaseki and Ola Rotimi’s Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi. Although both plays draw from the same historical setting, they dramatize history in different ways. While Obaseki focuses on the controversial role of Chief Obaseki within the colonial administrative structure, Rotimi emphasizes cultural dignity through his portrayal of Oba Ovonramwen as a fallen but resilient monarch. The paper argues that these different dramaturgical strategies demonstrate how historical drama transcends mere retelling to become a site of reinterpretation, and cultural critique. Methodologically, the study adopts a close textual and comparative dramaturgical analysis, examining characterization, thematic emphasis, and performance aesthetics within the broader tradition of African historical drama. Drawing on historiographic and postcolonial theory, the paper contends that history, when appropriated as dramaturgy, becomes a dynamic and performative medium rather than a static archive. Ultimately, the study demonstrates that historical drama in African theatre functions as cultural memory work, and critical lens through which contemporary moral, political, and existential realities are examined.