MONODRAMA AND THE NARRATOLOGY OF ORAL AFRICAN CULTURE: A STUDY OF MBAJIORGU AND BINEBAI

Abstract

The word drama and most importantly its sub-genre called solo drama seem to be dominatedby written text only. But the more solo drama in Africa showcases itself in the forms of writtentext, the more the oral narratology of African culture reveals itself in solo drama. The solodrama we mean here is not stand-up comedy, performance poetry and monologue in poetrywhich many people think are the same as solo drama. This research made attempt to study solodrama especially its language that serves as the distinguishing feature in form of narration thatis heavily influenced by the oral tales of African culture that “oscillates between poetry andprose†as evident in Mbajiorgu and Binebai. This one-man theatre or solo drama orientation ofonly one person performing all the roles in the play and still achieves believability in the mindsof the audience, promotes mobility of art and also reveals human conditions. Yet, monodramarelies much on language that operates in-between “poetry and prose†to achieve its aims asagainst the usual multiple characters playing specific role which tends to encourage waste ofresources and its language of terseness which the usual drama is known for.